Our Thanksgiving Report

Well that sneaky husband knew if he posted a picture of a dead elk (see below) I'd be quicker at getting up a new post. So, here goes. I hope you all enjoy a couple of pictures along with a lengthy report of our Holiday happenings here in Northeast Ohio.

A completely random picture that I just had to post. Can you spy Ellie? This is how Matt and I found her one night last week when were doing the final "walk thru" before going to bed. Can we just say that being obsessed with her dollies is a complete understatement?!


So being the great dad Matt is he decided to give the kids and a couple of their friends a Polar Express party this year. The kids came over in their pjs and enjoyed non stop hospitality of the Polar Express type during the length of the movie.


WE LOVE COSTCO! We have a brand new one about 15 miles from us and were thrilled to find these Polar Express tins filled with hot chocolate. Let's just say that we couldn't pass them up. I mean c'mon, we had to have these for our Polar Express party. We let the kids go nuts and drink as much as they wanted of all the flavors. They also noshed on popcorn and chocolate chip cookies and loved the fact that Matt and I completely doted on them during the entire length of the party fulfilling their every request....and let's just say that they had a lot of them. :)


My kids adore this little "espresso set" that Grandma Eccles got for them last year. The kids enjoy hot chocolate practically daily during the winter here. There friends thought it was a fun touch to the party.


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The day started off a little lonely since it was the just the 5 of us, but by the time we ate we felt much better and the rest of the day was great. The biggest meal success story of the day was when none of my kids complained about the food (and I had a little of everything on their plates). Brady and Ellie are fairly picky eaters, but everyone happily ate at least the turkey and the rolls. I managed to find a small turkey and then make 1/3 portions of all the side dishes so that we weren't overwhelmed with food. However, when it came to pies we wanted a little bite of several types so I ended up making 5 pies, taking 2 slices out of each pie for us to enjoy and then taking the rest to a friend who had lots of family coming in for the Holiday.

Anyway, after dinner we attend the Festival of Trees in downtown Akron. It's become a regular Ohio tradition since we moved here and it definitely did not disappoint. All the trees were beautiful, but Emma's favorite was a Madeline tree, Brady's favorite was a lego tree, and Ellie cried when we couldn't bring the baby doll tree home. :) I loved all the trees, but had 3 favorite of mine that I was able to sell the weekend before. I joined a local female neighborhood service group whose main goal is to serve the local Children's Hospital. So, since the Festival of trees is an event benefiting the Children's Hospital, I had the service opportunity to sell the beautifully decorated trees to all the "well to do" companies and families in the area. I am proud to say that in selling 3 items, I raised $1000 for the hospital. I also have to say that the volunteers were treated like royalty. We had an entire room of food plus a dessert bar with over 100 different types of desserts to choose from. It was a great opportunity to serve and get to know the ladies in my neighborhood better.

Well back to Thanksgiving, I love Black Friday shopping. It's a tradition I have with my mom so I was bummed this year not to have her go with me. However, after bribing Emma with the promise of something new, she quickly and happily agreed to being my shopping partner and we had a great time. We caught a couple of great deals and she is now the proud new owner of an adorable red dress coat and a tube of lip gloss. We were both in heaven. And what made it even better is that Matt drove us around and then stayed in the car and studied while Brady and Ellie watched dvd's. The amount of snacks I packed for them allowed us to get about 3 hours of shopping in. Then on Saturday we put up the tree and outside lights. The kids are still off school today so we'll decorate a gingerbread house for family home evening. Let's just say that we're starting off the holiday season with a bang! Happy Holidays to all of you!

I love hearing Holiday traditions. Can you share some of yours with me?