The season is here...

After Thanksgiving we were ready to get decorating for Christmas. We spent all day on Friday putting up most of the indoor and outdoor "stuff." I definitely simplified this year, and only put up about half of my things...some years it just feels like too much! We went out Saturday night and picked out our noble fir for the family tree, and spent Sunday morning listening to holiday music, drinking hot chocolate, reading some Christmas books, and decorating our tree.

We are officially ready for Christmas!

Gobble til you wobble...

Our Thanksgiving feast was a success this year! We are thankful for our group of family and friends and lots of food! Mimi, Gramps, Poppe, Jeff, Cathy, Cole and Jax came down, as well as Cathy's sister Christine and her kids Shane and Natalie. Unfortunately, Sonya and Martin weren't able to make it this year since they both had to work, so we really missed having them here.

(me and my Dad)


(Jax and Cooper)

(Zoe and Cole)

(Jeff and Cathy)

Zoe was testing Joe's creamed spinach. He takes pride in his delicious dish, and gravy!

The kids decided to start toasting with their sparkling cider before we even had our food...

Mimi was the photographer for the day so this is the only picture I have of her!

The buffet began and we took our seats to enjoy our dinner. Zoe said a beautiful grace and we ate until we couldn't eat any more!

Of course we saved a little room for lots of desserts...pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, apple pie, smores cups, and cookies. :)

We are so thankful to be surrounded by our family and friends, and get to spend this time together. We are blessed with so much in our lives, and although I am thankful every day, it is nice to set aside this one day to really appreciate it!

New Tradition...

The boys were invited to play in a "Turkey Bowl" flag football game at 8am this morning. Some friends from Cooper's Patriots team put together this game every year and we were happy to take part in the tradition. The dads all got together to warm up and stretch (and talk about how old they all are!) I couldn't believe how many guys were out on the fields playing football this morning. I guess Thanksgiving and football definitely go together!
They picked their teams and put on their colors.
It was fun to watch how serious they all got. Some of them definitely moved faster than others, and some had some pretty good skills!
While the dads played, the boys put on their own game. They didn't have flags so they did some touch/tackle football.

It was a fun way to spend the morning. Thankfully we got a ton of our prep done yesterday so that we weren't too stressed about pulling together our big meal!

AFC Championships...and an end to great season!

Cooper's team made it to the AFC Championships. The boys were so excited to get to play on the local high school football field on Saturday. There was a lot of pressure leading up to this game since our Patriot team (5-2) was up against the undefeated Chargers (7-0). It was a cold, windy autumn day, and Mimi, Gramps and even Poppe made it to the game.

The boys got a pep talk by Coach Tom before the game...

Cooper was co-captain for the game, and we won the coin toss...

Our team mom made a banner for the boys to run through before the game...

Let the game begin!
Cooper played QB on offense, and cornerback on defense. It is so neat to see the leadership role he has taken on and watch him call the plays and direct the team.

I love the passion this kid has!

The first half of the game was a wreck. The Chargers were very good, but the coaches were intense. After every play there was arguing with the refs, plays were stopped, penalties were called, and it was just ugly. It threw our boys off their game and they just couldn't get into their groove. There was a lot of blitzing and pressure on Coop, and the game got a bit rough at times.

The second half of the game was much better, and our boys put smiles on their faces and got to have some fun. Coop made some beautiful passes and pulled quite a few flags. The flags go so quickly I can never get a picture!

In the end, we just couldn't get the win and were shut out. The Chargers have all played together for 3 seasons now, and they are just plain good! I was so proud of our Patriots though, they have a lot of heart and determination and never gave up.

Coach Jim and Coach Tom were awesome coaches!

Poppe enjoyed watching the game, even though it was freezing outside. Not bad for an 89 year old...Cooper is a pretty lucky guy to have his great-grandpa at the field!


After the game the team met up at Shakeys Pizza for our end of season party.
Even with a loss, this is one happy kid!

Coach Jim made his presentations to the boys. Afterwards, he had some great things to say about Cooper. He is continually impressed with Cooper's ability to stay calm under intense pressure and get the job done. He was thankful to have Coop as his QB and hopes to be able to coach him again.
Our team mom made these great gifts. This is a piece of the team banner, along with their team photo, and the definitions for "flag football" and "teamwork". What a great keepsake for the boys!

After the game we headed back to the field to watch the "Super Bowl" game between the Chargers and Bears. At halftime, the league gave out their All-League awards to some of their best players. Cooper was chosen, so his name was announced and he was called out to the field to receive a gold football pin.
Way to go Cooper!
This truly has been one of the best sports seasons we have had. We enjoyed the coaches, players, and families. The games were exciting to watch, and it was so neat to see this team grow together. Cooper had fun playing with his good friend Adam too, and making some new friends along the way. For now it is time to move on to basketball, but we look forward to the spring season of football in a few months!

First Class!

Zoe's 24 hours went slowly, but the time had come for her first pointe class! To start, she is only allowed to do 30 minutes a week on pointe. She is required to do a minimum of 5 hours a week of ballet on flat, and then she can do her 1/2 hour on pointe. They are very careful not to push them too quickly in order to avoid injury!
The girls gathered to put on their shoes...

and up they went...

It was fun to get to sit in and watch the class. I got to appreciate just how difficult and strenuous this is for the girls, even without leaving the barre.
My favorite part of the class was seeing how excited the older girls were for the "newbies." They all came to support, watch, take pictures, and cheer on the girls. There is so much love between them and it makes me happy that Zoe has some positive role models there.

Midnight Madness...

So for the 4th year now, we decided to brave the crowds and head to the midnight premiere of the next Twilight Saga movie, Breaking Dawn: Part 1. This is the first year that I wasn't really looking forward to it. Life has seemed a bit crazier that usual, and I wasn't sure I would be able to make it through it! I also didn't get a chance to re-read the book before the movie (which I have always done in the past). I think we were all feeling the same way, but the ladies and I picked up our Chipotle burritos and grabbed our space in line at about 6:00.

The crowds had started gathering at 3:00AM, so by the time we got there, the lines were full and zig-zagging all around the theater. It was beautiful outside though, and already decorated for the holidays. We ended up on the side of the building, which gave us a break from the wind, and a little less noise!
We all brought chairs and blankets which made for a pretty comfortable and relaxing way to spend a few hours outside. We ate our food, played some Twilight trivia games on the ipad, and took turns making Starbucks runs and restroom breaks. The line started moving around 9:45 and we were in our seats before 10:30.
We split up to see who could find the best seats, since all 15 theaters were sold out! Jenny and Amanda found the perfect seats with no one directly in front of us and plenty of room to recline and put our feet up. It really was comfortable!
After a little candy to perk us up, we were ready for our movie at 12:01am. Breaking Dawn is a bit different from the other movies in the series. The subject matter was pretty "grown up" and it was a bit uncomfortable seeing all of the younger faces in the audience. Overall the movie was great though! There were parts that I absolutely loved, and few that I didn't like, but I was so happy it was out and that we got to be a part of it again. And as much as we all said that this would be our last year for the midnight showing, I have a feeling that we (or at least most of us!) will be back for the final movie next year!