Birthday Parties, Thanksgiving & BLACK FRIDAY!

We decided to celebrate Easton's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese this year. Let me just say this....my kids LOVED it and could have stayed there forever playing the games. The pizza sucked, but then again who goes to Chuck E. Cheese for the food??? I, on the other hand, was quite certain that all of us were going to get the bird flu, chlamydia or some other horrible disease from that place! It wasn't that it was dirty, it's a brand new Chuck E. Cheese, but it was like kid central and everyone is touching the same game controls and tokens and hand rails and.......ew! There wasn't enough hand sanitizer for me that night! All in all though.....it was really fun for them and we had a great night. You should try it sometime if you don't mind the mingling scent of feet and pizza! :) And none of us have gotten sick from being there-yet.

I sent Easton on a Birthday scavenger hunt for his presents the next morning. This is something my mom used to do for my birthday's when I was little. You start at a certain place in the house and there is a note with a clue as to where you are supposed to go next, you run there and sometimes there is a gift at that place and sometimes not, but always a new clue where to go. My kids love to do this and it makes getting their presents a little more fun because they are running all over the place looking for them.

Reading a clue......


You can't tell he was excited or anything.... ;)

Me and my Bubba...

You would think that having a birthday so close to Thanksgiving would suck....but he kind of ends up partying for a solid week! My mom had a celebration at her house for him on the morning of Thanksgiving and I think he thought it was his birthday all over again! He was so excited for his cake....

My Dad's dog had puppies awhile back and all the kids (minus Allie) have been in seventh heaven playing with them. Paul took these pictures while I was out shopping and I LOVE them!

"Snips, snails and puppy dog tails....that's what little boys are made of"

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Thanksgiving!!

This year we were at my Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. All of us kids rotate every year so that we can all be together every other year. It works out perfectly. I love having Thanksgiving at my mom's house. For starters, she is an amazing cook. She is known for her pies-they look like something out of a magazine and they taste even better! YUM-O!! This year she made cherry, pumpkin and apple crumble. I'm craving that pumpkin pie right now! The night before Thanksgiving all of us found babysitters for the kids and went to see the movie, "Four Christmases." I think we all laughed for a solid two hours! Loved,loved,loved that movie! It was a great Thanksgiving! I slept over at my mom's this year so that I could get up for......

BLACK FRIDAY!

yes, that's right....we are some of those crazy people that get up at 3:45 and hit the stores! Me, my mom, my sister and sister-in-law do it every year and the funny thing is, most years I'm not even after a specific item! I mainly go to watch the craziness. This year, me and my Mom found a safe aisle in Wal-Mart and just enjoyed the scenery-which is really something to see(and hear)! Nothing funnier than some woman in fleece polar bear pants screaming profanities at 4 a.m.-all for the sake of a $30 toy! My sister is so dead serious about this day-and she cleans up! She almost ALWAYS gets what she goes in after. Krystal is the same way...except she has buyers remorse the whole rest of the day! It really is a white trash affair, but we have too much fun to stop. And you really can find some great deals that day. For instance, I found and bought the cutest boots that were 60% off! My theory is this: The higher the heel, the cuter the shoe the less focus on the ever expanding belly! :)

My pictures of Florida are almost all put together and I will post them soon. I will say this though...Florida was heavenly! It was relaxing, fun and...WARM!!