Thanksgiving Pictures

I finally loaded the pictures from Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Here Boopy convinced GG Cedarholm to color with her. I don't think it took too much convincing.

Big Boy was thrilled that Grandma & Grandpa Vaughn had a toy box set up for the kids. A favorite treat was the electric train set! It even made a presence at the dinner table!

Little Miss Boopy, who really thinks she is in charge, insisted on being a helper in the kitchen. I'm certain that the mashed potatoes tasted better simply because she helped stir them!

A nice family dinner.

Notice the train box? Boopy wanted me to take a picture of her taking a yummy yummy bite of turkey. Yes, she's the girl who eats everything and anything. Papa and I feel bad for her future dates!

Big Boy couldn't be out shined! A great job for a boy who is super picky! I was very proud that he tried the items we requested.

All in all a very nice relaxing Thanksgiving! Here's hoping that you all had a great one too!

Thankful

As Boopy told everyone on the phone yesterday, "I am thankful for you!". For all our family & friends, near and far, we love you all and are VERY thankful for you. We hope you all had a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving (even if some of you ate pizza as opposed to turkey - wrong dear sister, just wrong!) Anyway, we had a lovely and relaxing dinner at Grandpa & Grandma Vaughn's house. We also shared company with GG. Just the right kind of day, easy and low key! Thanks for cooking Grandma Vaughn, I truly enjoyed the break this year especially with my stupid lungs and nose acting out on me.

I did take pictures, of course, but haven't loaded them to the computer yet. When I do, I'll be sure to share.

We joined the insanity that is Black Friday today, which honestly, I really enjoy. While I don't love the crowds and long, long, long lines, I love the hunt of a good bargain. And yes, there were bargains out there that were so worth while, even if we had to take the kiddos out with us. I just didn't feel right asking anyone to come babysit at 3:30 in the morning. So, anyway, we did a lot of shopping for our "cousins and friends", get it? We told the kids if they liked something they could just add it to their Christmas list. And yes, there were items we made very sure that they didn't see. For those Papa and I split up or just one ran in to the store and we covered stuff with blankets. Thankfully the kids we probably too tired to be curious about everything. Not the best way to shop but our kids are troopers. Crazy though that Big Boy stayed awake from 3:40 until our family nap at 1:30 today! Boopy on the other hand, passed out in line at Wal-Mart. (see picture from my cell phone below). Yes, we were one of those that were adventurous enough to brave Wal-Mart. I am thankful that people were very nice in Clovis, unlike the horrible news on AOL's front page of a Wal-Mart worker getting trampled to death - seriously awful!

So, I wish you all a restful rest of the weekend and hope you are starting to get into the Christmas spirit! Which reminds me....for all of you that attend my annual Christmas tea, yes, I'm still having it. Just lost most of November and didn't realize how late it was in the month. I do have my invitations finished (finally) and will be mailing them but, regardless, no invitation is needed, bring a friend and come join me to kick off Christmas on Sunday, Dec 7 at 1:00pm - 3:00ish or whenever. Usual plans, bring a treat of any kind to share, a Christmas idea or story (if you want, not required) and simply enjoy the festivities. If you wish to join in on the charity this year honoring Nutcrackers, I have chosen to help out the school food drive at Riverdale High School. My coworkers, son teaches Ag there and they are in desperate need for help for many of the families there. So, feel encouraged to bring come non-perishable food items. No need to spend more than $5-10. Every little bit helps and pitching it all together can make a small impact an even bigger one. If you would like to come and need my address, please email me or leave a note in the comments. I'd love to have you - the more the merrier!! :)

They preform for food. Anyone need cheap entertainment?

I've discovered that my children are part animal and part showbiz seekers. Last night after spending a fun evening baking cookies with Papa Vaughn, the kids sat on their stools and preformed as circus dogs for me. They were rather easy to train. In minutes I had them barking, turning in a circle and begging. Encouraged by cookies, they preformed quite well.

Preparing for a taste of cookie dough.

Meet our circus puppies. Bark, Bark, Beg, Beg, Yummy, Yummy Cookie!

Then they preformed a free show as robots.

Cute Cookie Face

Oh, and tonight, we had an encore performance. This time for popcorn. While the kids and I were both entertained, I did have to put a stop on the game when it went a bit too far and they both decided it would be fun to eat popcorn from the floor like a dog. Too bad I didn't have a camera for that trick!

Bouncing, Somersaults, & Balance Beams!

Boopy is forever scaring people with her adept ability at being a daredevil. She jumps from our bed, frequently, and it's not a low to the ground bed. She often falls, nearly on her face, yet gets up laughing and does it again. We have an simple exercise "ab roller" which is just her size apparently for using as a hanging bar or laying on top of and flipping over. yes, she is a daredevil. Based on this and the fact that Big Boy also loves to hang from jungle gyms, we decided we should seriously consider looking into gymnastics for the kids. So, this morning Big Boy & Boopy got to go to a trial gymnastics class at Gymnastics Beat. Not surprising, they LOVED it! They can both go at the same time in their own individual class and yet they are in one large area so we can watch them both. This gymnastics school goes from "Mommy & Me" classes to adults so there is room for them to grow if they continue liking it in the future. We definitely plan on looking into signing them up.

Please forgive the quality of the pictures. I didn't want to turn on my flash and distract any kids or instructors, but how could I not take pictures of their first day at gymnastics!

Boopy will be in the Little Pre-K class which only had 4 kids, including her today. She had no problem figuring out what to do and just jumped right in. Although I did have to walk over to the other side of the gym from the parent area at the start until she warmed up to the teacher and what gymnastics was all about.

They have a "tumble track" where the kids get to jump along on a trampoline then go through a series of obstacles to get back tot he trampoline. She loved it!

Big Boy will be in the Beginning Gym Jr. They worked on backward somersaults, the rings, hanging upside down from the uneven bars with their feet on the bars. He also got to go on the tumble track which he LOVED!

Here Big Boy is learning how to do a backwards somersault.

They had each kid in his class work a station. Here he was instructed to use both feet and jump over the mat as a precursor to learning a cartwheel.

Here are the two of them immediately after their one hour session. They received star stamps on their hands and stickers. What do you think - you think they liked it?

It just so happened this afternoon that there was also an Open House going on at a brand new Little Gym today, not far from our house. Papa Vaughn had to go to work at noon so after we dropped him off at work, the kids and I met up with my friend, Natalie and her kids Rocky & Gabby for some free afternoon play. What was great, was getting the chance to let the kids try out some of the Little Gym stuff in comparison to Gymnastics Beat. While Little Gym is great and has a lot to offer, the growth factor at Gymnastics Beat as well as the trampolines (which the kids LOVED) makes me feel better about our decision to attend there. Overall the kids had a great happy and bouncy day!

They both LOVED the balance beam and actually did very well.

At the Open House they had other activities like a bounce house and crafts which we took full advantage of. Both kids made a Thanksgiving turkey.

I Like to Move It - Move It!!!

Big Boy and Boopy are obsessed with Madagascar, the movie. The kids and I went with my coworker and friend, Natalie and her kids, Rocky & Gaby a couple of weekends ago to see Madagascar 2. Ever since then Big Boy and Boopy have had to watch our copy of Madagascar (the original). While it is a cute movie, 3 times in one day is almost torture! Although I will say the highlight is at the end when they play the "I like to move it, move it" song and both kids jump up and dance like crazy wild party animals. Big Boy asked me to rewind the ending credits 5 times (REALLY!) just so they could keep dancing. Cause you know, they like to Move It, Move It!

To top off the obsession and prove my point, last night after tucking Boopy in bed and giving her her nightly petting (yes, she refers to rubbing her back and hair as petting - it's awfully cute when she asks you to "please pet me". But then she does think she's an animal), we had the following conversation, seriously.

Boopy: "Goodnight mommy."

Me: "Goodnight Baby Girl. Sleep tight."

As I walked toward the door....

Boopy: "Guess what mommy?"

Me (slightly exasperated by the little girl who has become a master at stalling): "What, Boopy"

Boopy (with a giggle): "I like to Move It Move It!"

And with that she threw the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. Ahhh, the things that come out of that girls mouth....

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. Regardless of your political opinions, our veterans dedicate themselves to our country and us. Be sure to take a moment to thank those veterans you know and perhaps even those you don't know.

Happy to have Papa home from training for the Air National Guard - last October. He was only gone for 3 months and thankfully in the United States. After that experience, I have a whole new respect for families that are separated for military needs!

I couldn't resist sharing this again from last year.

Pumpkin Patch, Carving & Halloween!

Two weeks ago we gathered up pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. We tried a new pumpkin patch in Clovis this year that is owed by a friend of Papa's from work. The kids were all excited about the wagons they got to use to collect their pumpkins.

Boopy, of course, had to have her own wagon and ended up with the bigger one. Silly girl also nearly toppled over loading her pumpkin, but had to do it all herself!

The Wednesday before Halloween we managed to carve our pumpkins. Big Boy had his heart set on a pirate boat for his pumpkin which Papa helped him carve with a kit we found. Boopy was satisfied with the silly spooky face I found in the kit. It was one of the easiest so I was glad she didn't have an issue with it since I helped her carve! Neither one really liked gutting their pumpkins, they both just want to use the little cutting knives.

We had a wonderful Halloween. Papa had to work, which wasn't so fun for him, we did make sure to go see him for dinner. I did however have help in taking the kids out. Boopy's godfather, Ric, was in town on business and arranged to stay through Halloween to hang out with us. I think he enjoyed the festivities almost as much as the kids!

After trick-or-treating the neighborhood, we had dinner with Papa and then had just enough time to catch the tail end of the Treasure Island Festival at People's Church. The kids enjoyed Pirate Plinko, a bounce house, Fishing and got to climb on the pirate boat that had been used for a play earlier in the evening. They loved it all!

We saw our friend Mikayla, I mean Snow White, at the church.

All tuckered out from a full night of fun!