meadowlark

Always a treat and somewhat of a tradition, we made it to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens for the light walk with my parents.  This year they had kaleidoscope glasses which were fun for the music show.  The s'mores at the end are a nice treat.

santa letters

Writing some letters to Santa ;)  Keaton's was a big Beanie Boo picture.  Aiden's included a pet squirrel as number one, along with Hero Mashers and Lego Minecraft (which G&P already delivered as early xmas presents - thanks!)

jamming

We were lucky to see friends that had moved away last summer over the break.  It was so nice to have familiar friends and nice weather to share.  J's band (somewhat official trio now) even had a chance to jam twice.

thanksgiving

The citrus turkey worked out again this year!  Moist and tasty along with 7 pounds of mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, balsamic carrots, herb and siracha stuffing.  We learned our lesson again that potato peel does not cooperate with a disposal and our drain was clogged until the plumber rescued us next morning - but not before the shop vac reversed it's spray all over the kitchen and me...oh the memories ;)  But in between all that excitement, the boys had a blast playing monopoly with J's advisor, Dave, and his wife, Cate.  

turkey trot

We cheered on the Turkey Trot runners that take on the last hill before the finish line right at the end of our driveway! It's all down hill from here!  Get going to that turkey and pumpkin pie ;)

piano recital

In the midst of Peter Pan and everything else this kid works hard on, he pulled out all the stops for a piano recital the same weekend. He played with the oldest high schooler kids and the teacher in a quartet during the Americana themed recital.

little stars

The drama love continued with Keaton's first BN preview show with AFYP.  So many expressions from Bark the dog.... Show coming in December.

pan fans

We are so thankful for the big batch of Pan Fans that were able to come see Aiden's shows.  Thanks for coming! There were a bunch of Keaton's buddies with him in the audience too.  Peter Pan was also really excited that he got to do two shows during the school day for his friends at school too.  The cast party after the show was a really fun wrap up for the year.  

scenes from pan

The memories from this show are many.  The tech photos I was able to capture during dress rehearsal week are honestly some of my favorites.

pan expressions

There are certain parenting moments when you see your kid having genuine fun and making memories for a lifetime and your heart swells. Peter Pan Jr took only 8 weeks (only approx. 31 hours of rehearsal) to come together into what I think was very impressive musical theater for 3-6 graders.  I love the drama club kids and families and feel so grateful for his director who brought her program to Mantua a few years ago.

good list

The batch of birthday presents from Aiden's buddies was awesome. These new additions to his backpack: Yoohoo (a bush baby) and Mustachio (a pistachio with a mustache)

The super moon as photographed by our neighbor down the street.  It was amazingly bright when it was out from behind the clouds.

A friend from Tucson is visiting and we spent nearly 4 hours at the local quilt shop selecting fabric and patterns and talking to the owner. Next step is getting inspired by all the Kaffe books I found at the library.

Chuy's is my favorite restaurant right now. These funny guys are smiling with the side of their mouth with chips and mints stuffed in there ;)

Playing in the backyard as the leaves continue to come down...

Keaton's Tom Turkey in his banana disguise complete with stickers on the peel and black spots ;)

luncheon

Aidan's school hosts a Thanksgiving Luncheon for each grade level, which meant two lunches in one day for me ;)  I love the turkey made from feathers with thankful notes from each kid.  Tom the Turkey disguises were fun as always.  Keaton decided that he wanted to make his into a banana complete with stickers and black spots.  After the lunch the kids get to take their parents to the book fair to support the school. Aiden's friends (who happen to be identical twins) adopted me as their "visiting pilgrim" for the day so we could all visit together.

birthday pokebowl

I knew right around when Pokemon Go was released this past summer that this poke-party would happen. Around that same time we were frequenting the bowling alley with our buddies to avoid the summer heat, so the poke-bowl party was born!  Aiden's buddies are all good kids that loved playing with the poke-masks.  They all bumper bowled, and enjoyed their batch of arcade coins (it just happened that the alley machine was "broken" in such a way that you could win multiple stuffies in each turn - every kid's dream!)  The Pikachu cake and pokeball cupcakes made as a a tradition by dad were a big hit with sugar paper ears and tail.  Ninth poke birthday complete!

brothers

My camera roll is absolutely full to the brim with these Snapchat photos - the ultimate brother shots:

good list

Eat-n-Park smiley cookies!  Quick smile like your cookie ;)  That elephant dressed for Halloween is in the parking lot of the Somerset PA EatnPark and it's always fun to say hi!

These guys are hooked on their boogie boards - Keaton's is the tracing model and Aiden's is a jot - They are LCD and are erased by an electrical charge.

75% off costumes means we now own that banana getup, which Aiden thinks is perfect for lounging and watching GMM.

Baby fingers in a bumbo - that should really top the good list ;)

Keaton won number bingo at school and he was pumped by the giant ribbon sticker!  We went and got haircuts that night along with some Tutti Fruitti.

These guys thought that big monkey was for dancing.  They gave him a break from sitting there and looking cute and gave him a chance to show off his moves!

tidbits

It was Keaton's turn to be Star of the Week - according to his poster he loves jokes, animals, noodles, cake, his brother, legos, and the beach.

Kids Care Club met again this month with two projects: food drive posters and books about the meaning of Thanksgiving for new international students that started at the school this year.

Aiden's birthday fell on a Peter Pan Jr rehearsal day!  The director invited him up and had them all sing to him, and it turns out he knows how to act embarrassed too.

The night of his bday he invited his buddy Yusef along and picked out whatever restaurant he'd like - turns out that Unos had the best chocolate cake option along with those video game ziosk systems they can't get enough of ;)  

rocks

The steps for participating in Northeast Ohio Rocks! It's essentially a painted rock treasure hunt run through a Facebook group ;). As they say in the group, "We are painters and hiders. We paint rocks and hide rocks right here in Northeast Ohio as a random act of kindness to bring a little unexpected smile to someone's day. The painters post pictures of their rocks. The finders posts pictures of their rocks. This is how we follow where the rock travels. The pictures of the painters artwork and the finders happiness inspire us to create and to share kindness. Take a look around. The smiles are contagious!"

Step 1: Go on a rock hunt while trying not to fall down a pile of rocks

Step 2: Clean rocks while trying to not get splashed

Step 3: Go to craft store to buy paint while trying to not bore PopPop

Step 4: Paint rocks while trying to avoid painting them the same color they are naturally

Step 5: Spray and seal all the rocks with a special label on the back directing them to post a photo of it online when they find it, then rehide

Step 6: Distribute the rocks in fun places and wait for them to be found and hopefully posted ;)

family

We were so excited that we got to celebrate Aiden's ninth birthday with big and little cousin buddies! Thanks Lizzie for hosting us - cake, pumpkin pull apart bread, yummo!  Austin knows how to smile at those type of treats ;)

cousin buddies

This little four month old cousin buddy is full of smiles!  The bigger buddies made a dragon kit together... 

would you rather

Here it goes::

Would you rather fly or be invisible? 

Invisible so I could be sneaky and get my tablet all the time so no one could see me

Would you rather eat a caterpillar and turn into a butterfly or a goose and turn into a swan?  A goose cause I could be a Pokemon like a swan!

What candy would you make an island out of?  Hershey's gigantic with a circle of snickers with a castle with a K made out of Hershey and snickers and at the end I eat all my house

Would you rather turned into a robot or a monster? That is kind of a question! A robot because they are mechanical and I want that rrrrr

Would you rather live in Hawaii or Alaska? Hawaii so I could see some volcanos and get some Pokemon fire types