Thanksgiving Weekend Festivities!

Even though this isn't a picture of me falling down the rabbit hole in Alice In Wonderland's fairytale, that is what life feels like sometimes. I have got to start blogging on a more frequent basis because these catch up blogs are just not very fun for me. We are still having plenty of fun in everyday life, but the events, people and pictures just aren't getting the attention they deserve. As Paige left for school this morning she said, "I don't care what else you get done today, just blog." So, in honor of Paige, blogging is exactly what I will do.

Thanksgiving eve started out with a party at Richard's sister's house.

Look at all of these tasty pies and treats.

Allie made these fabulous treats. They were beautiful and tasty. They are crushed Oreo cookies covered in chocolate. I'm pretty sure they are not very good for you, but they were delicious. Way to go, Allie!

Lots of good food, family and fun conversation. Thanks for letting us come and invade your home Don and Debbie.

After the fun party we returned home to choose names for Christmas gifts. 3 years ago we started a new tradition of choosing an envelope that has $30 in one dollar bills and the name of a family member. You are then responsible for using the $30 to buy that family members' Christmas gift. We have seen a lot of creativity in the past few years and it has made Christmas much more simple and easy to enjoy. Plus, $30 in one dollar bills makes you feel rich!

Thanksgiving morning we participated for the first time in the neighborhood 1 mile fun run. Richard decided if he wasn't going to be the fastest runner then he might as well look the best. Yes, he is wearing green, plaid, swimming trunks. Underneath the sweatshirt he is wearing a matching green t-shirt and then the whole ensemble is complimented with his green cap that he bought while he was in Ireland. We had lots of fun. After the 1 mile run, we came home, cleaned up and headed to my parents house for Thanksgiving lunch. My brother, Kenneth and his wife, Mary were in town visiting and it was fun to see everyone.

At 2 p.m. we left my parent's house and drove to California. We had FREE Disneyland tickets that we needed to use before the middle of December. Yes, you read that right, FREE. We got them for participating in the Disney service projects that allowed you to give a day of service in 2010 and get a day to play at Disneyland.

As you can see, we had lots of fun. We went to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving, on Friday.

Saturday was Kaylee's 10th birthday. We looked in all of the shops in Downtown Disney. The above pictures were my favorite thing that they were selling. I really like caramel apples. They don't have to be this fancy, in fact, I like the plain caramel ones the best, but these apples were really creative.

We had lots of fun posing with funny, Disney mannequins.

Then, Richard drove us to the beach. By the time we got there it was getting windy and cold, but we still went out for a few minutes to enjoy the sunset and the sound of the waves.

For Kaylee's birthday we went and watched the new Disney movie, Tangled. It got two thumbs up from me. Good job, Disney. We all thought it was a really good movie.

Here are Kaylee and Richard posing in front of Ursula, the sea witch.

I think Kaylee loves the beach as much as I do. It was fun spending time together and relaxing. Would you like to know what Kaylee thinks is the best part of FINALLY turning 10? She can go to the public library now and go wherever she likes without parental supervision. There are signs posted in the library that say if you are under 10 years old you must be with an adult at all times and now that she is 10 she is free to roam the library. We will have to try and get her to the library soon so that she can see what true library freedom is like. Happy Birthday, Kaylee!