'THANKS'giving Weekend

The title of my post is 'THANKS'giving weekend because I have so much to be thankful for this past weekend~ here are just a few...

1. My sister in law who was so kind enough to take my girls Wednesday night so I could set up the house for the party of 25 coming over for Thanksgiving. Not only did I get completely set up and clean the house but I was able to hike Camelback Mountain the next morning with my best friend Ashlee. Thank you Kelly, you gave me an incredible gift!

2. The beautiful weather on Thanksgiving, the kids were able to play outside all day long and not go crazy indoors. Also made for a wonderful hike where I was able to share great conversation and burn some calories.

3.Quality family time with my immediate and extended family. This time always brings back memories for me as a child when I would spend hours with my cousins, aunts and uncles.

4. Good movies, we went to see The Blind Side- what a feel good movie!

5. Dinner with Hatos' family, great food and fun concert performances by the girls!

6. Decorating for Christmas.... this night is always a tradition in our family, we have hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music while we hang ornaments. I will cherish these moments with my family forever!

7. Six straight days off from work, it was so nice but ready to be back to work tomorrow!

Yes, Jilly is smiling! Yeah!

My lovely nieces and nephews ate dinner outside, gosh are they growing fast!

Tatum and Madison

By the way a not so thankful moment this past weekend was when Vince Young completed that touchdown pass. Poor Cardinals... you almost did it!

Performances, Parties.... Halloween!

Tatum is on a dance performing team which I might state is very time consuming and of course expensive!! If you know Tatum she loves to dance and even more so perform. On her actual birthday she performed at the Gilbert Halloween Carnival and let me tell you she was a little more nervous than I expected. As a parent you don't ever want your child to feel any discomfort, but she did fantastic! She looks about 13 with her make-up on and hair straightened, this doesn't help when she is about 3 inches taller than the rest of the girls in her class. Her next performance is at the Gilbert Days parade where she will ride on the Dynamite Express float... yahoo! I have had my share of crowd filled events to last me the rest of the year...but I hear that this is just the beginning. Ugh!

Then we had a big Halloween Party for Tatum's birthday which was so much fun! Everyone came in costume which always makes for a great time especially when you buy your husband's costume 50% off at Joanne's. You can imagine what costumes were left over.... I had three to choose from and needless to say I didn't realize how funny it was going to be. I bought him a Wizard outfit which didn't look so bad on the hanger but when he put it on... OMG it made all the work I did for this party worth it!! I think others would agree, I would love to attach a picture but of course he wouldn't let me take one. We had some other great costumes like Charlie Brown, Mario and Luigi, and of course the birthday girl was Glenda the Good Witch. Jilly and I were the bad witches. Overall, Tatum had a great birthday!

Birthday Girl... I love you so much! You continue to amaze me with your ability to show love and care for others wherever you go. You brighten my days and fill our home with joy!