Go Blazers!

This past summer my siblings gave Cade, Willem and cousin Daniel Portland Trailblazer tickets for their July birthdays. And, last weekend Marcus took them to see the Blazers take on the Chicago Bulls. Needless to say, the boys had a fantastic time which included a Blazer win! The seats were amazing, less than ten rows up, and they were on TV numerous times. Uncle Duane even texted Marcus during the game telling Willem to stop eating Daniel's popcorn....Duane could see Willem snagging Dan's popcorn on TV! This was definitely a birthday gift that will be tough to beat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day at Chad's parents was relaxing, fun and very filling. We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house around noon and stayed until after 11:00 pm. I loved that I was able to read the paper and watch football for hours just relaxing! Watching the Ficek clan play cards was also very entertaining, as usual! We all ate way too much yummy dinner and desserts and really enjoyed each others' company. I am so thankful for the very loving and fun in-laws I have!

 Excited to be on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's house Thanksgiving morning!

The whole crew except Grandpa, EJ and myself who are missing from this picture. It was a fun, loud and big group as usual!

Chad carved the turkey this year

Cade and Willem adore their older cousins, Andy and Colin. They all had a great time chatting, watching YouTube videos and playing Xbox.  

The card players!

Genevieve was very excited about her dress which I bought for Christmas but couldn't resist giving it to her early :)

Willem and me

Chad and his dad

On Friday we spent the day at my dad and Kathleen's house. Unfortunately my dad wasn't there as he was visiting his siblings in Holland but we filled the house without him. It was surprisingly relaxing making dinner this year. I don't know if it was easier because I've got the cooking down after many years of practice or if not having toddlers myself anymore makes it less hectic but it definitely felt easier this year to get it all together. It helped that we decided to use paper plates and utensils this year and not spend much time on the table settings, something I vote we do again in years to come! Kathleen made the turkey and Amber and I made the mashed potatoes, stuffing and veggies with the help of Meleesa, Gabrielle and Athena. Jennifer arrived near the end of the preparations with delicious rolls, yams and gravy. The kids all had a great time together, as always, entertaining themselves with ipads, Wii games, sports on TV, toys, card games and more. The adults didn't play cards this year but instead just enjoyed each others' company chatting and watching football and basketball. The day flew by so fast and I definitely didn't get a chance to chat with everyone. Thankfully Christmas is just a month away! (Thanks to Amber for the pictures!)

Pre-meal fun!

Davida and Tucker were definitely the guests of honor! We all so enjoyed playing and snuggling with them!

Potato peelers and awesome helpers Meleesa and Athena (Elle was a great helper too)!

Working on the stuffing

James carved the turkeys

Kathleen and Jenn, the other cooks!

Cousins hanging out, watching football. They are all getting so grown-up!

Robert and Searra

David, Amy and Frances

Prayers before the feast

Enjoying the meal and the great company

 

 Selene and Jacoby

 

A few of the many desserts!

This picture of me and my brothers just cracks me up!

That's a little better, David!

Kid poker game!

And some wrestling?

The guys watching Duck basketball

Cade and Pascal listening to music and watching the game

All tuckered out! With lots of noise all around them, Cade and Nev managed to catch a little nap mid-festivities!

Coming your way...

It really feels like Christmas is coming when I order our Christmas card which I did this morning...

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Like last year, I took each of our kids outside on our deck (after I cut the boys' hair) and asked them for just three minutes of smiles (and that's really all I got max). It's always fun to see what I get, card-worthy and not. It's also fun to compare them to last year. They have all grown up so much in a year!

Genevieve was my most animated poser this year...

Willem's been a little awkward with camera smiles lately which cracks me up :)...

Elle was a great poser as always and she was definitely the most patient with this process...

Cade just wanted it over with and fast...

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Chad turned 44 on November 8th. With our busy schedule on his actual birthday including Chad having to work, it felt like we didn't do nearly enough to celebrate his birthday. I always love birthdays and try to make a big deal out of them but Chad is just fine with making it low-key. So, we celebrated with lunch at Mucho Gusto with the kids (they had a day off from school) which included treats, cards and gifts. After work, Chad and I ferried our three big kids to practices and with our 1.75 hours of nearly kid-free time (we did have Genevieve with us :), I asked Chad what he wanted to do and all he could come up with was a trip to Costco. So that's what we did together! Luckily, we got to celebrate more on the next evening (Friday) with a dinner with friends and on Saturday with a family birthday party (in between trips to Portland on both Saturday and Sunday) and then, finally, Chad and I got to go away for two nights with just the two of us (totally kid-free) this past weekend. It was heavenly! I guess it was a pretty eventful birthday after all! Well deserved for such a great husband and dad! Here are some pictures of the festivities....

Mucho Gusto Lunch. Yummy!

A great long dinner with friends to celebrate Donnie and Chad's birthdays

 

Scenes from our car ride to soccer games on Chad's birthday weekend plus a pic of Nev helping me get ready for Chad's birthday dinner :)

Had to include a collage of Nev being the best soccer fan we could ask for (in a 3 year old) on our weekend of soccer mashed between Chad's b-day celebrations. In the upper right, Geneveieve  is curled up with the ipad while sitting on my lap in the pouring down rain at 8 pm at night Sunday evening watching one more game! She even had a little fever. Luckily, it wasn't too cold and we just snuggled together under lots of blankets. The lower left is Nev the weekend before when we stayed at Embassy Suites and she was sooo ready for swimming after a day at the fields. And below right, Nev has fruit snacks, a soccer game staple for us :). Another staple, a stop at Bridgeport Mall and Paradise Bakery (Bridge Cafe) muffins and Lululemon for me (upper left)!

 Family Party Time! We also celebrated Marcus and Bev's November birthdays!

James was getting great smiles out of Davida

  

Nia and Nev put on some great dance performances during the party. It was pretty cute!

A few pictures of our weekend away. We stayed at The Westin in downtown Portland. It was so nice to just relax, talk and spend time together. We ate some yummy food, watched movies and sports and did some Christmas shopping. It was fabulous! I always have the BEST time with Chad :)