Thanksgiving Frittata

The morning after Thanksgiving, I had just finished making two GIANT bowls of oatmeal with all the trimmings. I was just about to put my first bite in my mouth when Ben mentioned, "Oh! I think you got a text!" I checked my phone, and Mer had invited us over for Thanksgiving Frittata! Ben didn't feel like going out, so he took one for the team and ate BOTH giant bowls of oatmeal, and I got to head down to Mer's house and eat this deliciousness:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We gathered at Mer, Pete and Kate's house for Thanksgiving this year.



Sparkly, delicious sugared cranberries.



Dennis brought chipotle dip!



Last year, a new Thanksgiving Mojito tradition was born. We were happy to repeat the deliciousness this year!



Mmm, wine AND a mojito. CHEERS!



Moss entertained us with some accordion tunes.



Kate's friend Sofie joined us too!



Buster made himself comfortable on Cheryl's lap.



The Carve Master!



Kate and Sofie pretended to be kitties.



Buster got right in on that action!






Uncle Mark approved of the rolls. So did I! I wish I was just two inches tall so that I could dive into that pillowy softness!



Kate gnawing on a drumstick.



Feast!



Ben, Wendy and Mark.



Cheers! It was also Mom and Dad's 43rd wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary!!



DON'T MIND IF I DO!



Ben and Moss roughhoused with Dennis.









And then Moss fell asleep! The girls decorated his chair while he was passed out.



After Sofie left, Kate invented a game where she ran around in circles, trailing a bunch of balloons behind her, trying to keep them away from Moss (who had woken up from his nap).






Lap #4,550



Moss hiding!



Where is he?!



Here he comes!






Then it was pie time!



Cheryl made pumpkin pies, and Mer made apple pies!









They were outstanding! What a delicious Thanksgiving! I was thankful to spend it with so many loved ones and to eat so many tasty things!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Today is Kate's actual birthday. FIVE YEARS OLD!!! Mom and Dad had a birthday party at their house. Kate and Dad were swinging and singing when we arrived.



Presents! Kate has been really wanting a piggy bank, and she got the CUTEST one!



Serious about saving.



Baby got a unicorn bandaid on her head, and some lips stickers on her mouth. CREEPY!!



We had a pizza party for dinner, and then ice cream cake from Larry's Dawg House for dessert!! Kate got to put in the birthday candle.



FIVE!



Happy birthday to Kate!






Make a wish!



YUM. YUM YUM YUM YUM!!! Larry's really knows how to make ice cream cakes, that's for sure!



Happy birthday, Kate!

Kate's 5th Birthday Party!

Today was Kate's 5th birthday party! Check out the agenda to see how much fun was in store.



Right on schedule! Activity #1 was coloring the birthday banner.






Grandpa and Grandma shared a moment beneath the birthday banner.



Snacks! The bowl of popcorn was ENORMOUS!



The second activity was musical presents! Presents were passed around the circle until the music stopped. Whoever was holding the present got to keep it and exit the circle, and the another present would go around. Everyone got a present!



Pass that present!



Next up was School with Mrs. Maroney. When Kate comes over to Mom and Dad's house for babysitting, one of the activities Dad often does with Kate is play school. He is the teacher, Mrs. Maroney, and they do lots of activities! He brought along Gypsy and Baby, too.



Answering questions for prizes!



Lots of group answering!



Abram answering a question.



"Guess what animal I'm drawing!"



?!?!?!?!?!!



Here is a video of School with Mrs. Maroney!



After school, we headed outside.
Q: How many kids can fit inside the clubhouse?



A: A lot!






About to start the next activity.



Egg race! Contestants had to carefully walk around the race track holding an egg in a spoon.



Anna and Kate!



Very careful.



Lily's turn!



And Abram!






After the egg race, it was piñata time! Everyone was super excited about this activity!



The birthday girl got to go first.



Blair's turn!



Anna's turn!



Alexander's turn!



After the first round, we did a second round without blindfolds. Go, Abram!



Go Anna!



Go Kate!









Piñata video!



After the piñata, we headed back inside for birthday cake. Mer did a great job decorating the cake!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!



Wish time!



Kate wanted a piece with the horseshoe on it.



Yay, cake!



Then it was time for presents. Present time was INTENSE. All the kids got in a really tight cluster and the cluster sort of shuffled around the living room as Kate opened the presents.






Kate got bunny slippers!! Lucky!!



Cooking up a storm.



Birthday wings!



Birthday party aftermath.