Happy Thanksgiving!

It's still November so I feel okay saying Happy Thanksgiving still! Right? Right?! 

Our Thanksgiving was especially low-key. 

My Thanksgiving enthusiast was up at 5:00 to rewatch the Festival of Trees Parade before the big kahuna began.

We had our traditional Monkey bread. 

C was particularly funny. There was a Macy's parade merch commercial that included the sweatshirt he was wearing and he still was like... "oooh, let's see what they have!" Like I hadn't looked at that category a million times in the last two months. 
. 

After the parade, we went to see Moana 2. 

I have no qualms in telling you that you can definitely wait to watch it on Disney +. It was fine. It wasn't great. Go see Wicked or Best Christmas Pageant Ever if you're looking for a family movie experience. 

In fact, the only song we were all humming was from the first movie!! 

Then we went home and prepared our own feast. We went with "4th of July" as our theme I guess. 

We grilled cheeseburgers and corn on the cob. Had fries. And two kinds of Minnesota Salads that aren't really salads.** Frog Eye Salad. Watergate Salad. 

**If you're not from Minnesota, it's very likely Minnesota Mom is not funny to you. But she's hilarious. And yes, I love both salads. I remember the first time I ever had Frog Eye Salad; it was life-changing. In fairness, I don't follow her specific recipes but linked the videos for context. For Watergate we skip the extra nuts because M doesn't like nuts. For the Frog Eye, the fruit we add is pears and peaches (canned and sliced). 

But you know what? Everyone ate their entire plate! No one had any complaints about any of it. And we can be thankful over any particular meal I do believe. 

And then M made this apple pie. She did almost all the work by herself with a little guidance. She is becoming a great kitchen helper! 

So that was Thanksgiving! Not fancy. But it was fun. 

A Weekend Recap

Wicked was wonderful! 

Full disclosure: my kids have known the OBC album their whole lives and we saw the stage show in May. 

The movie is only the first act of the show and we loved it. 2 hours and 40 minutes is long but somehow didn't feel long. I researched potty breaks ahead of time and we were very happy with our choice. (I knew M would need to go.) 

I was incredibly impressed with Ariana Grande. 

We loved it!! 

Saturday was also busy and crazy! Husband and the kids were up early to be in the Festival of Trees Parade.

It's the Midwest's only Helium balloon parade. True story. I stayed home and watched from bed. That's M in the purple sweatshirt. They had a good time. 

Then after the parade, getting the float and everything back to the museum. C's choir performed at the Festival of Trees. 

After their performance we checked out the festival. 

Yesterday also felt busy but there aren't any pictures or proof of the busyness. We haven't been to Mass on a Sunday in a long while and I was out of practice. (We've been vigil Massing for a while.) 

Then we stayed for a music rehearsal. And we went home and got as many leaves up as possible. Then after dinner, we headed back to church for our parish mission speaker. Which was quite great. 

Now we just need to get through the next few days til the holiday! We can do it! 

Oh What A Celebration We'll Have Today!

 Thank Goodness!! 

Yes. That song will be in part 2. But still. Today is WICKED day and I can hardly wait! 

This is as branded as I can be at work. M is going to wear the other socks from each pair tonight. 

We go at 4:45 and I am so excited!! 

I really wish I had more to show from my week but I don't. It was extremely busy. Since I last wrote we registered the kids for camp, I had a meeting every night and it got actually cold. 

Turns out... I enjoyed not being cold. You can see the very very small amount of s*ow we got. (I don't even want to say it. I hate it.) 

Have a great weekend! 

What's Up Tuesday

Honestly, let's just briefly touch on the weekend. It was busy. 

Saturday morning I led the Reconciliation Retreat.

The boys were working at our church service project raking leaves for those in need. 

Later we went to Mass and then a family Trivia Night hosted by the Boy Scouts. M played with a table of friends. 

Husband, C and I were our own team. 

We didn't win. But we had fun. C was shocked and horrified by the lack of adults who knew Snow White was released in 1937. It was funny. 

Sunday we cleaned up our own lawn and prepared for the week. 

Yesterday was "Wear a Camp Shirt" day. 

So my kids did when they got home. And we sent in the pics to hopefully win a new tee shirt and prize pack. 

Last night was a night to remember. (Or forget... depends how you look at it.) Anyway, our power went out somewhere in the 2:00 am hour. 

And our high needs sleeper noticed immediately. No fan. No white noise. 

She came bounding into our room proclaiming that she "would never sleep again!" 

Anyway... about an hour later the power came back on thank goodness and we all went back to sleep. 

And I already ordered battery-powered white noise machines. Ha. 

A Really Long Week

I am tired. It has been an emotionally taxing and exhausting week.  

After M's birthday Barbies made the news (we had already tossed the packaging!) she did a little photo shoot. 

She is rocking her new Wicked sweatpants and her Wicked tee shirt at out of uniform day today!

Her class led Mass and she did a great job!

Last night was Ladies Night Bingo, the big school fundraiser and I am ultimately really glad I went.

I won even! Hilariously at the game where you make an "s" which I had complained about during our staff meeting because it takes a long time. 

But actually though, none of my other "S" squares were close!

My prize was chips, queso dip and Busch Light. There was also a candle and Starbucks gift card. 

Plus the thrill of calling Bingo in a crowded room. (The opposite of yelling Fire but people still groan.) 

I wish I could tell you this was going to be a relaxing weekend. But it is not. That's okay. I hope yours is. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (and other fun things)

Friday night a new Hubble Telescope exhibit opened at the museum. Husband took the kids. 

I stayed home! I was A-Okay with that. We did watch Hidden Figures when they came home for Family Movie Night to continue the theme. They liked it quite well, such a good movie! And a nice way to open up conversations about the rights we have in America. 

Saturday, we rinsed and repeated. Husband took the kids to see White Christmas at one of the local community theaters. 

And again I was A-Okay with that! 

So you don't all think I am 100% a party pooper, yesterday we all went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. 

Now I admit, I have always always loved this book. But the movie was exceptionally sweet. It might be my new favorite Christmas movie. 

The Herdmans discovering Jesus and looking up to Mary? That's pretty much the narrative I want in a Christmas movie anyway. It was somewhat reminiscent of A Christmas Story with the narration and looking back at a simpler time. 

It was really great. 10/10 if you're looking for wholesome family Christmas entertainment about Jesus. 

And that was the long weekend in a nutshell really. 

More Library Classes

Yesterday I humored my mother by taking 2!!! 2 Library classes in one day. 

The kids didn't have school because of conferences. So after I cut out of work a little early I grabbed them and we headed to the library. 

It was Christmas cards. It was fun. Though a little bit rushed because I was the only newcomer and the other ladies were MUCH better than I was. 

So even though some of my gluing definitely looks like a kindergartener did it, I am happy with it! 

It was a library across town and there was this gully behind it and on the way to the car M saw this deer. Which was a neat little surprise. 

The later after dinner I went to a different library and tried quilling. It was hard and we really really didn't finish the project. But here's a photo proof that I went!! 

Today I spent the day home with the kids and we've accomplished mostly nothing except going to Costco. 

Does anyone really need a pumpkin cheesecake? Well I doubt it but we got one anyway. And every single employee told us how great it is so I am feeling pretty good about it. 

We are ready for the weekend!