Thanksgiving Minus a Tooth

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving last month and are getting all geared up for Christmas in a couple weeks! This year we had the Cardon family join us for our Thanksgiving feast. It was fun to have a "kid table" and then a "little kid table." Everyone seemed pleased with all the food that was prepared and we really enjoyed the feasting part!

It was kind of crazy trying to get prepared for the feast this year since Adam was busy painting our bedroom (which turned out fabulous by the way!) - this meant our bed was actually setup in the playroom for us to sleep each night and we had to sneak it back into our bedroom before the guests arrived. And then our dishwasher decided to break down 2 days before Thanksgiving so I had been doing all the dishes by hand (I know, we are so spoiled these days!) Luckily I had great help that day with the dishes - thanks Dave and Sara! So one of the blessings I was truly thankful for and mindful of this Thanksgiving was the ease of dishwashers (the ones that actually work)!

Jonathan and Katie felt quite grown-up at their very own table. They'll be joining the adults before you know it!

Matthew, Anna, Emily and Rachel shared more laughs than actually eating any food! Those nutty kids!
Funny Emily lost her tooth one hour before our Thanksgiving guests arrived. I was making this yummy sweet potato recipe that calls for marshmallows on top and gave each of the kids one big fat marshmallow to eat. Well, Emily bit into her marshmallow and almost lost her tooth in its gooey-ness! With a little digging and a little luck, we found the tooth in the marshmallow and she got to put it under her pillow for the toothfairy. Now all she wants to do is eat marshmallows since her next tooth is loose all ready!
With her first lost tooth, it sure seems like she is no longer my little Emily anymore:( Time flies!

Glam Girls

In our house, everyday should be a dress-up day!

Katie and Emily striking a pose! They always love to pick the most unusual costumes that really crack me up!
Modesty is great except for when it's dress-up time at home!
No boys allowed!

Imagination Station

For the past 2 years, we have been so bummed that our favorite science center (formerly known as COSI) in Toledo, OH was closed down. When we heard that it was reopening in October, the first open weekend on our calendar was saved just for this! It is renamed The Imagination Station and looks just about the same as it did before (minus the fast pitch baseball and virtual volleyball game which will be sorely missed!)

Goofing off before we even enter the building
Tug-of-war with daddy on the other end
Emily looking a little nervous before we close the lid and lock her away forever!

Adam even enjoyed himself, trying to master the trapeze

We had 2 favorites and this whirlpool was one of them! The kids each took turns pulling the rope which raised this large ball that was blocking the flow of water. The kids loved watching the balls get sucked down and then throwing them back into the pool at the end!

Even Matthew was strong enough to lift it and create his whirlpool

This is our second favorite - the sideways room. They had fun walking around and trying not to tip over. Once they would get to the top of the room, sitting on their bottoms and sliding down became a fun game!

Leaning back and holding on

If you haven't been to the Imagination Station yet, I highly recommend checking it out! It's still one of our family faves!

Happy Halloween!

We had another wonderful Halloween celebration this year! The kids got started with the traditional Canton Ward Trunk-or-Treat party including a fabulous chili cookoff!

Here is my cute dragon with her dragon slayer (poor Katie stayed home with daddy because she was sick)
All aboard! The kids had fun pushing eachother on this cart up on the stage in the gym

All the kids got to parade across the stage to show off their awesome Halloween costumes for all the parents to "ooh and aah" over!

Let the games begin! Emily racing eating her donut with no hands

Emily at the cupcake walk

Trunk-or-treating

One of our favorite trunks to treat at (Bro. Johnson lookin' fabulous!)

Matthew and Emily loved the Soulier's spooky setup! After the church party, we headed home to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.

Here's our crew: Matthew (dragon slayer), Emily (dragon), and Katie (medievel princess) These were supposed to be their costumes last year, but they got here just a little bit late from Seattle (so actually they were really early for this year's Halloween:)

We have to give a super special thanks to Grandma Selthofer for creating these AMAZING costumes and I have to let her know how proud my kids were to tell everyone, "My grandma made this for me!" They look awesome and are one of a kind!!!

Emily and Matthew on our front porch ready to trick-or-treat

The Creston Court Crew: Cathryn, Anna, Eric, Emily, me and Matthew

Katie and mom stayed home for this Halloween and had a fun time handing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters that came by. We watched a movie together and talked about all the candy we would share for months to come while Emily, Matthew and daddy went around the neighborhood. They sure did bring home the loot for us!

We hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween!

Grandma Visits

Grandma flew in Monday night before Halloween and stayed with us through that busy week. Before Grandma could walk through the front door, the kids were asking her if she'd take them to Chuck E Cheese. So Friday afternoon, the girls only had half-day of school and we took them to their favorite fun place! The kids were in heaven!

Grandma with Emily

Grandma with Katie

And since Matthew would not pose with Grandma, I had to sneak a couple shots in on his playtime! It was a great week and incredibly busy, but Grandma was able to keep up with us and even do a little Christmas shopping!

Dancing Halloween Style

Thursday night, Katie and Emily got to wear their Halloween costumes to their dance classes. They had so much fun dressing up AND dancing!

Katie's tap class
Katie dancing - it was fun getting a shot of her dancing in the mirror along with all her classmates

Katie's ballet class
Love these girls! Katie, Eliza, Ellie and Cara strike a pose!

Emily's tap class. Step aside all you frilly princesses and cutsie witches - this girl was born to stand out!