Happy Thanksgiving!

 

(Macy's Thanksgiving day parade)

This weekend our family ventured out for another Thanksgiving adventure.  We are in NYC celebrating, relaxing, touring, and having fun with family. On Wednesday, we headed to Times Square and visited Toys R Us.  The kids spent HOURS there looking around and finally taking a fun ride on the Ferris Wheel.  After a "family nap time" we all went out for the Macy's day parade balloon inflation viewing.  The balloons were being inflated only 4 blocks away from Mary and Justin's apartment!

Ace hung out with us...

 

and the kids hung out in his crate =)

 Thanksgiving morning we headed out to Carla's downtown office building where we had a prime real estate spot for viewing the parade.  It was AWESOME not having to battle crowds.  We watched from the 5th floor of her building on a balcony.  Some coffee, bagels, and great company!  Isa was so excited to be reunited with her "prince" Jack while Will and Uncle Justin battled as dinosaurs on city rooftops.   Back at Justin and Mary's our Thanksgiving feast was DELICIOUS and followed by another "family nap" thanks to the never failing coma inducing turkey!  We are having an amazing time and we still have 2 more days!  We feel truly blessed for each other, our families, and this special time we are having. 

 this is at the end of Justin and Mary's street!

 watching the parade!

 Carla, Jack, Matthew and Tom

 dinosaur battles =)

  Gabi's FIRST Thanksgiving!

catching up...

Here is a glimpse of things we have been doing over the past 2 weeks.
Last night and today we celebrated Dad's big 60th birthday with a treat to Steak On A Stone and we will be having a movie night tonight.  It was real nice to have an adult, nice dinner together.  

 On Thursday, Chloe stayed with us during the day (she slept most of the time), but we were so happy to hang out with her all day.  That evening, when Kateri and I were catching up, Will told us to look at this birthday creation he had made.  Trying to keep from laughing and talking to him about how this was a wasteful use of food... Kateri insisted we take a picture for posterity, enjoy =)

 

 This past weekend I was so lucky to attend a Scrapbooking suite retreat.  It was so much fun hanging out with other friends and be able to work on Gabi's album.  I was able to complete all the way to 6 months for her.  I am really hoping to be able to go back in March and finish her first year.  Cudos to Tobin who bravely watched all 3 kids that weekend!  I love my hubby!

Gabi has been a little mover over the last couple of weeks first crawling and now furniture cruising.  She LOVES standing and is overjoyed with excitement when you hold her hands and help her "walk". 

Last Thursday the kids had a bowling field trip with Will's school.  This was both Will and Isa's first time bowling!  They had a blast, but I kept thinking that the balls looked heavier than the kids =).

  Will and his teachers Mrs Loper and Miss Koscho.

he's getting the point right?

Tonight at supper after our prayer the following interaction took place:
Will (looks around)- "Thank you so much for dinner."
Me (assuming he's talking to me)- "Your so very welcome baby"
Will- "No, I was thanking Jesus"

 =) hope this makes you smile the way it did us tonight.

p.s.. here is his School Picture we got today =)

fun fall day

One of the things that Tobin and I have thoroughly enjoyed about our new home is the lack of falling leaves.  This, however, has not been shared by the kids... who have anxiously awaited Fall to have their "leaf piles."  So today, with leaf blower and rakes in hand we went out to gather all the leaves (THANKFULLY much less than in our previous home) and make Will and Isa a perfect "leaf pile".  Even though it was a little chilly, the kids didn't seem to mind at all and dove in over and over again!  I love these moments. 

 After coming in and warming up, the evening continued with Family movie night.  We debuted Toy Story 3!  It was great!  Most heartwarming of all was watching the kids interacting and cuddling with Uncle Bim.  What a great day and night!

 Uncle Bim and Will being Dinosaurs of course!

it's gonna be a good day

That was the theme for our weekend with Cathy.  The rest of the weekend was busy but oh so fun! I feel blessed to have had those days to reconnect with her, laughing, venting, and sharing.
On Sunday, we started off the day with mass, followed by a delicious brunch at First Watch.  We came back home to carve pumpkins and get ready for trick-or-treating.  Although it was a little chilly, the kids had a blast, but I think Cathy had the most fun!

 Daddy did a great job with Will's face paint!

  on our way to get some candy!

 
 On Monday, Cathy, Will, Isa, and I headed for a day trip to Niagara Falls (YEP, I said Niagara Falls).  It was FANTASTIC!  We were able to head over the Canadian side of the falls and it was a great adventure!  We started off in NY at the state park and wandered around a bit.  Then we drove over to Canada where we had a little lunch, went down to the tunnels behind the falls, and then walked around on top where we witnessed double rainbows and fascinating views!  It was a perfect end to our wonderful weekend with "Aunt Cathy!"

 Thanks for sharing so many great memories with us Cathy!  Come back soon!
Here's looking back at our past!  Oh what fun times!