November is flying by! It seems like little Leah's birthday was just yesterday, I blinked, and now it's already the week of Thanksgiving. We just had our second to last Stake Conference last Sunday, and it was crazy to think that at the conclusion of one more this spring, we are officially outta here. They recently split our ward into the Pinehurst Ward, as well as a new Southern Pines Ward, which caused quite a bit of shake-up! It's amazing to see how the church has grown since we moved here 3 1/2 years ago.
Right about the week after Halloween, all the fall leaves change color and turn this ultra-bright red and orange, and then overnight they turn brown and die. These were trees we enjoyed right in front of the gym. Gorgeous!
A beautiful tree right in our own backyard! I will miss these long gorgeous "Indian Summer"-type autumns wherever we end up next year.
Zach found Leah's My Little Pony headband and glasses one afternoon while we were waiting to pick Lucy up from "Chicken Club" (they stay after school and feed and water the school's chickens), and he was teasing Leah to keep her entertained. What a goof!
I recently organized our ward's November enrichment and we made these cute paper Christmas trees as part of an advent calendar for December. You insert a scripture about Christ in the bottom (as well as some chocolate kisses if you want), and then each day you open the tree and read the scripture.
The activity was a hit and they turned out really cute. They look very festive all lined up along the top of my piano. The kids can't wait to start opening them!
We busted out some of Lucy's old winter boots, and thankfully, they look just like the boots Anna wears in the movie Frozen. And since Leah is super picky about her shoes they are an easy sell. She hates keeping her clothes on-- she loves to undress herself and walk around in just her diaper, and even tries to pull that stunt at the gym. Thankfully she was fully-clothed and posing very sweetly for this one in her Thanksgiving shirt and Anna boots!
Zach's class celebrated Thanksgiving by learning some Pilgrim and Indian songs and poems and inviting all the parents to come watch them recite them. I couldn't find a sub for my class, so Jon was more than happy to take the afternoon off and go support Zach instead.
Little Sarah Castelli is the last girl on the right in this picture (with the walker). She has cerebral palsy and is in Zach's class, and Zach LOVES her!! And apparently the whole class just adores her. She is the cutest little girl, but Zach absolutely loves to be "Sarah's Helper" and volunteers to carry her supplies and walk with her in the halls, or play with her at recess. He is a very loving boy.
Enjoying a Thanksgiving feast after their program. Yum!
Zach was a good sport and offered to sing me a couple of his songs when he got home from school.
Saturday morning we decided to brave the cold and do a one mile fun run called the Turkey Trot that our gym sponsors every year. It started at 8:30 a.m. on the dot, and due to trying to haul out all the winter clothes from storage, properly bundle up the kiddos, and find parking close enough to the park we barely made it there by 8:25 a.m. Naturally I was panicking!
It was 27 degrees but felt much colder with the wind, but at least it was bright and sunny! Lucy's covering her ears and trying to stay warm!
Zach was a good sport and although he missed out on his Saturday morning cartoons, I think he had fun and was glad we made him do it.
There was also a 5k, 10k, and Half-Marathon, so overall there were almost 1,000 participants, which for as small a community as we live in, that's fantastic! It was a huge success for the Fitness Center, as well as for us! We all ran the entire way-- the kids didn't complain (other than about the cold), but we finished in about 10 minutes flat. The kids got medals which they were thrilled about, and I'm so glad we tried it! Next time I'm making them do a 5k, ha, ha.
We decided you only live once. and headed right for the brand new Waffle House for some breakfast waffles and some hot chocolate to help us warm up! It definitely hit the spot!
Later that afternoon we headed back to the Village to the Pinehurst Resort to check out the Festival of Trees and Candy Cane Lane where Santa Claus was visiting for the day!
I made my kids dress up in their Christmas duds and I think they looked super cute!
We walked around and admired all the trees first, while we waited for our ticket number to be called to go see Santa. Leah especially liked this Hello Kitty tree.
While Jon and I waited in line, the kids listened to Christmas stories read by Mrs. Claus.
HOORAY!! Not one of them was afraid of meeting Santa, and we kept telling Leah that Santa was very nice and would give her candy, so she had no problem going up there. He was an awesome Santa and had the perfect "Ho ho ho."
Telling Santa what they want for Christmas! Lucy wants an Easy Bake Oven, Zach wants a Hot Wheels track, and Leah wants Elsa. I guess we'll see what comes Christmas morning...
All finished and ready to head back home! We are so excited for Thanksgiving, and for Jon to have a little bit of time off to go do some fun things as a family. We are so THANKFUL for November, and that it gives us the opportunity to reflect on just how blessed we are!!
