Winter has definitely set in. There is some snow on the ground and the temps are in the 20s - brrr!!! I think Oliver wants to play outside in the snow every day - I'm not so enthusiastic and I still need to buy myself some snow pants :) And he still insists on riding his bike when (if!) we take Scoop for a walk. He won't be able to for much longer that's for sure.
I've been very busy with work these past few weeks. Black Friday was utter craziness - never seen anything like it but so I glad I did work. What an experience! Things should calm down as soon as Christmas is over of course. I did have the pleasure of a day off this past weekend. It was nice just to hang out with the family and do normal weekend stuff - grocery shopping (!) and going out for coffee :)
We had a quiet family day on Thanksgiving and then went to Ray and Sandy's on the Friday. The kids had fun playing Just Dance on the Wii - I think this is a must every time we go over there now! Even Emily was joining in :)
Oliver is definitely excited about Christmas this year. All the lights, the decorations and the Christmas CDs we have really pump him up!! Emily just wants to take everything off the tree and I even caught her chomping on a candy cane through the wrapper (I knew it was too quiet!). It should be a great time when the big day comes around.
OK - photos!!!
Watching TV together
Taking Scoop for a walk - Emily had to shake all the trees!
Awwww :) Getting ready for bed.
The snowman we found in the basement! We forgot we bought it in the sale last year.
Thanksgiving dinner at the grandparent's place
I don't rate that dinner much Grandpa!!
But I'll take the hug :))
Decorating!!
In da hood!!
File boxes I found. Thought they would be useful for storage but the kids would rather sit/stand on them or carry them around *sigh*
Ready to head outside!
Play date at Wesley's house!
Emily wearing Mr Potato Head glasses as a necklace
Date at Caribou!!
What is this coffee stuff?
Mmmmmm!!!! (there is no coffee in there - promise!)
Hey, it's TV time again!!
Oliver with his snowman napkin holder he made at Home Depot - the other side is blue!
Finally I have 5 minutes to do the second blog entry for our trip to England!! It was a whirlwind 10 day trip - lots of travelling and lots of people to see. And also lots of people we couldn't see but there is only so much you can do in a short time. Anyway.....
We left late on November 1st and arrived in England on the Wednesday. Oliver slept for maybe 4 hours on the flight so he did pretty well. My sister met us at the airport (thanks sis!!) and we travelled 3 hours to her house in Taunton where we were staying the night. Oliver loved seeing his cousins Morgan and Rowan again and there were lots of new toys for him to play with :)
The next day my brother in law dropped us off at my friend Sarah's house near Bristol (about 45 mins away). I wasn't able to see Sarah and Carl on my last trip to England so it was wonderful to catch up with them and their two wonderful kids, Hettie and Joe. They were so welcoming to Oliver and I think he had a great time playing with them both.
On the Friday Mum and Michael picked us up and we made our way up north for my cousin Eleanor's wedding. It was about a 3.5hr drive to the hotel. Oliver was very excited to stay in the hotel and he was even more excited that there was a swimming pool :) Sadly someone had an accident in that swimming pool but I won't go into details (although I did manage to get him out before any contamination occurred, ha ha!!).
The wedding was on the Saturday at noon. It was a lovely ceremony despite Oliver having a meltdown and me having to take him outside. Too bad. But we were able to go back in for the end. It was a tad chilly, especially since Oliver had ripped holes in my tights so we were grateful to get back in the warm car and head back to the hotel for the reception. We grabbed a bunch of Oliver's cars and the kids were entertained by them waiting for the meal to start. And when we sat down Oliver had a parcel with some gifts which he was very pleased with!!
On the Sunday Mum dropped us off at my stepdad Graham's house where we spent the night. Oliver was very tired when we arrived and actually went for a nap but he livened up later and very much enjoyed seeing Graham and just having a relaxing time playing and watching TV! On the Monday we went for a lovely pub lunch together before getting a train down to Truro where my mum lives. Oliver was obviously very excited for his first ever train ride. He didn't stop talking the whole time and was rather surprised there were no seatbelts ;)
After a much needed night's rest we took the bus into Truro to look around the shops. This was Oliver's first bus ride as well (again, no seatbelts!!). He was even more excited when we came home and we rode on a double decker bus :) The following day we went to a local swimming pool and had a brief look at the sea (it was cold!). And on our last evening in Cornwall Mum and Michael treated us to an early Christmas with a tree, presents and a Christmas dinner. Oliver ate really well and even ate two brussels sprouts!!! He is a changed boy on the eating front since our visit two years ago.
On Thursday we met up with Steph and Graham for lunch and said goodbye to Mum and Michael before spending one more night in Taunton. Then it was time to head back to the airport and come home. It was hard to believe the trip passed by so quickly.
Daddy and Emily were at the airport to meet us on the Friday evening. We had missed them both very much. We came home to a newly decorated master bedroom and a start had been made on the bathroom too (you saw my update on this in the last blog entry!!!). Since then I have been busy working on that and I've been working a lot at Target. The madness of Black Friday will be upon us this week and then the crazy few weeks before Christmas. I'll be tired!!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who put us up in England, drove us around and made us feel so welcome. I'm sure Oliver will remember the trip for a long time and I'll be very excited to go with Jon and Emily next time too :)
The day we went away - she looks so sad :((
Play area at the airport. Oliver remembered this from our trip to New York in May
On the plane and ready to go!
Playing Hungry Hippos at Hettie and Joe's house
Joe, Oliver and Hettie reading at bedtime
Possibly the cutest photo ever :))
Oliver took a liking to the cute guide dogs at the services!!
The new Mr and Mrs Burley :)
Their wonderful wedding transport!
The boys were entertained by Oliver's cars!
One of the presents Oliver got from the newlyweds :)
Mum and Michael
A little blurry but Oliver enjoyed having a sparkler in the evening after the wedding - celebrating the occasion and Bonfire Night
Having a dance with Nanna
Deep in conversation with Grandad Graham
And very busy watching TV together!
Waiting for the train
On the train!
On a bus!!
The biggest cookie EVER
New top from Nanna - see how the pockets are shaped like little mittens :)
Oliver with the tree he decorated
It's Christmas!!!!!
And there are presents :)
Lightning McQueen!!!
I had a feeling Oliver would love this penguin game. Luckily it was able to fit in the suitcase and come back home!
Thomas was at a service station on our way back to the airport
It's like we were never gone - she's wearing the same shirt and everything!!
Oliver cuddling his new cozy polar bear - you put it in the microwave for a minute or so and it warms up :)
Brother and sister taking an afternoon stroll
The first snow of the season
A treat for the kids playing nicely and waiting patiently while I finished taking wallpaper off the bathroom wall! Mmmmm - doughnut!!
Dancing at the wedding!
Graham playing silly games with Oliver!
A silly video the kids did for some friends in Canada :)
