Halloween Weekend

Our Halloween weekend… started with a long walk outside enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Pumpkin shape pizzas and pumpkin beer.

Only 25 trick-or-treaters for us this year.

A game of Clue.

Jake texting us a picture from the Chicago Bulls game seeing LeBron James play from the Cavaliers.

Enjoying a pumpkin spice latte in the red holiday cup

and devouring the Sunday paper.

Our weekend ended with another long walk

before the early sunset.

Thanksgiving thoughts

We were so blessed to be able to host Thanksgiving again this year.  All the fixings were made {a 21 pound turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, rutabagas, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberries, salad, pumpkin pies.}

I am so thankful for these two! And  was sure missing Tyler this Thanksgiving, it was harder than I thought it would be having him so far away on this family holiday.

But we were able to Skype with him, and I think he really enjoyed 'seeing' and chatting with everyone.

The star of the show.  :)

I am so thankful and feel so blessed for the family that was able to join us this Thanksgiving!

And a Thanksgiving would not be complete without these two battling over the wishbone. :)

A dusting of sparkly snow was the perfect way to end the day!

So Thankful!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

weekend lens {Memorial Day}

Memorial Day weekend had the perfect mixture of fun, relaxation, and family time; which is my favorite kind of weekend!

We had a great time at the Twins game on Friday evening. We were worried about the weather but it turned out to be just perfect!

Saturday brought rain showers.

Which made for the perfect day to cozy up in the house and read. {I finally bought this book and was so excited to dig into it. I saw the author, Kate Hopper at the MN Blog Conference last fall and she was fabulous! She teaches mother's "how to write the stories they need to tell".}

And time to snuggle up with the dog. :)

In between the heavy downpours of rain and the thunder and lightening, Jake helped a good friend of his who was working on his project for his Eagle Scout badge. They were planting a garden at their old elementary school. It is kind of neat because they have been friends since they were 3 years old, attending the same preschool. Boy time flies! {photos taken by Teri}

We enjoyed a trip out to our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Sunday we had a family BBQ at my parents house which always includes great company and good food! I brought a '7 Layer Salad'. The recipe is {here}. I haven't had this salad for years and years, and it totally brought me back to my childhood!

On Monday I finally got my garden planted!!

It was a great Memorial Day weekend!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all that we have and all that is important to us.

One of the things I was especially thankful for this year was the opportunity to host Thanksgiving dinner for our family.

A little preparation and a lot of help made for a special day and a wonderful meal. I am so thankful for the memories made...

making the pies

~pumpkin and pecan~

and mash potatoes

"What are they??"

rutabagas :)

setting the tables

preparing the turkey

coloring the turkey from the newspaper

Grandma with her little grandsons

a cute new apron

help in the kitchen

football watching

puppy gates

picture taking

a perfect turkey

a proud chef :)

a pretty table

a Thanksgiving feast for my family

bountiful food

and finally a game of Scrabble

and a nap :)

So many blessings and so much to be thankful for!!