Turkey Notes

It's still November, right? Gee, holidays roll around, family comes into town, and I just lose all track of time!
My parents came to visit last week for Thanksgiving and we were lucky enough to have them here for almost a week. The kids loved it! My parents live in texas, so we don't get to see them but 2, maybe 3 times a year, so it was so great to have them stay for so long. My dad was the best babysitter ever, so my mom and I got in a lot of much needed girl-bonding time! We even went out to see Twilight! I was nice enough to wait for my mom to get into town, instead of making Mike go with me. (He very much appreciated that!) All I'll say about the movie is that it had poor acting, it was not made very well, I really didn't like it all that much, and whoever that guy was trying to be - he was NOT Edward! (And since I really haven't said anything about the books, you probably didn't even know I was such a Twilight fan!) :)
Our Thanksgiving Day was much the same as most of yours - super busy, but at the same time one of those lazy, watch TV days too. Grandma even made the kids their own Thanksgiving Day attire! It was fun to watch the kids attack our annual tradition of making everyone gumdrop turkeys with Grandma Ral and Papa Don's help. Actually, grandma ended up making most of them, (since apparently grandpa wasn't doing it right) while Sam made various geometrical shapes with her pile, and the boys just kept eating their gumdrops. As for me, I decided that after spending pretty much the whole day in the kitchen, it is definitely much more fun to go away to the parents house - then they do most of the cooking!
We were lucky enough to have all 4 grandparents at our house for dinner, since Mike's parents came down from Colorado Springs that afternoon. It was really neat to have everyone all together and to see how excited the kids get when they are around their grandparents.
On Friday, it was time to focus on Christmas! Mom brought some little Rice Krispy house kits for the kids to decorate. They were really cute! I'm a big fan of the Rice Krispy ones, instead of gingerbread - for my kids ages at least. It was a lot easier for them to do, and edible! The kids loved it! My parents and I each helped one of the kids, and their houses turned out really cute. Of course Mom and Sam's was a masterpiece, but I think it was a pretty big success that the boys didn't eat all the candy before we finished!
Ever since they got here, Sam had been asking for a date with Grandpa, so Friday afternoon dad took Sam out on a date. It was so precious! Sam was so excited and right before they were going to leave, she went up to her room to get all "fashion". She came down with dress-up shoes, earrings, and make-up on. I'm sure she was the best-dressed 5-year old in McDonald's that day!
My parents left on Saturday morning, too early for the kids' tearful goodbyes. (I'm sure they planned it that way!) When the kids woke up they were pretty sad that grandma and grandpa were gone, but Sam made sure to keep tabs on them throughout the day to make sure they were safe.
I am always sad to see my parents go. They are so great with the kids and always make visits with them so much fun and full of wonderful memories. Thank you so much for coming to visit us! No matter how long you stay, it's never long enough. Maybe one of these days I'll convince my husband to move down to Texas so we can be closer! -Ok, that isn't very likely, but it was a nice thought!

I love this picture of us on Thanksgiving. It is so typical of my boys! One of these days we will get a good picture of all of us! :)