The Dresses

Scheduling anything with all three girls is very difficult these days.  One might say that’s a sign we’re overscheduled, and maybe that’s true.  However, extra curricular activities have been a positive part of my children’s lives and I feel strongly about them.  All of this is to say it’s hard to fit everything in, and when it all works out it feels like a win.  We struggled with fitting dress shopping with Sal in this year, so we decided to do it Thanksgiving weekend even though that’s a little early for our liking.  The minute we got there, any frustrations of scheduling faded away, and it was another perfect, successful day. 

Sal wanted a Christmas tree this year, so we hit the tree lot first!  It was a mild day weather wise, and Sof had a blast running around the lot!

 

After that we decided to grab some lunch/dinner at Buddy’s Pizza. 

Finally, the actual dress shopping was about to commence.  We went to the regular mall first.  Earlier in the month I had been shopping and came across a dress that seemed perfect for Lexi!  It’s difficult to fit her long and lean body, so I couldn’t pass up this dress that could be perfect.  Sure enough, when she tried it on it fit like a glove and she loved it!  Sal is so understanding, and all about the girls being happy.  She was thrilled Lexi had the perfect dress regardless of when/how she got it!  She immediately offered to either pay for the dress or buy shoes to go with it!   After we had found Adrienne and Sof’s dresses, we headed to the outdoor mall for a Starbucks, some atmosphere, and some shoe stores! 

This was as happy a day as it looks:)  And successful!  Adrienne and Sof both got perfect dresses and Lexi got some kick ass shoes to go with hers! 

 

Lexi has some pretty high heels, but still, she’s catching up to Adrienne fast! 

We all love everything about our day with Sal.  We will always look forward to it and make it work!  Even when Adrienne is in college next year…

Thanksgiving and a Bunch of Bdays

Thanksgiving was low key again this year.  We had Steve’s parents in town to join us, which is always nice.  We visited Covert in the morning.

I had a grand plan that we were going to take family pictures for a Christmas card.  I tortured everyone by making them pose outside.  It resulted in some decent pictures that I never actually used for anything.  Predictable.

If only Mark had his eyes open…I guess that’s too much to ask.

 

Misery loves company, so Em made her family do the same thing!

Of course we had to get one with all 6 kids, and they did not disappoint!

With this they were finally dismissed.  The men were probably just as happy, if not more, than the kids.  

Don’t be confused by the Christmas tree in the back.  This is in fact Thanksgiving.  I even found the colorable tablecloth I bought last year(and then couldn’t find) for the kids. 

Dinner was yummy and uneventful.  Takes forever to buy it, cook it, and clean it up.  Only takes 10 minutes to devour.

We got Marie a lemon drop martini and then turned on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  It was her first time seeing it, and the rest of us were laughing at her laughing!

The next day we did some shopping, because we love the hustle and bustle of black Friday!  Livy and Lexi joined us, and we made the obligatory Starbucks stop!

We’ve had a tradition the last couple of years of celebrating the November birthdays at mom and dad’s house on Thanksgiving weekend.  It takes the pressure off of either leaving Grandma alone or traveling on Thanksgiving day. 

 

We seem to be on a seasonal celebration of birthdays.  Basically Fall and winter birthdays are celebrated at Thanksgiving.  This means Sof, Emily, Adrienne, Grandma, and Steve all got gifts!

Lexi, Livy and Kaitlyn all got skateboards in Grand Haven last summer.  Ever since, Sof has wanted one too!  She was pretty excited to open this up!

Grandma just loves her Christmas tree.  She never wants to take it down!  We decided to get her a sparkly tree that she could leave up year round!  She was so thrilled!  Only problem was getting my mom to actually give it to her once she saw how perfect it was in her corner!

Usually we take a trip to Hallmark for the girls to pick out their ornaments from Grandma Jackie.  This year we decided to do it differently, to make it easier on everyone.  My mom took Grandma shopping and let her pick out what she liked for each kid(and Em and I).  Then my mom wrapped them up and we opened them together!  The kids were all thrilled with the choices.  Each one was perfect! 

It was a great afternoon of hanging out.  Aunt Sally and Uncle Erik joined us, because we haven’t seen them in awhile.  It’s always great to spend time with them! 

Sof had enough daylight to try out her skateboard!

The only thing left was dessert!  This crew has all different tastes, so my mom always has a bunch of different options!

The next morning we were right back to school and work.  It was a bit of a shock to everyone!  Before getting ready though, Sof spent time looking at her ornament.  She’s always loved penguins, and Grandma really hit this one on the head!

Another great family weekend in the books!