Thanksgiving Weekend

We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend here at home! Bryan got things kicked off with another Turkey Bowl.
Every year he swears it's his last... 

 Mitch played in the first half and was overjoyed to be included! If anything continues to get the older guys out, it will be the enthusiasm of their sons.

 Dave carved the turkey

 and Shan helped whip some cream

for our feast. It was small, but delicious food and lots for which to give thanks!

 Brooke and Rhonda came over for lunch on Friday and we enjoyed some visiting.

Meanwhile, Dad and Dave and Bryan finished insulating the garage. Here they celebrated the warm, manly space with a post-work snack.

Apple Cup on Saturday was a Husky victory! We will continue to wear our purple into next week - as will the losers of our respective bets! Bow down to Washington - and on we go to the final push before Christmas vacation! 

Garth Brooks!

Bryan and I were gifted tickets to a Garth Brooks concert from the Cotters and we happily joined them for an afternoon of fun. While we went to Spokane, the kids got to spend the day with their Allstot Grands.

Shan helped Grama at church, baked cookies, and enjoyed some leaf fun with Gramps.

Mitch did some reading, Legos and leaf jumping, in addition to a friend's birthday party. They had a great time without us!

Meanwhile we joined Kim, Kevin, Rachel and Kevin's mom at the concert. Honestly, I was frightened about attending after the recent LV concert shooting, but I'm glad I didn't let that fear stop me from enjoying what was a wonderful afternoon show!

There was A LOT of plaid in the arena! We had great seats and only had a little beer spilled on us from wackos above.

Brooks did not disappoint. He played all the songs we knew to a sold out and very enthusiastic crowd. Trisha Yearwood also sang a few. We loved it!

It was loud, colorful, and so much fun!

A fun high school flashback as we sang along. This man evidently was the country music that we listened to in the late 90s! Thanks for the fun memory, Cotters!

Shannon's 6th Birthday

Sunday morning broke looking like early December. The kids were up and heading outside before 6am. When we got up, Mitch said, "We played in the snow, our snow clothes are in the dryer, and we're having hot cocoa. Life is great!"

The snowy roads meant we had family unable to join us for Shannon's party, unfortunately.

However, we had a fine time marking her 6th complete year!

  We had finger foods and visited. She had her grandparents Johnson and Allstot, Great Grama Sally, Kevin and Rachel, and Sue and Steve in attendance. 

Shan got lots of sparkly clothing this year! Also some wacky Wellies, a baking basket of goodies, Julie jewelry, painting supplies and a baby doll she named Stella.

Mitch read the cards, and needed some help with cursive.

Shan spit out her candle...

and we had rainbow cake!

There was some comment about maturity in this photo...

We watched the Seahawks  by the fire and enjoyed our family's company!

The day ended with exhausted children and Shannon working on her reading. She is a clever child with fierce passions, and a strong personality. We love her and look forward to what the next year brings!

Shan's First Friend Party

Shannon wanted a friend birthday party this year. I made a mini version and she seems to have enjoyed it. On Friday she got Donuts with Dad to start the day, I brought fruit kabobs to her class in the afternoon, ice cream with Dad before he and Mitch went to Spokane for football after school, and dinner out at Tequila's. So, she was fully celebrated. On Saturday, 2 of her friends joined us in Moses Lake to paint pottery.

 Here they are pre-painting: Shannon, C and L!

 They all picked mermaids (ridiculously overpriced!) and spent nearly 2 hours painting these masterpieces.

 Their finished products! We can pick them up in a week when they've been fired. Then we went to Dairy Queen for lunch together.

 Afterward C came home with us for cupcakes, ice cream balls and playtime.

She's 6!