Thanksgiving Day is Too Short!

And too far between!

 I haven't been "home" for Thanksgiving for many many years.  It was delightful to be around so many family members.  Ivan was here with Elise and Chelsea surprised everyone by coming a few weeks earlier!  And of course there was more food than we could handle.  Perfect!

 For the place settings, I made these pilgrim people.  Find your face and sit down!  

 That is the Mayflower behind us.  Next year, I'd like to do mystery baby photos or something else fun.

 Some people didn't like their faces.  Maybe next time I get the camera out, they will look at me and smile!

 Here are the two presiding couples.  Thanks for a great day!  Much to be thankful for this year!

Everyone Should Do a 5K (at least once!)

 I signed us all up for one this August.  It was here in Middleton and my kids thought they could do it after running the 1 mile before we left PA.  The race was a Colorama and not timed, but I think Adam came in at about 25 minutes.  Better than any 5K I've ever done!  Amy ran ahead too while me and Elli only took 2 short breaks.  

 I would not ever do a colorama race again though.  Colored powder was everywhere and got in the car and in tiny spaces of my shoes.  Way messy, but fun to try once.  

I was very proud of each of them!  Get ready for Spring, cause we are signing up for another one!

Linder Farms is the Funnest Part of Fall!

And I want to do it every year!  They have tractor races for all sizes!  

 You just have to adjust the seats!  Look, even Adam was having a good time!

 Round and around the track you go.  You can go as many times as you want, unless other people are waiting.  And it was free!

 Riding the zip line was fun, too.  It cost 7 extra bucks though.  Good thing Elli and I were the only ones brave enough to try it.

 They also had jumping straps for about 4 dollars.  Fun, but maybe not next year.

 Amy could flip, Elli couldn't quite get her feet over.http://linderfarms.com

 My favorite part was the maze.  It is in the shape of a bronco and once we figured out the map, I was having a blast!  Which way should we go??  Next year, we are finding all 10 check points!  This year we could only find 3 before the kiddos were getting raunchy.  

Some Things Look Better Painted!

 Ever since we got this piano in North Carolina, I had dreams of painting it.  Maybe red, maybe white.  But I could never decide.  Finally, I had a big enough space to take it all apart and try it.  I found a cool turquoise colored one online and after much deliberation, I jumped in.  

 First I had to take it all apart.  I even took out each key.  It was cool to see how it all worked.  Then I taped off the pedals and put paper over the bare places that I didn't want to paint.  Then start sanding!  Take off all the shiny.

 Then I had to prime it, let it dry, then sand it.  Do that 3 times!

Then I could paint it.  The first few coats had me worried.  It didn't quite look right.  But after that third coat, I was so excited!  Then I put on 2 coats of protection.  I added the fancy scrolly stuff and changed the knobs (not before this picture).  I LOVE it!  It took over 2 weeks, but I had time.