Thanksgiving~

Thanksgiving has come and gone ... again. I remember when my kids were younger and we would have T dinner at grandma Griffin's house - she would have 5 kernels of corn on each of our plates. Before we could start passing around the turkey and trimmings we had to mention 5 things that we were grateful for. Oh.. my kids HATED doing that. But looking back - that was such a good lesson to teach them. We have so many things to be thankful for that we take for granted.

My five things that I'm thankful for today besides the obvious (we could never say the obvious when we did this) which are my family, which I love them all so very very much and the gospel are:

1. My job... even though its been a tough one - in this economy I am grateful for a solid job.
2. My home - the fact that I could qualify by myself as a single woman felt like a huge accomplishment which I've been so grateful for.
3. A country where I have freedom to voice my opinion... even if people disagree. It's ok
4. That the price of gas has gone down ... need I say more?
5. That we will have water at the cabin this winter .. (you must come visit so you can appreciate this!)

Anyway... here's a pic (sorry Steve) of our dinner gathering at my house this year. We were missing Rick and Amanda, Rusty and Collette, Jamie and David and their family but we had Daniel and Cat, Randy, Annie and kids, Jenni, Lynn and kids, Sheryl, Steve and Becca and my mom. So we had a full house and a great time.

a MAX-athon

Yes, its true. Scott and I held our own little MAXAthon with the Mino man. Randy, Annie and Hank took off for sunny Disneyland last Wednesday leaving Max in our loving care. Jenni watched him for a few hours while I finished up at work but other than that.. he spent the entire time with us. I have to admit I was a tad nervous when Annie asked... I mean REALLY.. what do I do with a 1 yr old for 24 hrs a day for 4 days? I haven't been in baby mode since... well, since RICK. But we had a great time. What a sweetheart he is! Holding and hugging him are the absolute best! Here are some pics of our adventures... (and yes, I'm sure he had more fun with us then in a stroller at Disneyland!)


Thank goodness for child locks. Need I say more?



Max became Scott's walking buddy. They took several trips together around the neighborhood and even a quick jaunt over to Liberty Land. Who could ask for more fun!


We went and visited Grandma Reid at the Seville with Jenni and Scott. I'm not quite sure what he's thinking here....


Of course, Max's favorite past time is eating... and banging things. Hence the high chair AND the measuring cups...


Max doesn't walk around with a cup in his hand. Instead he grunts for you to go to the fridge and get his milk, takes a small sip, then grunts for you to return it to its proper spot on the shelf in the fridge. We spent a lot of time by my fridge this past weekend.


Friday, after Max's nap, he and I decided to go and rake the leaves. This is a picture of Max walking in my backyard before we started raking.



This is one of the piles he enjoyed on our "break".


We enjoyed having Max stay with us and I think he did FINALLY adjust to life at our home. I do know why young people have the babies though... I was EXHAUSTED every night once he got to bed. But ohhh I So Love you MINO!!

You SUNK my Battleship!

Sundays are always a great day when the kids come to visit. Last Sunday was no exception. Our numbers are fewer but the fun still remains! Randy decided to teach Hank, Dyson and Colby how to play Battleship since Hank got the paper version of the game in his Happy meal... or Wendy meal... or.. well, you get the point.


I'm not sure who won.... it looks like maybe Randy did. Jenni wanted me to add that this Sunday would have been my dad's 92 birthday. My dad loved games and always gave himself a "grandpa Reid" game for Christmas... Battleship being one of them. It was a fun evening with memories and good times shared..... wish I'd had more chocolate chip cookies on hand!!