Thanksgiving 2015
We had a delightful Thanksgiving this year. It was gorgeous weather (surprise, surprise :)) so we ran to the beach and did hill sprints with the kids and then we played freeze-tag. It was one of those times we felt so happy to be a family that loves to be active and outside together. Even Ellie was determined to cross the finish line on the hill sprints!
Then we ordered Mexican take-out and ate burritos in our backyard! Andrew and I talked about how we don't really love the traditional Thanksgiving menu, so we decided to skip it this year! The one thing we DO love about Thanksgiving food is the pie...so we had friends over in the afternoon for pie, desserts, games and movies long into the night. It was such a wonderful day to celebrate together.
Mom and Dad Visit
My mom and dad came during the month of November and we felt so lucky to have them.
The kids LOVED wrestling with Grandpa Asay and could have done this all day long. Reminds me of growing up when my siblings and I would run to the door and tackle my dad as soon as he walked in. We used to try to steal his belt as our victory token. Such fun memories and such a good thing for kids. I'm so glad my kids get to wrestle with my dad.
Dad also made delicious sourdough pancakes and bread and the kids were thrilled with this treat. When Amelia sees sourdough bread in the store she begs for "Grandpa Asay's kind of bread."
Amelia followed my mom into the bathroom every morning to get ready together. She loves putting make-up on, trying on all grandma's jewelry, and chatting up a storm.
The kids loved sewing and cooking with my mom too. Grandmas are so fun. They have more patience than mommies do...! My parents are amazing.
These kids love going over to the batting cages and hitting with dad. Ellie likes to empty all the balls from the buckets and take her turn knocking balls off the tee with the tip of the bat. William just loves hitting. He likes it when Andrew pitches to him and he is getting really coordinated. Amelia hits left-handed - much to her dad's pleasure - and it is so fun to watch her swing away. Such fun memories watching the kids grow up in these batting cages.
Andrew was a good sport and an awesome dad this winter when he slept in a tent in the backyard with Amelia and William. They were so excited about it. And we were all excited that Ellie was sleeping inside and not going to cry all night long!
They played games by lantern-light
And woke up not well-rested and chilly as is expected when doing any type of camping, even if it is in your own backyard!
I love these pictures of our fun day climbing trees in the eucalyptus grove at the beach.
And these pictures of Ellie doing baby things like climbing into (and getting stuck in) the basket underneath the stroller, begging for her hundredth drink at the drinking fountain just because it is fun and messy, and walking through puddles after a rainy day.
These two kids get along so well together and I love watching them play.
Amelia really wanted to set up a hot chocolate stand and sell to our neighbors. She begged and begged and begged (and begged...) me to do it with her. I just couldn't bring myself to do it with a 17 month old baby. The only visions I had of the experience were balancing a baby on my hip while carrying, stirring and mixing cups of hot chocolate, trying to keep said baby from running into the street (which was her favorite thing to do at 17 months), and reign in the 6-year old entrepreneur from attacking neighbors for their business. Luckily for Amelia, dad was home this particular rainy day. He agreed to help Amelia run the show and it was a wonderful success! She earned about $20 which we donated to help Syrian refugees go to school in Lebanon. She could not have been happier.
These kids really are such good little workers around the house. Ellie has learned from their example and is actually really productive at helping unload the dishwasher. So thankful for the fun times we have working together.
A rare picture of me with all three kids. We had free tickets for the zoo train and had such a fun time snuggling and riding together.
1 comment:
Hill sprints on Thanksgiving!! I love it.
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