Thanksgiving Fun

 For Thanksgiving this year we had most of Chris's family come down to our house. We had a great time hanging out, playing games, and eating good food.
On Wednesday we spent the day making pies, playing catch, and doing some crafts outside. Our weather was perfect! It was t-shirt weather for sure. That night we went to Campo Di Bocce for dinner. We had so much fun! Everyone got to play bocce ball, eat appetizers, and then have a big dinner.

Thursday was the big day. We did more crafts outside including a group painting activity. We played more games and made food. Katie made us an amazing cheese table to snack on during the day. Our dinner itself turned out really well. The turkey was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. It was a great! We had 14 of us around the table and it was really nice to spend the time together. It was also our anniversary. 16 years!

 

 

On Friday we all woke up and headed to San Francisco to see Alacatraz. It was another beautiful day. We really enjoyed walking around the pier and then taking the ferry out to the island. I hadn't been out there since I was a kid. It was smaller than I remembered, but also cooler. The audio tour is really well done. Even Neil enjoyed it and wasn't bored at all. The views were pretty spectacular too.

 

On Saturday we spent the day mostly relaxing. We had more leftovers, pie, and even went out for some dinner to Sauced. We played more games and just enjoyed spending time together.

Sunday was the day that most everyone had to leave. Only Chris's Mom stayed, because that same night Chris and I took off to Las Vegas for the week. That was another adventure for the next post....

Thanksgiving week was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who helped make it amazing! 

Family Pics

Last month we tried out a new photographer and had some family pics done. I had been putting it off for so long because finding a new person is hard.
My kids were super cooperative and I couldn't have asked for better weather. When we first arrived, however, I knew that it wasn't going to be what I wanted. She gave us little to no direction at all for poses or anything. I had to step in and tell my fam how they should line up. It was super awkward. I was ticked because I was hoping for someone to have ideas and who would move us around to make the shot ideal. The next red flag was when she gave me the pics on Sunday night, after taking the pics on Saturday. So...I guess she didn't do much editing, and the pics reflect that.  Here they are. I'm not happy with the majority of them. In each picture someone has glaring sun in their face. Super disappointed. The only ones I actually like are the ones of the kids. They at least turned out. I guess the search continues for a photographer.

Grace turns 10!

My little Gracie-pants is not so little anymore. I can't believe that she's already 10! I'd really like to slow down time. She is at a great age and I'm not ready for her to grow up.

This year she really wanted to have a sleepover. I begrudgingly agreed. Five of her friends showed up on Saturday evening at 6pm. We had a great time! First we started out with a dance party while we waited for everyone to arrive. Then it was time for pizza. Those girls were starving! They put away more than I was expecting. After dinner I set up our craft. We painted wooden initials and decorated them.

After painting we all went outside to play the donut on a string game. We raced to see who could devour a donut the fastest without any hands. It was pretty entertaining to watch.

 

After donut on a string the girls all got ready and headed back outside to relax in the hot tub. They had a fun time giggling and playing with the jets. 

After hot tubbing and a few games, it was time for cupcakes and ice cream. 

The girls all got their jammies on and got ready for bed. We set them up with a Harry Potter movie and a popcorn bar. Everyone had their own tub and we filled them with popcorn, m&m's, gummy worms, and other candy. I'm pretty sure they had plenty of sugar.

Then it was off to bed. I had given them all their own glowstick, and eye mask. So they had plenty of light and the ability to make it darker. I quit hearing them around 12:15. Not bad at all. They woke me up around 7am. Not bad at all. I was definitely prepared for worse.

Grace opened presents in the morning and then we made them a big pancake breakfast. The girls played more games, and we cleaned up a bit before parents started arriving for pick up.

Overall, I think it was a huge success. I know Grace was very happy with it, and I still had my sanity intact. Win, win. 

Grace spent much of her day making a blanket that was given to her. She was super proud of her final product!

We also spent some time carving out our pumpkins. Grace was a champ and actually did 90% of her pumpkin all by herself. 

We finished up the day by going to a friend's house for dinner. It was a long, but fun weekend. Most importantly, Grace had a great time! Happy birthday sweetheart!