Hurrah for the Fun!

Over the mountains, and through the wood
To Grandfather's house we did go;

Dad knew the way for a Thanksgiving day
In the cold Montana snow.

Over the mountains, and through the wood
For loads of delicious food;
Movies and shopping and good company,
Puts us all in a holiday mood.

Over the mountains and through the wood
Now Canadian cousins I spy;

Hurrah for the fun!

Got some puzzles done.





Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

The Tooth Fairy Does Not Travel

Nothing like a first lost tooth to make Thanksgiving a little more exciting.

But as we soon discovered, the tooth fairy does not travel. Now that we're home, hopefully she'll grant Natalie that which she is due.

What a cute little gap in that smile!

Sweet Dreams

Me: "Natalie, it's time to get up. You've got playgroup this morning!"

Natalie (rolling over with a moan): "Why would I want to go this early?"

(It was 8:15 a.m.)

Natalie (dreamily with eyes still closed): "Besides, I was thinking about sweets. Like donuts with sprinkles on them...and cookies...and brownies with chocolate chips."

Yeah, I wouldn't want to wake up, either!

Broken

It may not actually be broken. But it sure ain't pretty.


I wish I had a great story to match the swirls of purple and blue. But alas, I was just walking. Walking through the gym being followed by my gymnasts like ducklings follow their mother. On our way to the bars, my pinkie toe caught the edge of the elevated vault runaway and just like that, closed-toe shoes in the middle of November are a luxury in which I can't painlessly indulge. Stupid pinkie toe!

Alyssa's stomach betrayed her late Sunday night and she spent most of yesterday in bed. She slept in this morning and then decided to give school a try. She's tough as nails, that girl, so I'm hopeful she'll rebound in time to compete in her sectionals meet this weekend.

Our car's not technically broken but in for a major milestone maintenance. I know it's necessary and likely saves us money down the road, but I find it painful to shell out that kind of money for a timing belt. Natalie says she'd rather keep the loaner van.

Natalie's heart was broken when she left her beloved pink blanket at a hotel a couple of weeks ago. The blanket was eventually found and the hotel staff promised to send it via UPS. Natalie yelled, "You stinker!" as we passed a UPS truck this morning because it hasn't been delivered yet. It's actually the slow-moving hotel staff that's to blame. Last I checked, they hadn't even mailed it yet.

And finally, we have another device to add to our list of cursed electronics. Last night, Jon reached into his pocket to check the time on his iPod touch when it crashed to the ground, shattering its screen. And he only got it a couple of weeks ago. This has got to be the reason why technology is not my thing!

My toe will heal, Alyssa will regain her strength, Natalie's blanket will eventually arrive and I'll be thankful for a car that functions properly and lasts for several more years.

Time heals all wounds...does that apply to LCD screens?

A Tiny Party

Tiny invites

Tiny place settings

A tiny birthday banner

Tiny cupcakes

Tiny bingo cards with mini M&M markers



A tiny lunch menu: mini bowtie pasta in Alfredo sauce, french bread sliced from mini loaves, bite-sized caramel apples, baby carrots, jello shots, baby Goldfish and mini saltine crackers.



A couple of tiny pinatas filled with gum for a tiniest bubble-blowing contest



A hunt for tiny treasures with coded clues





All for a tiny birthday girl with some really special friends.

Good things come in small packages!

A Perfect 10

I simply cannot believe it's been ten years since I first held that little pink bundle in my arms. What a blessing she has been--the best birthday present ever!

Alyssa had an early morning meet on her birthday. Though it was less than an hour from home, we decided to stay in a hotel so she could sleep a bit longer and have time to feel celebrated before having to get into competition mode. (She's a steely competitor!)

The birthday fairy (she saw right through that one) hung up a birthday banner for her to wake up to. She also tied a cute balloon to her competition bag.

After eating Froot Loops and apple juice--the breakfast of champions--she got to open up a couple of gifts.

We gave her the new scripture tote she'd asked for and a Child of God necklace. But the wallet with gift cards from Grandma and Grandpa was her favorite. It was the perfect gift and she couldn't wait to add the birthday money from her other grandparents to it.

/

We sang "Happy Birthday" then headed off to the meet. Her teammates gave her lots of birthday wishes--picked her up and swung her around. She's so much littler than they are, they sometimes treat her like a baby--but in an endearing kind of way.

Alyssa was the highest scoring gymnast on her team for the second meet in a row and improved her all-around by one tenth. She ended up finishing third in her age group. She was thrilled and we were, of course, very proud.

As soon as Alyssa's meet was over, my team's session started. I encouraged her to go and enjoy her birthday but she didn't want to celebrate without me. How sweet is that? So she and Grandma stayed to watch my team compete. The others opted to go home.

The Old Spaghetti Factory was the birthday dinner of choice. We met the rest of the family there and Jon suprised Alyssa by bringing best-friend, Linsey along.

Linsey even decided to try Alyssa's favorite, white clam sauce. "It's really good, "Alyssa told her, "but my mom's is better." How nice.

With the spaghetti gobbled and the spumoni slurped, it was time to hit the mall. Favorite meal, favorite stores and a favorite friend--Alyssa couldn't have been happier. Or more hyper.

At one point I noted, "I don't think I've ever seen Alyssa this hyper." Linsey added, "I haven't either."

We ended the night with a bitty cake--(more for the candle-blowing experience than anything.)

But we're not done yet. She's anxious to celebrate with all her friends at a party on Thursday.

After every meet we tease Alyssa that she scored a perfect ten in cuteness. We adore her and thinks she a perfect 10 in every way!

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!