Showing posts with label Fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fall. Show all posts

November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wish you were here!

Grandma and the kids:
Meanwhile, back, in the kitchen:

One of my favorite little Thanksgiving traditions around here is using my grandmother's turkey plates:
Having these on my table is the next-best thing to being back in my sweet grandmother's kitchen, where we made lots of great food and great memories. "Good groceries," my granddad would always say, and after the feast--and several desserts--we'd play cards late into the evening. He would always scheme against my Aunt Lynn to get first crack at the giblet gravy and oyster dressing, and he never, ever wasted any room on his plate with any green vegetables or my grandmother's fruit salad. It was all turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and cranberry--I mean really, why bother with any of that other stuff? All those Thanksgivings with my grandparents seem like just a couple of years ago...but really, they're now more like a couple of decades ago. It's bittersweet to think about, but how precious to be making new memories and traditions with my own family and my dear mom.

And what a perfect Thanksgiving we've had around here today! Guess what...my wonderful husband has cooked every single Thanksgiving dish all by himself, while I have basically hung out like one of the kids! Pretty cool, huh?! Everything was and is perfect, perfect, perfect.


What a wonderful day--wishing you the same!!

October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

What a day!

First, we carved pumpkins...

Next, we went to the corn maze...

(It was great!)

Finally, trick-or-treating...
(Yes, I know, WWD's costume is a bit too realistic...whatever...)




Okay, GOODBYE October--you win--I'm wiped out! Next up...basketball season and Thanksgiving...

Best All Saints Party EVER!

We get to go to the most AWESOME All Saints party ever. Ever! It's a benefit for the high schoolers at WWD's school, to raise funds for their trip to the March for Life in DC in January. Hundreds of miniature saints congregate at our friends' house in the woods, for games and prizes in the barn, a potluck dinner, little saints' parade, saints' candy trail, Litany of the Saints around the bonfire, and the grande finale of the evening, for big kids only (including JPD, naturally): the very, very spooky trail through the woods in the dark. SO much fun!

Here are our little saints for this year...

Saint Paul:


Saint Therese:


Our Lady of Guadalupe:


St. Juan Diego:


St. Michael the Archangel:


You want another look at Juan Diego and Our Lady, don't you?


And the whole gang of saints...

(Never mind St. Therese's habit, which was a major victim of the wind. It was quite a problem for her, but you know our brave Therese...always offering up those little sacrifices!)

Here's the entrance to the very cool spooky trail:


MPD probably had more fun than anyone at the party. He ate a bit of dinner, then passed on the rest of the evening's activities, opting instead to drive around and around the driveway with his friends, including lots of crashing:


What a great party!

But you're hoping for another look at St. Juan Diego, right?

September 8, 2010

Apple Picking

Fall started early around here; instead of spending Labor Day weekend soaking up the last of the summer sun at the pool, the cool, crisp weather called for a trip to the apple orchard.
As always, it was picture-perfect. Apparently the local news thought so too, and a reporter asked to follow us around and we all got to be on T.V.! (Note to self, Mom: never, ever skip the makeup...)

We ate I mean picked tons of apples...

In our matching outfits (! is it any wonder why the reporter picked us?!)

And played around in the orchard for quite a while...
(Jamie, I'm still pondering your idea to start off MRD's college funding by starting her modeling career asap! Just saying.)

Before heading home to make apple muffins, apple pie, applesauce, apple pancakes, apple turnovers, apple jerky...

Okay, not apple jerky. Just threw that one in to see if you're paying attention.

Happy Fall, y'all! Ready or not!