Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

We were so happy that my brother Jordan and sister-in-law Leah could join us for Thanksgiving with their kids. Legend and Topher spent a lot of time outside throwing a football with Peter and Cooper, Zariah did crafts with Phoebe and Sophie, and Maverick loved playing the ukulele throughout the day.

And we ate good food and talked about what we're thankful for.

That Early Morning Air

Our Thanksgiving started out cold and early. Cooper had registered to run in a 5K that started at 9:00 and we came out to support him. The temperature was right around freezing when they started running and didn't get much warmer while we were outside.

I snapped a picture of Cooper at the starting line.

Can you see him? I'll zoom in. He's wearing a hat.

Bryan got a video of Cooper crossing the finish line, but I was so focused on cheering that my phone wasn't even out of my pocket.

He placed 6th in his division and 24th overall with a time of 19:24, not bad considering how very cold it was. He appreciated the free donuts at the end of the run. 

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for many things, especially family.

Trimmed Out

I've spent my week getting ready for Thanksgiving. I've baked and cleaned and sorted.

And stayed up until 3AM on Monday painting the banister and entryway trim.

You know, the basics.

Ho Ho Ho

I just realized that today is November 25th. Which means we're one month away from Christmas. We're usually mostly done with our shopping at this point.

This year?

We're not even a little bit ready.

School Days

I went to Topher's parent teacher conference today. His teacher said he's one of the highest readers in the class and is fantastic at math. She said she can tell that he wants to do well in school and puts a lot of effort into his work. She also said that sometimes he struggles with keeping his hands to himself. I assured her that we would chat with him about that.

It threw me a little to see his picture labeled Christopher, but his teacher called him Topher, so I guess he's using both names?

The wall outside his classroom had this fun art project on it. Each kid drew a picture of one of their favorite things and those items are displayed as the kind of balloons you would see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Topher drew a polar bear. I'm not at all surprised.

Day After Day After Day

This has been a long week. A looooooong week. It started with the Primary Program on Sunday. It went really well, but it was just part of a full day. I could feel myself getting sick at the end of last week, though I told myself I couldn't succumb until Monday when the Primary Program was over. I've spent the week coughing and sneezing and trying to balance resting with still getting everyone fed and where they need to be on time.

Actually, I think it's been a long month. I've been staying up late with some kids and getting up early with other kids. I keep losing track of what day it is. I'm pretty sure sleep deprivation has something to do with it. Maybe I'll find a day during Thanksgiving break to sleep in.

Maybe.

Another Evening in Wonderland

Sophie, Cooper, Peter, and I saw the final dress rehearsal of Phoebe's show tonight. The show was even tighter than it had been the first night. From the moment Phoebe entered the theater from the audience she moved like she owned it, which felt exactly right for the Queen of Hearts.

Off With His Head!

Tonight we saw Phoebe perform in Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts. I know I've said this about others roles she's played, but it applies here too: SHE STOLE THE SHOW! And I'm not the only person that thought so. It was a student directed show and the director's dad had the same comment about Phoebe's performance. She was nuanced and multi-dimensional and kind of terrifying. Also, she was fantastic!

Fun fact: the kid who played Mr. Wormwood across from Phoebe's Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda in seventh grade played the King of Hearts across from her in this. 

A Little Night Music

Cooper and Phoebe sang in a fundraising concert this weekend for the high school music department. It was fun to hear what they've been working on. I'm glad they're getting such a good music education in our school district.