Hanukkah - Nights 1 and 2

Hanukkah is here! Right on the heels of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah kind of snuck up on us this year! Mama says the culinary gods are against her, as she can't seem to get away from cooking! The first night of Hanukkah is always exciting, as we brush off the menorah, fry up the latkes and sing "how many candles?" and "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel." We got to celebrate Hanukkah with Grandma Jo via webcam; she watched us open our gifts and then run around like the crazy people we are. I got a new lunch box to match my backpack and Remi got her skates (yeah, she's already seen them, but she's little, you can still pull that kind of stuff off on her). The 2nd night I got a bunch of Magic Tree House books from my cousin Jayden (Thanks buddy! They are awesome!) And Remi got a new stroller, as her old one is no longer with us...

It's been so much fun lighting fires, decorating the house and just spending time together. Happy Hanukkah to all of those who celebrate!

Of course, the boxes are better than any gift could be

Robot Hockey Player

Remi's first time lighting the candles

What could this be....

Opening my books!

Remi and her new stroller (don't mind the blue bins, mama is already packing and we don't even know where we are moving yet!)

Thanksgiving...

Guess who game to our Thanksgiving this year, guess, I dare you! Family, that's right, for the first time in 4 years, we actually had family to spend with Thanksgiving. Don't worry, we still hosted our "orphan" Thanksgiving for our friends who didn't have family around, but it was nice not to be one of those orphans this year... We, of course, all got so busy with the cooking and the eating, we forgot to take a picture of the beautiful turkey daddy made and the table filled with yummy food and good friends.

Ok, let's back up a week or 9 days...Mommy and daddy had to go to Cincinnati to do a 2nd interview and a spouse visit. Basically, mommy got to check out the city to see if she liked it and tour a ton of schools and neighborhoods. And during that time, Grandma Jo and Grandpa David came to take care of us. We all had a blast together, but I do think Grandma Jo was a bit relieved to see mama walk in the door. Since it was so close to Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa decided to stay for the holiday, all in all, they stayed for 11 days! That's right, we got to spend 11 whole days with grandma and grandpa, now that was a treat! And when asked what I was thankful for around the holiday table, I proudly said, Grandma and Grandpa.

Below are a few pictures of what we did that Thanksgiving weekend. We checked out the botanical gardens, played A LOT of living room hockey and then on Saturday, we got Remi her first pair of skates and took her skating! Now, she's not as good as I am, but... She was a real trooper and especially liked when mama or daddy would carry her and skate really fast.

All in all, an awesome Thanksgiving. Thanks Grandma Jo and Grandpa David for coming to spend so much time with us, we enjoyed it and hope you did too!

Remi helping daddy get the pan ready for the turkey

Massaging the turkey before it goes into the oven

At the botanical gardens, it was a nice treat to run around in a nice warm space

Making our own holiday wrapping paper with Grandma Jo

The crew

Remi's first time skating

She did enjoy sitting on the boards...

Mama and her superstars

Our most favorite person in the world

yes, we actually got a family shot, a true miracle!

Practicing my writing ... "HOCKEY"

randoms...

holding her carousel ticket tightly...

woof!

Tyler, Remi and Mahala (the only kids on the carousel)

"What the heck is in here anyway?"

mr underwear head came out of retirement...

free scarf night at Yost. Hangin' with my buddy Emiliano

Emiliano and Antonio

me and my dad!

the boys...

Leaves...

...are plentiful around these parts in November, and when I say plentiful, I'm talking at least 50 compost bags, plus our giant brown compost bin...

Part of being a family is working together, so we all got out the rakes, shovels and bags and set to work. Remi and I were put to work stomping down the leaves in the compost bin, while mommy and daddy frantically raked leaves (apparently, they can get much more done when we are contained in a giant garbage can...) We all had lots of fun in the leaves!

stomping the leaves down

trying to fill up the container

goober face

attacking daddy with leaves

1/2 of what we put in was immediately thrown right back at us!