Happy Thanksgiving

We're stuffed from a busy Thanksgiving weekend. Well, two of us are, since Jake doesn't eat much besides fruit snacks! We had dinners with family everyday since Thursday. We enjoyed all the family and friends we were able to see.

Jake and Paige Getting Along!

Jordan

Thanksgiving day, we went to Grandma and Papa Knutson's house for dinner. All of Jake's aunts and uncles on that side of the family were there. The only cousin missing was Hailey. It was her year to spend Thanksgiving with her mom. We definitely missed her. It was great to see Jordan and see how much he is growing and changing. It was different not having my Grandma there. It was the first holiday without her. Although she was not physically there, I could still feel her sitting at the table talking to all of us as we were getting the food ready, repeatedly asking if there was anything she could do to help. The food was great and there were lots of laughs. Jake decided that he liked pumpkin pie. This is the kid that eats nothing except fruit snacks, string cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and chocolate chip cookies. What made it even better was he picked it up and ate it like a piece of pizza.

Friday night, our good friend Brittany and her fiance', Taylor, were in town and came to my parents' house for dinner. Another night of good food and laughter. We hope we made Taylor feel like part of the extended family!

Saturday night, my dad's side of the family got together for dinner. Joe had to work, so it was just Jake and me that tagged along with my parents. Again, a good time catching up with family. We get together during the summer and after Thanksgiving. We don't all see each other throughout the year, so it is our only time to spend with one another. The kiddos loved playing with the dinosaurs, wild animals, and horses. Jake and Paige had been around each other so much by last night, that they were purposely trying to make the other person mad. Each one of them was guilty of giving the other the "ha, ha, ha, look what I have of yours" look. It is quite humorous, until the screaming and tears come along.

This afternoon, we had Joe's dad, step-mom, sister, and brother over for turkey dinner. Joe did a great job with the meal. Very yummy! We have tons of leftovers. Guess Joe will be eating a lot of homemade lunches this week. I am not a fan of leftovers, so they are all his!

A First Time Illness and a Wedding Weekend

The week before Thanksgiving was, by far, our busiest week of the school year. Joe was really busy at work, now that winter has made its grand entrance to MN. He was stuck late at work most nights, which made for really long days. All Jake wanted was to play with his dad after daycare. Quarter 1 grades were due for me, as well as I was asked to take on more leadership at school. I believe I had a meeting every morning before school and every afternoon, too. We are constantly getting ready for our big field trip in January, to Eagle Bluff. It keeps all sixth grade teachers extremely busy, on top of normal school stuff. So, it was quite fitting when I noticed a missed call and voicemail from daycare that said, "Can you come and get Jake? He just threw up three times!" I was just getting ready to run an errand before picking Jake up, dropping him off with Joe's brother, and heading to a groom's dinner. Really, the flu?? I don't have time for that, nor have we ever had to deal with Jake having the flu. I really had no idea how to best take care of him. Thankfully, I did not have to learn how. He "got it out of his system" at daycare. Joe's brother, and mom, offered to still watch Jake so I could go with Joe to the groom's dinner. It did mean that I would be needing to take Friday off, since daycare was not in Jake's future. I arrived at school at 6:15 to get plans ready. My kids were awful, too. Made for a fun Monday! You would never have known Jake was home sick if you actually saw him on Friday. Definitely out of his system. He spent the rest of the weekend at my mom's house and had a blast!

Our good friends, Mike and Sara, were married on Saturday night. Joe was one of the groomsmen. It was a very fun night dancing and catching up with old friends. The weather was not cooperative, though. The freezing rain caused the limo company (our rides home from Uptown) to cancel on us. Put the bride in a panic (don't blame her one bit). After some phone calls, falls on the ice, and a good amount of money, the woman who was working the coat check took a big group of us home in the back of her SUV. The bride and groom thankfully made it back to their hotel in Downtown, and we made it to our friends in Uptown. My leg is a little sore from falling twice. One time, Joe was trying to catch me, but fell on top of me instead. A fun, but tiring, weekend :)

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Santi!