Sunday, December 9, 2012

Thanksgiving and more

I am behind!  I blame it on Blogger who said I had run out of room for more pictures...problem solved and now on with catching up.  The last weekend in October we went back to Louisville for our dear friends Nick and Ruth's wedding.  It was beautiful and the girls had so much fun.  It was outdoors (not something that is do-able in WY or KS) and a little cool so we wore our jackets all night.
 Joni and her friend Levi enjoying the dinner.  She is helping him with his juice box.  Sweet sweet Jo.
Then it was time to dance and throw the "bouquet." 

 Ruth dancing with my girls.
   
 So instead of throwing a bouquet, Ruth and Nick threw little stuffed animals.  A good idea!  All the little girls tried to catch the one that Ruth tossed over her head.  You can see it in the air in this picture.  Anyways, it hit Joni right in the face (who is super ready to catch it by the way) and Hadley scooped it up after that.  She was a kind big sister and gave it to Jo though.
 Joni with her new animal and Hadley checking out the picture that the photographer took of her.  She loves doing that :)
 And last but not least, what's a wedding without a little chicken dance?  Beautiful wedding it was!
I know you have all been waiting and the time has come.  We finally made a trip to the Kansas City Zoo.  It was pretty good (very spread out with lots of walking) and the girls enjoyed every second!
 Pretty sure this is a rhino but I can't tell for sure and it was so long ago I forgot.
 One of the kids in the youth group was having a fund raiser at the bowling alley so we went to support him.  It was actually tons of fun and the girls have found a new favorite family activity.  This is Hadley, standing in awe when we arrived.  
 They have 6 pound bowling balls (pink) even for the girls....
 and a little alligator ramp they pushed the ball down.  The girls even beat Andy (which doesn't take much).  
 In Leavenworth every year they have a Veteran's Day Parade.  This year, it was REALLY cold.  Even Andy said it was chilly which means it was REALLY cold.  Joni had a cough that we didn't want to make worse so Andy and Hadley went wearing layers of clothes and came home to some piping hot chocolate.  
 Living near Fort Leavenworth and getting to know so many people in the military at church, we are even more thankful for the men and women who leave home, family, and country to defend our freedom.  THANK YOU!
 Our first Thanksgiving in KS was excellent.  My parents drove out bearing gifts and we had a quiet family dinner with way too much food.  My dad and Andy injected the turkey with herbs and garlic and all kinds of deliciousness....
and cooked it in an infrared roaster...
 while the girls helped Oma make a pumpkin roll...
 and traditional turkey cookies.
 Looking good!
 I took a break from making the sides to check on the turkey.  
 All done and ready for the carving....mmmmm, it was good.
 The hardest part was getting the turkey out of the roaster cage.  We waited patiently and made sure the eat all the scraps that fell off in the process.
 On the menu:  turkey, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs that were supposed to resemble pumpkins, garden monkey bread, corn casserole, canned cranberry sauce, stuffing, salad, and gravy.  We should have invited the rest of the Leavenworth over, there would have been enough.  
 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
 And now time for a nap....
 and putting away leftovers.
 YAY!  Now it's time for Christmas!  Andy won't let me put up anything Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, so that's what we did.  First the tree.... 
 Then the lights on the house.  For the first time since we have been married, we have lights on our house.   
 And then, because bowling in the new favorite activity, we went with Oma and Opa.  
Our last morning with Oma and Opa.  Thank you for coming and loving us and bringing us so many wonderful goodies....including all our pretty new dresses!

More to come soon!  Love to you all.

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