Snow, A Thanksgiving Feast, A Christmas Parade & Santa

Last weekend we got about 8 inches of snow! It's funny how that Monday we were outside playing with just a light jacket and then 6 days later the snow is coming down on us! It was our first real snowfall of the season and the kids were dying to play in it. As soon as they woke up last Saturday morning, they wanted to go outside, worried it might just melt away (which, trust me, was not gonna happen that day). It was great packing snow and the kids had a blast. Me, I just got depressed realizing how close we are to the never ending snows of winter.

On Tuesday Benny had his Thanksgiving Feast at school and I was lucky enough to help out at it because Tyler was able to watch the girls. It was so fun being in his classroom and helping them get their hats on for the feast and then passing out all sorts of different food to a room full of picky eaters. I tried my hardest to persuade them to eat new things but 5 year olds are not easily persuaded. Most of them didn't even like my marshmallow topped sweet potatoes! Silly kids, don't know what they're missing out on. I also enjoyed everyone asking me if I was Benny's mom, made me feel so special ;) Seriously though, I wish I could volunteer in the classroom more, I love it!

Thanksgiving morning Lucy woke up super upset and crying about her ears hurting so Tyler took to a CVS minute clinic where she was indeed diagnosed with an ear infection. Poor Tyler woke up feeling super sick that day too so it was not a great start to Thanksgiving but it did get better. I spent most of the day cooking which I actually really enjoyed. I made crescent rolls from scratch for my first time ever, I made Tyler's Hatch Family Cranberry juice which I think is disgusting, I made an Oreo pie that the kids absolutely gobbled down and I made some garlic mashed potatoes that were a hit with everyone. I was proud of myself for being so domestic! 

We had Thanksgiving dinner with our buddies the Mark, Laci and Wesley and with Mark's sister and brother who were in town. The food all turned out so amazing and the company was complete perfection that between it all, I was able to not feel too sad about being away from family for my first Thanksgiving ever! I think that's a pretty big accomplishment :) And to top of a great Thanksgiving I did some Black Thursday shopping that night and scored myself a few good deals. Whoop, whoop!

This morning we went to Milford's Christmas Parade with our neighbors. There was candy, dance troops, marching bands and of course, Santa! The kids had a good time despite the cold temperatures:

Afterwards I took the kids to go visit with the Milford Santa (all but Penny because she fell asleep so Tyler took her home). There were 4 families in front of us so I figured the wait was totally doable. Oh. My. Goodness. The first family told Santa what they wanted, snapped their pictures and then went on their way but the next family, which included 2 OLDER girls (like 9 &10) spent literally 15 minutes with Santa. The family in front of me ended up leaving because their toddler was throwing a tantrum. I just don't understand how people can hear that toddler crying to see Santa and just continue on their Santa hogging ways. Oi! To be honest I was little creeped out wondering if maybe Santa was enjoying his time with these older girls a bit too much. Needles to say we kept our time with Santa brief and I am not sure I would return there, even though it's just a short walk from our home. At least Lucy got a chance to tell Santa that she wanted a Barbie Horse!