Better Late than Never Thanksgiving Memories

It has been our tradition, since moving here 10yrs ago, to have Thanksgiving with my cousins. Its great spreading the cooking burden, and we get so many yummy dishes....I look forward to this every year. However, I must say that I do prefer the October Canadian Thanksgiving to this November business. It seems like I just finish making a huge meal, and then I'm doing it again 4 weeks later. Oh well, good thing I love turkey. Michelle and family were suppose to join us, but some had the flu so they bailed.....thank you for not sharing. We did however get to see my uncle from Canada which I really enjoyed.
I asked Blake if he could be in charge of the pies. He jumped at the opportunity to dust off his pie making skills. He learned how to make pies in YM growing up....who says those boys don't pay attention! He even took the time to teach the girls how to make one.

Kicking back on the couch waiting for the finishing touches in the kitchen....smells yummy!

Danny, Uncle Trev, and Blake.....come and get it!
Chantelle decided that she wanted to have a piece of only 4 of the desserts.....the chocolate pie was her favorite....my kind of girl

A great meal for those we love. Thanks for all the help! And we don't really look that worn out.
A little after dinner playtime...Dev just can't stop wrestling.

Zoo Outing

With our family getting older, we don't seem to go to the zoo that often anymore. However, one perk that we get from the MBA that Blake did a few years ago is that we are invited to their annual lunch and free afternoon at the zoo. So, after the kids soccer games, and refereeing, we headed to the zoo....and luckily it was a beautiful day.

While waiting in line for lunch, we overheard a current student say, "its so great to have this event after our exams". I leaned over to Blake and told him that it is even better coming to this event being completely finished the program! I think our favorite thing there was petting the rays. Some were a bit overenthusiastic!

Everyone except Devon brought a friend. It was kind of weird...the bigger girls went off on their own.....sure glad that I still have some younger kidlets to enjoy the day with. Melissa and her friend took a camera and ended up making a documentary movie of their zoo experience....so great that her camera does that.


Julia and Channy really enjoyed the lunch.




For some reason, Devon felt he needed to bring his "whaley" on our outing. Glad to report, they both had a great time.

okay, I LOVED touching these guys. They just were smooth and rubbery....so very cool. The would just glide by, kind of like a little water ballet.

Devon was most insistent that he got to pet the shark that swam at the bottom of the pool. His little arm would reach, so Blake had to lift him and dip him in...yuck, I hope that he kept his mouth shut! He was soaked when we finished

Happy Halloween

This year was special because we had 3 sets of cousins to Halloween with. The day started off with soccer games and then we rushed back home to get ready for the evening. We started the evening out right with sloppy joes/ chili and yummy sides. I cut the cheese to look like a pumpkin face...kind of cute. Then all the kids got ready.....the bathroom was packed! My niece Emily made a comment while we were trick or treating. She noticed how nice it was that everyone sat outside and sometimes in groups of neighbors so it was one stop shopping. She said to me, "I love it here. Back home, we have to go up to everyones door. I can only do three houses and then I'm pooped!"

BEAUTIFICATION!!!! I can't believe how many could fit in our bathroom!

These guys are ready to get going!~Paige told me that she loved Halloween here because she didn't have to wear her SNOWSUIT! It turned out to be a beautiful night....no jackets required.

These guys got to ride in the back of Michelle's van to the greatest Halloween street. I think we counted 11 in the car.....we drove very slowly. This street is so much fun, games, smoores. The kids had a blast.

Devon is ready to make a trade for his licorice. The trading was so fun to watch. There were no arguments at all.

Can you believe all this candy

Brooke was exhausted after a very fruitful night of trick or treating....enjoy it because I think it will be your last...teenage witch!

This truly looks disgusting. But when you let bread dough rise, then chop it off in chunks and deep fry it....followed by shaking it in sugar........you get a delicious BUFFY BOY.

Betsy and Dev are such good buds. She came over for our traditional buffy boys.
These cute girls had such a great time together....Lets make Halloween an annual family event!

SCAREY PARTY

I was walking through Target one day and I found this great Halloween recipe book. When I brought it home, I told Melissa that she had to have a party so that we could try out some of the great recipes. She jumped on that one. I did the invite on photo shop for her...took a few hours since I'm still just learning, and then we started collecting the recipes and making and invite list. She decided to invite the girls and have them bring a pumpkin and a dish, that we assigned. They also each brought a date. The evening was "LEGENDARY' Melissa reported when the party was over. Blake and I were the official photographers and butler/maid. Whats new!



The backyard looked so cool. It was hard to capture all the light though. We had candles on the back wall and two torches going. Blake lit the chiminea and there were also candles and sparkly spiders on the table.....very cool!
The dinner consisted of spaghetti/sauce and various GHOULISH side dishes, and we gave them tongs, measuring spoons, chopsticks, and someone even got a knife to eat with.....I just about died when I saw the kid eating with a knife and quickly gave him chopsticks.....no real blood allowed!

Frankenstein Jello

Witches brew

donut hole eyeballs

dip your ladle into this beauty

Werewolf teeth



The activities included dinner, carving pumpkins, scary memory....dead scorpion included, donut hole chomp, balloon tangle, and pass the apple. Everyone was so involved and having a great time for the entire 4hrs. I was exhausted by the end....and all of the cleanup, but Melissa and Brittany and their dates were good helpers. So much fun! I was impressed at how thoughtfull all the dates were. I'm glad that there are some nice boys around.

Poor Doug had to each jello with tongs
They had to pass the apple from under their chins to under the next persons....looks a bit scandalous




Happy Halloween my sweet Melissa