07 December 2010

Bit of a break in the madness


Thanksgiving recap: First, Claire's Thursday School Thanksgiving program:

Those kind ladies prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner for us and the kids sing a couple songs.

On to Thanksgiving week: We left Wednesday about 1 p.m. for Kansas...and didn't get very far. We had to stop in Mead (about ten minutes from our house) to check on the house Jay is working on, and then we had to stop at the Burger Shoppe (ten more minutes down the road) for lunch, where we ran into Preston and had to talk for a while. After eating our fill of chicken strips, beans, and sweet tea, we were finally on the road! Six hours later, we made it to Don and Archie's house in time for dinner!

We headed over to Jay's cousin Tracy's house, where she, along with husband Kourt and sons Drew and Dylan, are kind enough to host us for the weekend. The next day, we had Thanksgiving lunch (and dinner) at Don and Archie's house--pic of all grandkids present for lunch below. (Drew and Dylan are at their other grandma's house for lunch, and aren't in it. We were also missing one family for the whole weekend, Jay's cousin Keith, his wife Jen, and their kids Logan and Quinn moved to Singapore over the summer for Keith's job.)


Abby Rose and Anna Jae!



We're missing four cousins in this pic:


Claire and Katelyn ride the buckin' bronc called Uncle Ron.
Aside from eating and watching our kids, much of Thursday is spent planning our Friday shopping and riding four-wheelers. (I think there are seven or eight four-wheelers total, and lots of trails.)

Claire got to spend the night at Grandma Winnie's Thursday night with her cousins Carson and Kerrigan so that I wouldn't have to wake her up when I left to go shopping. Anna Jae tagged along with us and was really good, having bites of yogurt and pears in her carseat in between stores. We have lunch together Friday, and then the afternoon is spent hunting, napping, or four-wheeling. Friday night is always steak night, with some of the best steak I eat all year, along with baked potatoes, Kansas corn, homemade bread, and salad.

While we were in Kansas, Anna had several milestones: she started walking really well (so at about 10 months), she had her first tooth come through, and she started clapping and waving.

Usually the Paul Mauck contingent is gone by Saturday morning, but we actually stayed through Saturday lunch this year so Jay could get in one more morning hunting. Alas, no deer to report of!

I'm now in finals week, and I'm in a lull between grading final essays (DONE-hurray!) and grading final portfolios (due Thursday) and calculating final grades (due Monday). After that, I'll be in full-on Christmas mode.

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