Thanksgiving 2015

We’ve been back from Thanksgiving at Hartfield for nearly a week, but looking at these pictures now makes me smile thinking of the beautiful weather, the great time with family, the laughs, and all the delicious food from out time together last week.  It might be on record for the most beautiful Thanksgiving weather I remember in a long time!  We had sunny days, warm temps, and clear skies every day we were there. 

As always, Thanksgiving morning begins with the guys shucking the bushel of fresh oysters that we plan to enjoy later.  In addition, the men are assigned turkey duty, and Garland did a fabulous job this year with his brined and smoked/grilled turkey.  While they shucked oysters, the girls played outside, fancying up their little outdoor house, and the pups enjoyed all the open space and sunny weather to run and play.

 

After polishing off a FABULOUS meal, we all went out to commence our kick ball game.  As always, there was some good healthy competition, lots of laughs, no tears this year, and only one minor hamstring injury (consult the picture below).

 

To keep the pups from getting under foot and chasing/puncturing the kickball, we put them in the enclosed small fenced section right next to where we were playing kickball.  Cayenne, who hates to be left out of anything, cried and whined excessively to express her displeasure.  Maggie, on the other hand, was trying to come up with a solution to dig her way out.  We don’t know which she wanted more – to get away from Cayenne’s annoying whining or to join the game.  Either way, she was on a mission to get herself out of there!

Once the game was finished and we let the pups out of their “prison” they had a couple good races with the girls.  It’s a little game we play with Cayenne.  Because she’s so fast, we line up she and the girls, tell them to take off, then just before they get to “the finish line” we release our hold on Cayenne’s collar, and she takes off and tries to catch them.  She’s the race winner nearly 100% of the time and loves playing the game.

After kickball, racing, and some time throwing around the football it was time to head back in to relax, get some dessert, and watch some football.  Not a bad day.  Not a bad day at all!

Cayenne and Maggie have a great relationship and are good buddies.  They spent nearly every minute of the day playing and chasing each other, and much to our relief, they finally tired out Thanksgiving evening.  Well, I should say one pup was a little less tired than the other pup, and a game of “I’m gonna steal your bone” commenced.  This had been going on back and forth nearly the whole time we were there, but on this one particular occasion, Maggie attempted a steal that we never thought she’d dare.  Cayenne was sleeping with her paw literally on her bone when Maggie crept close for the steal attempt.  We all sat there watching her approach quietly, gently step on Cayenne’s dog bed, then ever-so-stealthily attempt to steal the bone under Cayenne’s paw.  Just as she got her mouth on the bone, Cayenne awaked with a startle.  The whole scene was so much funnier than I could capture with two photos.

  

Cayenne eventually gave in.  And if her face didn’t give it away, I’m sure she’s thinking, “you’ve got to be kidding me!  Now she’s laying on my bed and chewing my bone.  Puppies these days…”

Friday started off equally nice outdoors, so while the boys played golf, the little girls played outside, did some Body Combat exercise, and went kayaking.

 

Once the boys got back from golf, they organized the girls in a little game of football.  Needless to say, things got a wee bit competitive.  But they all had a great time! 

 

After football, we had the most amazing dinner of appetizers and oysters five different ways, then again it was time to relax for adults, but the kids still had plenty of energy to wrestle around.

 

  Always a big hit at Thanksgiving, Mousey’s crafts may never be simple, but they certainly are creative.  This year she guided the girls in making their own wire spiders. 

   

Rounding out our time at Hartfield, the girls got to have donuts with Poppy, we made an attempt at a camera timer whole family group photo, then it time to head back home after the weekend was over.  We had such a wonderful time, and in a season where we focus on thanks, having a wonderful family is certainly at the top of my list of things I’m thankful for.  What a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Poppy Turns 70!

This past weekend we celebrated Poppy’s 70th birthday with a dinner party with family and some friends.  My mom had the great idea of turning the house into a diner and serving “tastings” of some of my dad’s favorite foods.  So, while the house was being prepared for the party, Mark, Garland, Bo, and Pops went golfing and the party preparations began.

 

This was the list of courses that each person was going to get.  All of them were some of Poppy’s favorite foods, and my mom did a great job of mapping out the menu and planning how to keep all the courses flowing smoothly.

All the grandaughters were supposed to be the waitresses for the party, and all were so excited to be a part. Unfortunately, just before we were to head over to the house to help get ready for the party, Nina got sick with the stomach bug, so she was understandably devastated not to be able to help out. The other four looked so cute and did a really great job as waitresses – passing the appetizers, getting drinks for the guests, and serving all the different courses to the guests.

Mouse even had a special shirt made for Pops to wear during the party…

…and when the guys got back from golfing, Poppy was greated by some enthusiastic girls!

  

The party was such a wonderful event.  The theme was so fun and creative, and all the guests really seemed to enjoy themselves.

I felt so bad for Nina who was miserable for the entirety of the evening.  She ended up feeling better later the next day, but she was so disappointed to miss out on the fun of the party.

We finished the evening by playing a little game of guess if the celebrity is older or younger than Poppy, and when all was said and done we were stuffed from all the eating and sufficiently wiped out from the busy day.  However, the party was a huge success, and we were so glad for a fun evening to celebrate how much we love Pops and are thankful for his 70th birthday!

 

Halloween 2015

Halloween has come and gone, and here we are in November.  It’s hard to believe.  Yesterday’s Halloween activities included Lyla’s last soccer game of the season.  It was her last and her best game yet.  This girl was on fire – scoring goals, playing defense, and showing quite a bit of skill.  Clearly, I’m biased, but she felt great about show she played, and we were happy to see her so proud of herself. 

 

We celebrated the end of the season with donuts and cupcakes – just what every kid needs on Halloween! 

We had a little bit of down time after the game, then it was time to get dressed and ready to head out trick or treating.  The previous night, the girls and Mark carved our family pumpkin.  Despite hating the fresh pumpkin smell, the girls helped take out the inside, then Mark got to work carving.  We were quite impressed with his wolf.  I think it’s his best one yet!

 

For Halloween this year, we had Athena, the Greek goddess, and a ninja!  Both costumes really fit the personalities of the girls – they are so different!

  

There were a handful of houses that had turned their garages (and one, the whole house) into haunted houses.  The girls weren’t too keen on trying them out, but we did walk by and check them out from across the street. 

Cayenne came with us and even got a handed out a dog treat! The girls collected a ton of candy, saw some spooky characters, saw friends, and were wiped out not long after 8:00. 

  

We arrived back home to our webs not glowing (as they were supposed to) and an empty candy bowl (what we expected) so, with the girls tired, we passed out some more candy to the last of the trick or treaters and called it a night.  It was a fun night!!