Smore cousin fun!

After all the cousins from Toledo and Buffalo went home on Thursday, Katie and Taylor were missing some cousin fun. Luckily Summer and Anthony asked if they could come over and spend some time with them Friday night. Cameron came too, but he had to leave early because he's very allergic to Eddy. I had this pic of him from Wednesday night celebrating his Dad's birthday. I think he's growing up so fast! Hopefully he'll be able to tolerate the dog better as he gets older. Summer and Anthony and Katie and Taylor had a fun night of running around crazy and then quieted a bit to watch a movie.
The cousins decided that they wanted to sit around a campfire last night, but it was too cold and dark to start one in the outdoor pit. So PawPaw made a cheery one right in the kitchen. It was a blog worthy pic!
They all gathered around the fire with the hot dog/marshmellow sticks.Who's going to tell the first campfire story?
That has just the right amount of char for the perfect smore marshmellow Anthony!

That looks very yummy Summer
Finger licking good!
I think Taylor got more marshmellow on his face than in his tummy!
The cousins stayed the night and the next morning Craig and Amy packed all their gear and the car. But before heading out for the 10hr drive back to South Carolina, the cousins all enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon and YaYa decided she was done cooking until Christmas!
After such a fun week, we had to say farewell as Craig, Amy and grandkiddos head back home...bye guys, thanks for a great Thanksgiving!

I'm So Thankful for Family

This is a long post, but we've had a full week of fun and celebrating and I couldn't leave out too much! Wednesday was Jackie's birthday (I'm the only one who calls him that)We had some yummy cake and icecream and got ready for Thanksgiving the next day.
Can you guess his age by reading his candles? Our kids keep getting older, but we don't...it's a miracle.
Here's a recipe for a great Thanksgiving...start out with the delish veggie tray:
Sprinkle liberally with a tastey turkey:
Add in a great crowd and let the fun begin!
Katie thinks dinner is all about the rolls...YUM
Taylor fills up his tummy!
Would someone please take out the trash? Oh, sorry ladies!
After dinner it's tradition to bring out the guns and bow and arrows to shoot pumpkins. We never got to the pumpkins and bows and arrows, but everyone enjoyed the guns. Are we small town hicks or what? Phil shows off his big GUNS:
Leisy channels Annie Oakley. Watch out Kent, she's packing heat!
Addy shows off her pearly whites!
Alexis has a smile for Turkey Day!
Hmm...prizes for surviving the day?
It's all about the PIE:
Card Sharks...look out!
Amy and cutie Sophie
Taylor, Laney and Hank

Oh boy, now here's trouble!

While Mom are Dad are away....

Craig and Amy are up in Michigan looking for a new house so Katie and Taylor stayed behind with YaYa and PawPaw for few days of fun, cousin visits, creepy woods exploring, park playing, campfire dinner and a few movies, food that I'm not sure Mom and Dad would approve..but isn't that what Grandparents are suppose to do?? Spoil just a bit? In the first pic Katie and Taylor saw a deer in the backyard and were very excited. We then had to go explore the creepy woods and sure enough we came upon Bambi again! Only Bambi was heading East as fast as she could to get away from us humans! We had a fun evening with Addy and Alexis and Phil and Amanda. I was having so much fun I forgot to take any pics! At the park we enjoyed a picnic lunch, playing the playground and feeding the ducks. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after the last pic of Katie swinging! We are ready to tackle Church tomorrow! I'm excited that we'll have all next week to enjoy the whole family. By then I should have new batteries!

Another room for ZZZZZZ's!

Project # I don't remember! We redid the former Jordan room into a guest room and here's just the start of it. The room looks out over the backyard, has a little alcove and big windows on the wall to the right. It's a sweet room and it was very fun to redo. The carpet is a funny shade of pale orange, and not wanting to spend the money to recarpet since it's in good shape, I went with a wall color that I think looks good. Not the color in the first 3 pics, but a soft shade of sage green. I still need to get curtains and wall decorations up ,but I like it so far and I think it will work out for people to hang out in. Whew, just a few more thousand projects to go! Sorry about the fuzzy shots at the end>

                  

Trick or Treat Night Polk Style

We headed to Polk to see the kiddos get dressed up for trick or treat in their neighborhood. Anthony was Darth Vader (minus the mask)...with both front teeth missing he should have gone as a jack-o-lantern!
I guess even Superman needs help sometimes getting his cape on. Let's face it, phone booths are so yesterday.
Oops! The caped crusader gets a to-be-sure before heading out the door.
Steph made a yummy dinner and this cute number was dessert...dirty dessert to be exact. Made into a grave yard, it's the perfect ending to a halloween trick or treat night.
Look at these scary characters waiting for the festivities to begin. PawPaw stayed behind to hand out candy while we hit the sidewalk for all the treats!
Summer and her friend Tiffany were eager to get going.
Cameron takes 5 to check out his haul. His little legs did great for the hour we were out.
Hey, didn't I see you guys last year???
Can you guess what this is? Did you know Amish trick or treat? Well, they don't but I caught this buggy heading for home during the all craziness and I have to laugh when I look at this pic. It looks like electric lights on the back! Just my weird camera I guess.
After a bath Superman checks out his treats....now you know what's really under his cape! It was a perfect night for trick or treat and I can't believe how time goes so fast. Wasn't I just doing this with my own kiddos? Well, Grandkiddos are the best. I get to go home and don't have to deal with the candy high tomorrow! Happy Halloween everyone!