Thanksgiving

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving holiday in Ephrata with lots of family this year.

There was a stop or two at the Allstots, one of which included hot chocolate in a special mug!

Mitch and Great Papa investigating the backyard's treasures.

Aunt Phyllis came north. It's always so great to see her, and way too short.

Some of the R.E. Allstots being coerced to pose.

Dinner was with the Johnsons (and LaVines, and Adams and Hochstedler famililes). It was a FULL house!

I promised Dave that this would be captioned "A couple of turkeys". And so it is.

Looking down the table pre-feast. There were 21 of us and another on the way!

Friday morning brought a light dusting of snow and some serious snow-play plans from these 3.

Misty is always a crowd pleaser and she is obliging when carrots and apples are provided.The best part of this photo was hearing the chattering of the kids punctuated by the giggles of Grandpa Johnson.

There was some major playing!

Our trip was really nice. There were some flu bugs passed around, but there was also lots of family time, good food, and even a night of child-freedom. Hard to believe we are now into Advent season! We truly have so much for which to give thanks.

Thanksgiving Party

Mitch had a Thanksgiving party at preschool today and his Dad got to attend!

There was "singing", mostly done by the girls.

He does know the songs and the motions - I've been treated to a concert at home - but he does not see fit to share them with an audience.

Here's the whole class!

A couple of turkeys!

Autumn Antics

 

 

 

A Trip to Salem

We spent part of Veterans Day Weekend in Salem/Keizer and got to spend lots of time with Russell. Unfortunately Laci was working. However, the kids had a great time.

Overlooking the Willamette River and watching some folks "diaper fish" as Russ calls it. Very dirty water, but pretty from above.

We spent an hour or more at the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village downtown. Not nearly as cool as the Denver Children's Museum, but entertaining enough that Mitch cried about leaving. Shannon was quite taken with the dishes in the Chinese culture room. I believe she would have stayed much longer than my patience allowed.

The rubber duck races were fun, though one pump/pipe combo had a distinct advantage.

Mitch in the jumbo rocker.

Shannon hitching a ride. The fall colors were quite pretty. On Saturday evening Russ and Laci babysat and Bryan and I attended the OHSBCA Hall of Fame banquet at which Bry got an award for Coach of the Year for small schools. It was fun to get out and nice to return to a report of well-behaved kids. They really loved playing with the dogs, too!

Thanks, Russ and Laci!

Preschool Pictures

 Here is his first school photo, replete with huge crayons.

His class and his teachers.

The other night we were reading a book about Thanksgiving and Mitch said to me, "I'm thankful for my teacher. She makes me feel special when she works with me." How dear!

Shannon's 2nd Birthday

Shannon is 2!

We had a party with family and friends to mark the occasion and, as is always the case, we so enjoyed seeing people and feel blessed to have so much love and support for our family.

Auntie Sue let Shannon play with her ipad.

Shannon's Daniel Tiger cake and her Grama Sally mints.

Two very special ladies!

Mitch prayed for his sister.

Making use of the garage - er, dining room - to feed the hoards!

The obligatory eating shot . . .

A kitchen crew.

A couple of retired administrators, making sure we keep things in line with party standards.

  Mitch was so excited to give his sister this noisy garbage truck. He hasn't yet mastered the idea of selfless giving, but I believe it was a hit. She had it opened before we were all even paying attention!

The kids and their masks.

Shannon had lots of good help with gifts.

Grampa made her a swing and the kids LOVED it!

What weight limit?

Miss Sober Sides blows out her candle.

Grandpa ate dessert with the kiddos in the garage. Yes, many of them had cake AND a cupcake. Sugar restrictions were non-existent!

More fun on the swing! Our kids were thrilled to have their cousins, aunts, uncle, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-aunt and uncle and friends come over. It was a fun afternoon!

Whew! She's a high-flying 2-year-old!

  All ready for church in her new dress from Aunt Rachel. Shannon at two is a force of nature. She's so verbal, very clever, very independent, usually happy, has little interest in sleep, loves her brother above all, isn't too fond of sharing, eats everything - especially dill pickles - and makes our lives infinitely more interesting!
Weights and Measures: At Shannon's 2-year appointment, she weighed in at 27.4lbs, which places her in the 62nd percentile for weight. Her height is in the 74th percentile, but I don't remember what it was. The best part of the appointment (obviously not the full-throated screams following shots) was when the doctor asked if she was beginning to speak in phrases. Uh, yeah. This girl uses sentences and even gets past tense right sometime. What's the percentile for that?!?