Sing Out Strong

Sophie has been practicing with her elementary school chorus since September. Tonight we attended their holiday concert. They did a great job! It's a huge group with just over one hundred kids, the stage was packed. Sophie was so fun to watch! Her face was expressive and she clearly was having a grand time performing. Topher had gone to the concert yesterday that the kids put on for their classmates. I could hear him singing along and sometimes he would also do their arm choreography. In other words, he was a big fan.

I'm excited for their concert in the spring!

Brrrrrrrrr

It was 22 degrees when we left the house this morning. I didn't mind that we'd missed the bus because I didn't want to get out of my car to wait at the busstop. The warmest it got all day was 32 degrees. I made dinner tonight while wearing my jacket and scarf. It wasn't that cold inside my house, I just couldn't warm up from having been outside.

And Cooper still didn't think it was cold enough to wear a jacket.

A girl from church threatened bodily harm if he didn't put his coat on. He finally complied but insisted it really wasn't that bad.

I do not understand this.

He's Elusive

I have taken soooooooo many pictures that it can be difficult to search for pictures that have our entire family, there are simply too many photos to sift through. Except! I realized that Bryan does not love having his picture taken, so if he shows up in a photograph there's a good chance it contains the rest of us as well. And now I know that if I want to locate a family picture amongst the thousands on my Google Photos, I just need to search for Bryan.

And that is my life hack for the day. This tip won't help anyone else, but it definitely saved me some time this morning.

Merry and Bright

Giving Thanks

Our Thanksgiving day was extra special because Bryan's youngest brother Spencer drove all the way from Indianapolis to visit! I was so focused on cooking and visiting with him that I took very few pictures. Even without photographic evidence, it was a wonderful holiday.

Bryan and I spent most of the day cooking. Spencer helped with the sweet potatoes and with entertaining kids in the backyard. The meal was delicious!

Not pictured: six pumpkin pies (I decided to cut back this year and not make as many), one razzleberry pie, one key lime pie, one chocolate pie, and one apple cobbler.

After all the cooking and eating were finished, we played a few rounds of MarioKart. And by we, I mean not me. I was busy dozing on Bryan's shoulder.

This was taken just before I fell asleep.

After MarioKart we gathered back in the kitchen for dessert. I had failed to take a picture during dinner and only remembered to take this one after most people were finished eating their sweets. They were good sports and came back into the kitchen.

I'm thankful for this family of mine, both immediate and extended. And I'm thankful for a holiday focused of gratitude!

The Hero We Need

Topher was given the homework assignment to help his turkey make it to Christmas by disguising it. This was Topher's solution.

Happy Thanksgiving from Super Turkey!

Right Until the End

Sophie and Topher spent a morning before school last week writing this song. We recorded it just before we left for the bus that day. I love that they want to be BFFs right until the end.

Artistic Distractions

Sometimes when Phoebe is supposed to be doing her math homework, she draws instead.

Off to Oz

Cooper had his theatre debut this weekend. He and Peter were in their high school production of Choose Your Own Oz, an audience participation version of The Wizard of Oz. Peter played Uncle Henry and they were both trees. Yes, that's right, trees. They got to throw apples. In this version they threw them at the Wicked Witch instead of Dorothy. Peter got a big laugh as the slow-talking Uncle Henry. We went on opening night and watched their performances.

Peter is already looking forward to being part of the spring musical. Cooper has decided this will be both his first and last acting experience. I guess being a tree was all he needed.

Great job guys!

Soak Up the Sun