First Snow

The day after it snowed. So we had an extended break, which was nice since most of us had a cold.  

    After freezing a bit, the kids came back to enjoy some cocoa, and Teddy had a Tim Tam on a lemon poppyseed muffin. 

So Thankful

     We planned for a laid-back Thanksgiving this year. Nothing too fancy, we hadn't heard anything from our close relatives, so we weren't sure what we would do, per se. I put out feelers about 2 weeks before and found out that the Blacks were going away for it. Later, we heard that some of the Milsaps might be coming.

     We had a final count a few days before. So we went to work.  Daniel is working crazy hours due to the shutdown at work, his notoriously busy time. We weren't sure when he would be home on Thursday, so originally I planned for a later dinner, but as luck would have it, he miraculously got the weekend off, so I upped the time of dinner. I had prepped most of the food beforehand, and since Daniel was home, I had him smoke a pork butt. After a nice brine and a compound butter massage, he added the turkey to the smoker.

It came out real pretty.

    We played a round of Bristol 1350. It took the first round to figure out how to play, then we locked in. Daniel made a miraculous roll of the dice, with it landing on its corner. We declared that made him safe, so he escaped the plague. It was fun.

    Floyd came, but Heather was not feeling well. We were sad to miss her. It was fun to see Cynthia, Marty, and Bromely again.

Henry was excited to get a turkey leg.

After dinner, we had a few rounds of games, and hilarity ensued!

Salem 1692 left us with a few witches. Ron accidentally called out Floyd, but he still survived!

It was a lot of fun. We had a great time. The next day, Daniel and Charles played Stratego.

Charles Turns 15

     Charles really wanted to go rock climbing for his birthday. Luckily, Daniel had the day off, so he took the kids who wanted to go with him. They had a fun time.

    Charles decided to make pancakes for dinner. This year has been hard for him with early morning seminary; he rarely gets a breakfast that takes time. He did a great job making them.

    He also wanted brownies instead of cake, unfortunately, he wasn't feeling well, so we had the brownies the following day. He did enjoy his gifts. Lizzy got him some Yu-Gi-Oh toys, and we got him some Dr Who things. He was very excited to get his new watch from Papa. He wears it every day. 

    Happy birthday, Charles!

Just Having Fun

 The schools have a skate night once a month, and the kids love going. They are not proficient skaters by any means, but they love trying. I tried to get some shots of them, but they went too fast. 

    In other news, my chapter of JASNA was asked to have a table at the Daughters of the British Empire’s British Fair. They had enough people to man it, but I wanted to represent as well. They asked for members to dress in period costumes and direct people to them. Daniel is my usual partner for such an event, but he is on shutdown at work, so he was not available. I asked the kids if they would like to go, and several agreed. They asked if they could dress up, and I must admit I encouraged it. Emily and Charles declined to go, so the rest of us piled into the car and crossed the border.

I love the color of our neighbor's tree.

    The event had lots for the kids to do. They had a sticker passport for the kids and a children's room. I did not expect it, so that was fun.

They had games, rubbings of famous English landmarks, crowns to decorate, and even bingo.

A particular favorite was all the Dr. Who photo Ops.

   Everyone was pleased to see Henry as Robin Hood. Some commented that Devon must be Friar Tuck. I remarked that Little John would have been more accurate, but luckily Devon didn't hear them. Henry made sure to get the signatures of everyone who gave him a sticker. They were all delighted to oblige. It was fun seeing them light up when they realized what he was asking of them. During one such interaction, I mused aloud if there was a British saying akin to our "John Hancock" phrase. As fortune would have it, there were two Brits there hocking pies, so I asked them. They replied,

    "Autograph?" I replied that that was rather disappointing, and they asked if there was a phrase we used, so I explained. 

    "We ask for your John Hancock in reference to his signature on the Declaration of Independence, being so big that King George could see it across the pond!" They replied that they don't teach that in England. I can't say I'm surprised. We had a good laugh about it. Henry bought a fan, this cookbook, and an Irish nutcracker ornament. He was so excited to spend his own money.

    I got jammy dodgers and jellybabies, two of the doctor's favorite treats. Charles was upset that he didn't attend with us when we returned, but he dressed up to enjoy the treats with us. Want a JellyBaby?

Guys and Dolls

     Guys and Dolls was the first play I ever worked on. It has always had a soft spot in my heart. So when the high school put on a performance, we were sure to go. They did a good job. It was hard not to sing along. Teddy fell asleep before the end of the first act, poor thing.

Ethan was one of the supporting actors and a good friend of Charles. He did a great job. 

Senior Photos

     Lizzy had a vision for her senior photos, and I wish I had better equipment to help her achieve it, but we did our best.