mmm good.

With our beautiful crazy fun host and this giant delicious turkey, our thanksgiving was perfect!

We spent the day playing outside with Eddy and running through the creepy woods,

going on a great after meal walk to make room for the best desserts EVER,

playing a few rounds of 'pin the hat on the turkey',

watching football and toy story three,

and just being with family laughing and laughing.

 There were 25 people for dinner!  and here are just a fraction of the shoes.

 The starkeys are the most gracious hosts- always willing to share their home and food with us and let our raucous children run amuck.  I really can't express just how great it is to have 'family' close by!  It was too wet for the AK 47s this year- but they promised we'd get to have some fun next time we came to town!

Oh- and, of course, we ate and ate and ate. I still feel bloated.

The day was wonderful. Down to the very last second -which was spent at midnight waiting in line for 12:01 to strike so we could buy, buy, buy!  :)  more on our shopping adventures in a later post!

I absolutely love Thanksgiving!  Now let the Christmas festivities commence.  Bring on the snow and the decorations and the music, please.

Their faces are going to stick like this.

 Zeb makes funny faces all day and begs for me to take pictures so that he can see them all.  He's getting pretty good at a lot of faces.

Earlier this week I had to shower while Ike was awake- so I put on a movie for he and Zeb. I came out to find Ike with this. 

 Who does this?!  I have no idea where he came up with the idea to play with the drawer from the dishwasher.  Luckily it was empty.  He loved that it had wheels.  Such a weirdo.
 

 Kent worked his last crazy week this week and we started our celebrations on Saturday!  He has the next two weeks completely OFF!   no work. no school. nothing.

He surprised me on Saturday by getting a babysitter and taking us to Harry Potter. I am not ashamed to admit that Harry Potter plays an important role in the foundation of our marriage. Number seven did NOT disappoint. I LOVED it.  I want to go and see it again.

I wanted to take a picture at the theater to document our fun but Kent has a hard time with pictures in dark places. His eyes can NOT stay open with the flash.  I bet we took 30 pictures (before the movie started). Seriously.  Finally (after six years of marriage) we realized that if he just doesn't look at the camera directly- he can keep his eyes open. That's why this picture looks so ridiculous.

 And now we are rereading number seven. I didn't remember ANYthing.  It was ridiculous.  I can't wait for the second movie to come out. I really love harry pottter.

In 30 days the next chapter of our lives opens.  I'm really excited and just a little bit nervous.  Kent interviewed at a number of places and now we just sit and wait to hear back as to where we are headed come June.  I don't think it's much of a secret as to where I want to go- but I will be happy no matter the outcome.

Any requests from would be visitors?

In no particular order- the top options are:

Dayton

 San Antonio

Norfolk

and Bethesda (DC area).

Or maybe we'll be going somewhere totally unexpected?!  you know, the military has been known to do that :)

lots of pictures of crazy boys.

I think that all the rugrats did this weekend was PLAY.  These kiddos love to run around, wrestle, giggle, and be crazy.  And Ike likes to wear undies over his diapers.  He loves batman the most.  He tells us when (after) he goes to the bathroom and asks to sit on the toilet- but I am NOT ready to potty train so we talk about it a lot and I hope that he's just as excited about it in six or so more months :)

 Zeb was extra happy this weekend because his pal, Sam, was in town from Indiana.  They even got to have a sleepover one night.  They giggled and giggled a lot.

 We also got to go swimming with Sam- and lots of our other great friends!

 These blocks are some of Ike's favorite toys right now.  He loves to count them, stack them, and knock them down over and over and over again.

 These two also really love their bunkbeds. Ike is still sleeping in his crib- but I'm not as nervous about letting he and zeb climb up and down the ladder and play up top. Ike has such good coordination and really wants to be big like Zeb- so we let him play.  Zeb kept asking me to take a picture of his legs while he was up there. I think it looks rather creepy. Almost like it's just a pair of legs with no body. Zeb loves the shot.

 Kent gave the kiddos buzz cuts before church yesterday and I am so happy.  Their hair was getting very straggly.  I like short, easy hair.  Let's hope I don't get any girls.

And finally- their silly faces. Zeb taught Ike how to do it and I swear he's going to rip his face off or something. He does it constantly and pulls so dang hard on his cheeks! It's got to hurt.

I've been the worst blogger and I have NO excuses. 

We've had a crazy warm weather burst this week and have spent many afternoons (and mornings) outside and it's been really really nice.

Yesterday it was unbelievably foggy (schools all over were delayed two or hours or canceled because it was so bad!) so we ventured out to see the creepy foggy woods.  By the time we were finished walking and I got out my camera the fog wasn't nearly as dense as it had been.  Driving to the park I couldn't even see the traffic lights until we were right at them.  I couldn't see peoples houses from the road! It was crazy.

 The fog must have mesmerized the boys because they sat very calmly and quietly the whole time we walked.  Usually they are squawking and driving each other berserk.

I LOVE the birds here in Ohio.  I really wish I'd had my bigger lens to get a better look at this cardinal.  He took off as soon as I got close.

I'm hoping for one or two more weeks of park weather- but we'll see :)

our comings and goings

 Last week was one of the busiest I've had in AGES!  I taught nine different classes at the Y- including 'hip hop dance'.   It was ridiculous and crazy.  This week should slow down a little- even thought Kent works 96 hours and I'm getting two crowns (bleggg).

We went and visited Kent at the hospital before church today to kill time.  Gaining an hour of time has never been so miserable.  No naps with waking up early plus one o'clock church with no husband and topping it off with fasting made for one crummy day. Oh- and did I mention that Ike has a major diaper rash on his little man parts?!  the poor kid has been on and off screaming all day.

This little rascal LOVES to throw things.  In nursery awhile back they asked me if we trained him at home to throw everything?!  umm, yeah.  we hand him things and say 'throw it, Ike! throw it!'.  The kid just likes to chuck stuff. I have to be extra careful at the grocery store down the aisles.

He's also still afraid of ghosts. He cries and weeps 'scaaaary ghost! scaaaary ghost!' and points to random corners of the house.

Isn't he adorable in this picture?! so grown up and snazzy.

Right now Zeb and I are on really good terms.  I think we're pretty good friends. He tells me he loves me the most.  I tell him that he's my favorite.  He likes to 'obey' and he forgives me when I get snappy.  Three is a good age for this critter and his mom.

 I love this picture.  Zeb and Ike were so intrigued with Kent's cleaning out of the vacuum.  They love sitting with him and 'doing things'.  He's much better about sitting with them for extended periods of time and just talking to them or teaching them.  I think I get lots of sitting and talking time with them in the car- so at home I'm not as good at it.  We'll just pretend that's the case, anyway :)

the rest of them, in no particular order.

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins sunday morning before church. Zeb had been so excited about the event and then was utterly disgusted with it all.

Here he is telling us that the pumpkin guts are 'really really gross'.

He wouldn't touch our traditional stew in a pumpkin either.  Ike loved it, though!  It really is such a good stew.  We did homemade wheat rolls, too.  I love Halloween dinner.

Halloween evening we discovered that Ike is TERRIFIED of ghosts.  I think it was Kent and Zeb that started it all. They were just playing and pretending there were ghosts and Ike got really really scared.  The next two pictures are his reactions to the ghost. 

One of sheer terror.

The other - a blood curdling scream.

Last Friday Kent took the kiddos trick or treating in downtown perrysburg.  It's one of my favorite things to do here in toledo- but I couldn't make it because I've been roped into teaching ART CLASSES at the Y!  A friend had to leave on an emergency for a few weeks and I've taken over most of the little kid art classes :)  I've actually really enjoyed it depsite the fact that I have no artistic abilities.

The boys had a fabulous time with Kent and their pals.  I think Kent may have been the only trick or treating dad- but he's a natural at it- better than me in fact :)  I did have to steal some pictures from my friend, Alison (thanks!), though- because Kent said that both kids AND the nice camera was too much to handle.  I think he knows that it would be better for me to damage my camera than him.

The monkey and the elephant!

 most of the kiddos.

plus we did a little bit of trick or treating as a family!

 

 I'm so glad that it's all over. I can't handle any more candy. We still have so much I don't know what to do with it all. Luckily it just doesn't look as good as it did last week

All of my halloween pictures could take DAYS to post. I'll try to get them all done in two.

Our church trunk or treat was Saturday night and was great.  There was a chili cook off competition and lots of candy.

 We stole the starkey's costumes from last year and went as as a Toy Story family.  I love dressing up for Halloween.

 and I'm super lucky that Kent will play along and likes it too.

Ikey was such a little ham with the alien on his head.  I'm surprised he was totally cool with wearing it!  I expected it to be a battle to get him to keep it on.

And the rugrats loved the trick or treat thing.  Ike was so impressed that people were just handing out candy. He made two rounds.  Zeb didn't seem to care as much- and actually doesn't really love candy.  Ike takes after my heart.  He loves the stuff.

I had to include a picture of this costume because it was AMAZING.  All gavin wanted to be for halloween was a grilled cheese sandwich and his parents MADE this! I am super duper impressed! I want to borrow it.

I'm so glad that Kent had the ENTIRE weekend off. He had an interview Friday and then was able to spend the rest of the time with us!