Flashback to November

Yes, I am trying to fill in the gaps, so bear with me. I'll get to Christmas pictures soon enough!

...Here are some pictures of Beth and Jack at the wonderful shower that Connie Kulick hosted for them. We had a wonderful, intimate little party that started off with delicious holiday eggnog while we waited for all of the guests. Jack and Beth got to meet their cousin, Rachelle, for the the first time and enjoyed playing with Miss Connie's toys together.

We all enjoyed a delicious luncheon of chicken and rice, Jack and Beth's favorite, followed by a scrumptious cake topped with chocolate-dipped blackberries. Connie really made us feel so special with all of her wonderful preparations!

The kids especially liked to help Mommy open the presents and wanted to carry them all to the car all by themselves.

So much for catching up...

Well, it's hard to believe so much time has flown by. Here it is almost Christmas already! And I hardly said anything about November! So I guess a quick update is in order...

At the beginning of November, we had an apple cider pressing party with the Kulicks. Beth and Jack were anxious to help, especially if it meant "playing" in the water. We ended up with 40 gallons of cider by the end of the long day.

On November 7 (Mommy's birthday) we were invited to feed the ducks with Anna and Cheryl Johnson at the park. Unfortunately, the geese thought they were pretty special and scared all the ducks away. We had a very nice outing anyway.

Back at home, Daddy was mowing the lawn for the last time of the season and Jack thought he wanted to help. The matching outfits was unplanned but turned out pretty cute (Shhh, don't tell Mitch I said cute!)

We also had a fun day with Mai, our Thai friend who taught us what little Thai words we know. We started out at the Asian market where she showed me the best brands to buy and helped me choose some things to make real Thai food. Then we drove over to the UO campus and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. The weather was beautiful so we took a walk on campus, where we got this great shot. It was wonderful to see the children warm up so well to Mai! They were still a little bit shy about talking to her and would only nod or shake their heads when she spoke Thai, but she quickly became the favored hand-holder when crossing the street!