Family Tree

One of our favorite holiday traditions! A few years ago we started collecting ornaments on trips that we take, and now it is a lot of fun to pull out each ornament and remember where we were when we got it.  

Star Wars Days

Our tradition has always been to decorate the house for Christmas starting the day after Thanksgiving.  A few years ago we decided it would be a good day to also watch the Star Wars movies, that way Ryan would have something to do while I decorated.  At the time there were only three movies. 

Now it has grown into a full blown holiday tradition, and new this year we have all six movies on blu ray.  Plus episodes of The Clone Wars and the very hilarious Lego Star Wars Padawan Menace. It's two very full days.

We take our Star Wars addiction fairly seriously...

Exhibit A: Star Wars Cookies

Exhibit B: Pancakes (one of six)

This doesn't even cover the Jedi costume or the four lightsabers...  Happy Star Wars days!

Thanksgiving

For our own journaling purposes, our menu this year was:

Turkey, brined in Williams Sonoma turkey brine, coated with butter and cooked with the Good Eats roast turkey recipe.  (A 14 pound bird took about 1 hour 45 minutes to cook.)

Mashed Potatoes with sauteed garlic and butter

Dressing [Stuffing] with sage sausage and Jenny Jasinski's half white/half wheat bread

Gravy from roast drippings

Cranberry Pomegranate sauce

Rolls

Raspberry Freezer Jam

Rainbow Jello

Pumpkin Pie

 (love my new pie crust cutters!)

A Card for Gramma

Today Rachael talked to her Grandma on the phone.  She liked the Halloween card that Grandma sent and told her so.  Grandma said Rachael could write back, and they could be pen pals.  So Rachael sat right down to start on a card.

For reasons that are unclear she did the whole thing backwards - what should be the back is meant to be the front.  She wrote, "to Gramma," then asked me how Grandma was spelled.  I was starting to correct her, but then I decided her way was better! It says, "to Gramma, love Rachael," and the word love has a heart for the letter o.

On the inside she wrote with yellow marker on orange paper, so I had to go back over it myself in black pen.  But she wrote it all herself and only asked how to spell the word Halloween.  It reads, "to Gramma, Thank you gramma Ricks for the card. Halloween was fun.  Love Rachael"

The best part with where she decided to draw some swirls on the back, which she didn't want Grandma to miss.  (So, should we all spell it Gramma now?)  In perfect backwards words, it reads, "Look on the Back." I have no idea how she managed to do that.  If you read it in a mirror it is perfect. 

Hope you enjoy your card, Gramma!

Twirling Camp

Last Saturday Rachael got to go to Twirling Camp at the dance center where she takes regular lessons.  Her twirling teacher taught the camp, as well as the majorettes from the University of Kentucky.  The camp went from 10 am to 1 pm, with five mini classes and time for lunch.  At the end of the camp they did a little routine for all the parents.

Rachael said her favorite part was watching the majorettes perform outside with their batons that have fire on the ends.  (Too bad the parents didn't get to see that part!) She even got to hold one of the fire batons - when it wasn't lit, of course.

She had a great time!

Halloween 2011

Friday

Trunk or Treat!

I nominated myself to be in charge of the Trunk or Treat this year.  I decided I wanted to have the activity so badly enough to want to do the planning.  And cleanup.  I should quit having good ideas.  

I thought it went really well in spite of my lack of real leadership.  We had over 100 people come - I know because we ran out of room at the tables, which were set for 96! - and lots of food.  I worried for the week leading up to the activity that tons of people would show up but with no food, but it was completely unwarranted because we had 15 different pots of chili arrive. I didn't get to try them all; but I didn't get heartburn either.  Rachael was Hermione Granger and since Ryan wasn't home yet I wore his Jedi costume.   

Madi, Rachael and Mikayla

Because of the rain we had to trick or treat around the building.  My apologies to anyone who had awesome trunk decorations... I guess my request for good weather was lost in the system.  I had the kids play a game of lightsaber limbo while the adults found places to hand out candy, then I turned them loose.  Rachael's friend Madi came with her parents and brother, so thankfully Rach was able to trick-or-treat around the building with them.  I think everyone had fun.  We sure did!

Saturday

We picked up Ryan at the airport on Saturday afternoon.  Hooray! We stopped at Kelley Farms to pick up a couple of pumpkins for carving and headed home.

Sunday

We carved up our pumpkins.  Ryan and I chose a traditional orange pumpkin with a geeky pi design and Rachael chose a white pumpkin with a cat design.  (Ryan had some serious jet lag going - we decided we could probably share one).  Rachael scraped out nearly all of her pumpkin herself.  She was not very excited about that part.  She loves the cat cutout though! 

Monday

Halloween! We invited some friends  over for dinner and so that Rachael could trick-or-treat with her friend Jackson.  Since Ryan still wasn't feeling well he took the job of handing out the candy this year and I got to take the trick-or-treaters out around the neighborhood.  We saw lots of great costumes and several well decorated houses too.  The weather was a little cool but not bad for wandering the neighborhood.  Jackson asked if I was going to wear my costume, so I went as a Jedi again.  When we got home I got out the real lightsaber and we made a few more new friends that came to the house to check out a real lightsaber in action.

Thanks to all our friends who helped make our Halloween weekend so much fun!