Thanksgiving

Better late than never, right?

So Thanksgiving was fabulous. We had Jonathan's cousin, Chris English, and his family over for the holiday. It was so great to have them visit for a couple of days and to get to know them better. All of the kids got along wonderfully. There was no fighting or anything. I had a few fears going into it since my kids have a tendency to get into things they know they shouldn't when friends are visiting and Jen's kids are known to be creative, but nothing untoward happened. The food was also scrumptious. Yum, yum.

Thanksgiving morning Isabelle and Madeline made cards for everyone.

Here Chris is doing baby duty. Emily fell completely in love with Chris, who obliged her by holding her most of the time.

The girls loved their "crown" braids. Jen is so good at doing their hair!

Madeline was showing Isabelle how to play the violin. We enjoyed ;P the screeches for a good half hour after.

I must say that I think part of the success was due to my switching out toys only a couple of hours before they arrived. The train set and legos that had been in the garage for months kept them all entertained.

The sandbox lid was left open the last time it rained, enveloping he toys in solid ice. The kids had fun smashing the ice to free the toys and then jumping on the pieces (and eating them).

After the English's left, we boiled and then stripped the Turkey carcass down for Turkey & Rice soup. Isabelle was fascinated by the vertebrae. She even saved it in a ziploc to show her teacher. (Luckily, by Monday she had forgotten about it and I was able to quietly slip it into the trash).

Jonathan and the kids tried to see how high they could build a lego tower without it falling.