Happy Thanksgiving....a day early....I got a lot to do, People

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.

Thank you for the arrival of our beautiful daughter, the health of our sons, the strength of my husband, the unwavering love from our parents.

Thank you for the safety that surrounds my brother and the unconditional support he gets from his beautiful soon-to-be wife.

Thank you for our friends that continue to laugh, love & live in our home and our hearts.

This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for YOU.

Tuesday, November 10

It is a BIG day today for many reasons.

1. Bucket & Meemaw's prized personal posessions (this includes many expensive pieces of china, furniture, 2 decades worth of seasonal sweaters as well as 45 honey baked hams - just a light snack in our family) begin to make their way to Rockledge, Florida. We will miss you, Cincinnati!

I'm sure the trip will go smoothly.

2. It is the Marine Corps' birthday! Happy birthday to our favorite Jarhead - Dada! God bless all those who serve our country. I dare you to look at this picture and not feel something (thanks, G!).

3. Today is also a big day for our Prettiest Girl In The Whole Wide World - she is 9 months old!

Thank you for completing our family, Lo.

Shenanigans

If eating food prepared by Jose Marty could be a full time job, not only would I be amazing at it, but I would probably be the CEO. I got to show thousands of strangers my true devotion to IPro BBQ this weekend by pushing it like crack at the Washington Food & Entertainment Expo this past weekend.

Jessica and I toiled like dogs setting up, being charming & coy, batting our eyelashes and enticing all to try our samples and then - duh - buy the amazing BBQ rubs of IPro. We did really well!...and I rewarded myself by eating roughly 7 lbs of chicken. Hey, you really have to believe in your product in order to sell it properly!

Check out www.iprobbq.com for amazing rubs, smokers and recipes. They're great stocking stuffers and the men in your life will love them!....crap, it's like I'm a record. I cannot stop.

Today, the boys started their solo swim lessons. Dylan took to the water like a champ all the while saying, "water safety is so cool!" He is so safety conscious and cautious though thoroughly enjoys himself.

This lunatic....good Lord. Can you feel his excitement through the picture?

Most of the pool could hear Sawyer screaming at his teacher, "I'MASEALION" roughly 88x in a row. At least we could always locate him.

I also think this could be my new favorite picture of all time.....

H-Ween 2009

Ah, Halloween. That glorious holiday in which my children squeeze their Schmutte noggins and chubby thighs into sweaty polyester and run rampant through our neighborhood banging on doors like Mormons on a mission. We went with Elliana the Cat & Luccas the Chicken (Nicholas & Frankie had dubbed us 'uncool' & split). Pushing a stoller filled with beer - oh, and Lo the Ladybug - a good time was had by all.

After a few years of brotherhood, the boys finally realized a plus side to having a sibling close in age - sharing costumes! Buzz became Batman and Batman became....wait, what were we talking about? I'm currently eating all the kids' candy. Sorry.

Next up: Lo's first Thanksgiving & Christmas! Sawyer will probably want to wear the Buzz Lightyear outfit for those occasions. Could NOT get him out of that thing.