Fall Crafts

The boys and I have had alot of fun getting crafty this fall. We went on several "nature walks" around the neighborhood looking for fall leaves and acorns that we later glued on paper to make collages. We made handprint turkeys and placemats, and even made a "Give thanks" tree with all the things we are thankful for. At our Mom's group, we painted little pumpkins. Our "schoolroom" was looking so festive with everything Carson has done at home and at preschool. One of my favorite art projects Carson did at preschool was an acorn craft. Carson glued the pieces of the acorn together, and painted it. On the acorn was a little poem. It read, "Like an acorn, I may seem little, but God's love helps me grow. Someday I'll be just like a tree, reaching as high as I can go!" So cute! At Carson's Thanksgiving feast at school, he had a special blessings placemat, and made a fruit loop necklace and feather Indian hat! Happy Fall!

Black Friday

Black Friday is something I look forward to every year! It's not just the awesome deals you get on things, but the fun memories you make while doing it. This year, our Black Friday plan was perfect! Jamie and I were on a hunt for great toy deals at ToysRUs, so that was our first stop. We got in line at 7:30pm on Thanksgiving night, an hour and 30 minutes before the store opened. Our strategy was to split up since we've learned in years past that most of their big ticket items are in the middle of the aisles all throughout the store. We were number 120 to get into the store. We had everything on our list in record time, grabbing the last of several things off the shelves! We were ecstatic! After ToysRUs, Jamie and I met up with my Mom and Brooke at SuperTarget. We got there at about 10:30pm, and the store opened at midnight. We had fun waiting in line and getting our shopping strategy together. This year, I found cute Christmas shopping bags at Cracker Barrell. I picked up a few for all of us so that we could eliminate the shopping carts, making it easier to get through the crowd. See? Strategy!! :) We had another successful shopping trip at Target, and then headed to Kohl's too. I was excited about my CVS Black Friday shopping trips. I went to 5 different CVS stores to pick up all of these useful items (including new IPod headphones!). I spent $14.00 total on all of this, and earned $25 in Extra Care Bucks. Oh how I love CVS, and coupons!

Frye Family Thanksgiving

We always look forward to Thanksgiving at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Ocala. My Aunt Kim decorates their home for fall so beautifully, it could be in a magazine! The weather was perfect for Thanksgiving dinner outside. The food was simply delicious! It wouldn't be a Frye Thanksgiving without Thanksgiving dinner games! This year everyone chose 3 corn kernels. If you chose a red one, you had to kiss someone, if you chose a green one, you had to hug someone, and if you chose a yellow one, you had to say something you were thankful for. Of course there was much laughter as each person revealed their chosen colors, but the sweetest part of this game were my adorable grandparents...Carson loved sitting at the kids table, drinking lemonade out of his turkey cup, and eating macaroni and cheese! After dinner, the girls went through the Black Friday ads. Jamie, Brooke, and I mapped out our shopping plan! Tanner loved playing with Snickers! We had a great time sitting around the fire in the backyard and visiting. My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Alan came down from Illinois. It was great spending time with them! Before dessert, we had to walk off being so full from Thanksgiving dinner. The kids rode their bikes. And Carson got a piggy back ride from Uncle Jacob. After our walk and dessert, we had a performance from our little Indians! Carson and Hannah learned the cutest song at preschool called "Ted the Turkey"! They performed their song for everyone! Our little indian TT... Happy Thanksgiving!

DeMoor Family Thanksgiving

We had the honor of hosting Thanksgiving for the DeMoor family this year. With everyone being in town for Robbie's wedding, we decided to have our Thanksgiving get-together on Sunday. We moved our furniture around a bit to make room for everyone in the dining room. Our Thanksgiving tables... With the help of my new friend pinterest, I found some great ideas to make the kids table lots of fun! Cups that looked like turkeys, rafia wrapped silverware, Happy Thanksgiving coloring pages, "I am so thankful for..." cards, and fall colored m&m's with cute little tags! Carson loved drinking lemonade out of his turkey cup! The DeMoor cousins... After a delicious meal, the kids played outside in the backyard, and the adults got to watch football and visit. We especially loved visiting with Uncle Larry who was here all the way from Phoenix! After playing, I set up an edible turkey craft for the kids to do. They made turkeys out of ritz crackers, vanilla icing, candy corn, hershey kisses, and caramel squares. They had fun making these cute little turkeys!
Carson had a little too much fun with the icing!! Carson's finished product,(notice the major sugar coma he is in after shoving multiple handfuls of candy corn in his mouth!)... After all of that sugar, the kids needed to run off some energy, so we walked to the Elementary school down the road and let them play on the playground. After our nice evening walk, we went back to our house for some delicious homemade desserts and coffee. What a great day with our family!

Robbie & Jessica's Wedding

What a fun day celebrating Robbie, Jessica, and Tyler! They picked such a beautiful place to get married. Brooke and Ali were the most adorable flower girls, and Sarah was a beautiful junior bridesmaid. Jessica and her bridesmaids had a whole house to spend the day getting ready in. We all hung out in the house with her while she got ready and had fun taking pictures and waiting for the wedding to begin. The wedding ceremony and reception were located on a lake, and the scenery was gorgeous! Here are a few family shots: (Matt and I minus the boys. Since our day was long, they were better off with Nana and Papa) Steve, Lori, the girls, and baby BOB (in the belly!)... Tim, Sharon, Sarah, and Michael... The groom with his groomsmen... The GORGEOUS bride!! Michael was the ring bearer, and pulled little Tyler down the aisle in the wagon. They both did so great! The bride and her dad walking down the aisle... The ceremony was short and sweet, and thankfully the rain clouds above us never let loose. I got to sit in the back with Tyler, he was so sweet, and did such a great job! The DeMoor bunch... Lori, the girls, and I on the beach... The bridal party... Robbie and Jessica had some really fun things at their wedding reception. Instead of a wedding cake, they had miniature cupcakes that were all kinds of yummy flavors! They also had an ice cream bar with a gentleman making your own creations of ice cream! The reception was filled with laughter and fun! Brooke and Michael did the cutest "ballroom" dance... Robbie and Jessica did their traditional bride and groom dance, but then had their own song and dance with Tyler. It was so sweet! Wouldn't be a wedding without the good ole' YMCA! Groomsmen got to show off their dancing skills and even wear the hats! The conga line... We had a great time sitting outside on the sand and visiting as a family...
Congrats Robbie and Jessica! We love you, and were so glad to be apart of your special day!