We had a quiet, restful Thanksgiving at home this year. The boys helped me cook more than ever! It was so nice to have their help in the kitchen and getting ready. We didn't do anything unusual.

We watched the parade and the dog show. I had a fun new puzzle. We ate a traditional dinner with turkey and cranberries. We had pumpkin pie and played a new dice game.

I proposed a new tradition - a Mario Kart Grand Prix! The kids were super excited to compete. I'm pleased that Ben won the tournament, but he has some real competition coming his way!

The day after Thanksgiving we had a beautiful snow. I went to Boulder for a charity dance jam (90 minutes, multiple teachers, all proceeds and time donated). The kids once again were a big help in getting Christmas decorations up indoors. Ben and I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday.

The holiday was wonderfully peaceful and fun. I only wish we could have teleported to visit more family, and that the break was longer. It was VERY hard to get out of my cozy bed this morning. Luckily the next holiday break is only a few weeks away!

We enjoyed a GORGEOUS fall this year, until a big snow storm two days before Halloween :-D Oh well, you can't kill the Halloween spirit in these kids!

Tonight we all attended Jack's first concert of his 8th grade year. They held it in the gym because the younger grade orchestras are so big, the auditorium couldn't accommodate them.

Jack enjoyed being the only cello in the 8th grade group (aside from one girl who mainly plays viola, but joined him for one song as a beginner).

I think he sounds really great! He loves that vibrato and really goes for it. I hope the video sounds good - in person we could clearly hear his instrument on the parts when it was only cello+bass.

I forgot the name of one song. I'll try to update it when he tells me later.

Sam had a wonderful birthday last month. He asked for a fantasy adventure party to play his ongoing RPG with his two best friends. We decorated the living room for a medieval atmosphere. He had a wonderful afternoon playing with his pals!

On the actual day of his birthday we opened presents in the morning. The big gift was a new chromebook that he knew was coming and he loves it. But we surprised him with an electric scooter to help him commute home from school. It works great and suits him perfectly!

It was a regular school day after presents. He asked for me to cook a spaghetti meatball dinner, and we took them to Dairy Queen after their piano lessons.

Happy Birthday Sam! You are such a cool, kind, and clever kid!

We had some gorgeous lighting from storms today, so I took some updated photos of the garden. I think it's fun to see how it changes over time, and in most of the photos I shared yesterday my plants seemed so small. I also took pictures where the "after" was missing.

Stepping stones installed:

My battered shade garden:

Trumpet vine progress:

Wide shots of the yard:

Small features and beautiful morning rain:

Here's some photos I didn't share yet of the landscaping work. I dumped them in no particular order, sorry! They sort of go backwards in time, so scroll backwards for a happier viewing ;-)

This is just a collection of our garden visitors. It's so fun seeing who comes! Some are more welcome than others ;-)