busy bees

well we had a very fun, but busy month and i feel like i'm still recovering from it all! we went through our final trip to woodbadge, a baby shower at our house, and relatives coming to visit all in one weekend....just to give an idea of the chaos! marc and delauna came with the kids and we had so much fun. its always been exciting for me to watch others when they come to visit because its usually so different from what they are used to! we went to the beach a few times with them, went out to eat (the adults went to ruth's chris one night...wowzers!...thanks marc!), and we of course celebrated thanksgiving. i truly feel it is the most over looked holiday because christmas is so closly following it. on thanksgiving morning, chris took everybody on the boat leaving me with two grumpy kids (one of which was sick and teething), and no one to help make three batches of rolls, and wash, cut, cook and mash 10 lbs of potatoes. you might wonder why chris chose to go out on the boat in the morning rather than after, which would be the logical thing to do...one word..football. we had 18 adults for thanksgiving dinner. it was quite the production, but when all the cooking and organizing was done, the food family and friends was very enjoyable! after thanksgiving dinner, the girls went to see the movie "australia". i truly had NO desire to see the movie but was willing to do whatever it took to go just so i could get away from the kids for a while! after that we went to the miromar outlet mall and went shopping at midnight. i have never gone shopping the day after thanksgiving, but i had sooo much fun! larissa and i went to a few stores by ourselves and we had a blast picking things out and trying them on together. i have really really really enjoyed being able to hang out with her. oh, and just a side note...it was crazy enough i dont plan on shopping on black friday again! but i did find a few things for myself for christmas :) anyways at about 2 in the morning we went back to my parents house and ate another thanksgiving dinner and tried not to laugh too loud and wake anybody up. that was my favorite part of all! i felt like i was in high school again coming home after going to a show(... home to kerz's house of course) and eating food and then going to bed, completly exhausted!
while they were here we went to skunk ape. i think they all loved it, i know we did!! jack especially liked it. now whenever he sees an alligator on tv he says "wanna hold it"! i dont know of any petting zoo that will allow you get that close, let alone hold, that many animals. its pretty amazing.

we went to the beach even though the water was FREEZING! i couldnt even put my feet in the water. jack got soaked, of course, but had so much fun. he now says "beach beach beach" when we get in the car. ok, honestly, he doesnt quite say beach, it comes out as a very naughty word that sounds very similar to the word beach.

all in all, we had a great 10 days with marc and delauna and also a great november. we are looking forward to christmas very much. im hoping that jack will be able to understand opening presents and things like that. i almost feel like a kid again, picking out presents and things in anticipation of the little mans glee! our tree is full of cheap, plastic balls, and we cant actually put presents out yet, but the magic of christmas is definitly in the air in our little home! we are playing all of the old christmas music that i never heard growing up because my parents didnt like nat "king" cole or bing crosby or even frank sinatra, and i'm loving it! it makes me feel so "jolly"! im trying to teach of jesus' birthday even though i feel like its not penetrating jack's brain, but i hope that all of the little plays with the nativity sets and pictures in the friend magazine will help him to build an understanding of the true meaning of this wonderful season!