Thanksgiving Dinner x 3!

We enjoyed 3 Thanksgiving dinners this year! On Thanksgiving day, Kim and Adam enjoyed a traditional dinner with friends. The food was delicious and the company was wonderful. Before leaving our friend's house, they dished up plates for our second Thanksgiving dinner. This dinner was enjoyed later that night in the hospital cafeteria with Daddy. Dinner #3 came the day after Thanksgiving. Kim prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home. We shared this meal with three of our neighbors. Kim overestimated how much food was needed to feed our family and three guests, so we actually enjoyed Thanksgiving dinners #4-8 over the next several days.

Reunion

Our good friends from Milwaukee came to visit us this past week. It was a great reunion! Here are some of the pictures from their visit:

Trip to the Zoo

Adam relished every moment with his old playmates.

Kim and Adam both had close encounters with some of the animals.

Are these giraffes waiting in line for the drinking fountain?

Adam was delighted when we discovered this jeep at the zoo.

The Children's Museum

Adam made these A's all by himself!

Paul and Kim also had fun taking part in the activities.

And of course no trip to the museum is complete until you sit in the letter "O!"

Sleepover!

The kids were very excited for their sleepover! The adults were also VERY excited for the sleepover a.k.a late night games of Pinochle.

The days sure flew by during their visit. Adam keeps asking if Chelsey, Emily, and Ryan can come play again. In fact, Paul and Kim are asking that same question. We hope it will be sometime soon.

Friends

Adam is very considerate of his baby. Today he made sure she had a great seat for watching a movie.

Family Picture

We decided to have a family picture taken this year. Several days before the scheduled shoot, we began preparing Adam for the event. We tried on our clothes, practiced our smiles, and talked about the process. Adam was especially excited to wear matching clothes with Daddy. When the big day arrived, Adam seemed ready to go. Then we arrived at the studio. . . Adam's practiced smiles changed to tears and getting him to look at the camera was no easy task. Despite the trauma, we did manage to get a few good shots. When it was all over, Adam told Mommy, "See, so easy."

More Yard Work

In addition to raking, we've been doing a bit of pruning. One bush in particular was extra large and desperately needed a trim. (You can somewhat see the bush in the previous post. It's on the other side of the fence behind Paul). In the spring, the bush blooms with bright pink flowers, which are really pretty. Paul isn't too fond of the bush though, due to the fact that it over-powers our patio and makes it difficult to open our back gate.

Kim started the task of pruning it. She planned on cutting 2-3 feet off. Part way through the job, Paul took over. Tip: when pruning, don't give the job to someone who doesn't really like the bush. The result will be this . . .

Shocked? Kim sure was. :)

Paul is confident the bush will grow back. Kim isn't so sure. Come next spring, we'll give you an update.

Fall Fun

We love having big trees in our yard. Recently, though, we've learned how much work they can be. Adam had quite a bit of fun "working" today. Paul worked hard to make extra big piles and Adam worked hard to scatter them again.