So Grateful

Grateful to the pilgrims & indians
especially the ones I spend my days with

Grateful for good food to eat

Grateful for family near and . . .

far who make us smile

Grateful for wonderful examples

Grateful to take a break

Grateful to enjoy nature

Grateful for extended family ties

We certainly are blessed

So, this was our Thanksgiving. Our Primary School had our feast day on Tuesday. Some of the kids brought their ingredients, and some didn't. But I made a posse stew for 30 and had 2 awesome moms bring in rolls. The kids help shake the cream to make butter. 2 parents came and helped make the fruit salad and we had the humongous feast.
The next day, my sister & fam came all the way from Georgia (24 hour drive) and they stayed the night. Having family stay is the best!
On Thursday, we made the dinner - prime rib! It was sooo good.
Then Friday we drove to the valley for a big dinner with my cousins. There was soo much food - my aunt and cousins can totally cook! We had a family meeting :) and drove home.
I can't believe I was in the valley for Black Friday and didn't go into a single store!

Pigskins & Peacesigns

Fall Sports have come & gone, and despite the hours on the bleachers and the traveling every weekend, we wouldn't have traded it for anything.
Stella had a great season - JV only lost 2 games and she was 4th in the region in setting for varsity (the top sophomore - all the rest were seniors & juniors) She also made most of the signs for the team - did you know the secret to drawing a volleyball is the peace sign?

And that's what it's all about Woot Woot!

Oh Yeah!

Set!

Everybody give me five!

Spikers here comes the set!

Here comes the wicked serve.

Meanwhile, out on the grass, #29 was smokin' down the field making TDs left & right.
On defense, he could catch them all. Mr. Speedy Gonzales.
They practiced past dark M-Th on a field with no lights. It was crazy, but fun!

We call these the Grama Mimi calves :)

And after 7 years, all the practices are about to pay off for #32

Oh say, can you see?

Here come the boys in black

or sometimes white - but never red
(Mitchell stuffed the big guy all night long)

The old rival game never disappoints -
This year we ended up playing them in Blue Ridge because of a "turf war"
The game started late, and went til midnight

Get ready for the kick off

32 was a game maker.
If you want the job done, the Hit Man has your back.

Good job bro!

Good Game, Good Game, Good Game . . . .

Journey vs. Destination

Ya know that saying that "'Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome."
Well we took a fall hike 7 miles up to the base of the Mogollon Rim,
a nice destination

Our journey through the fall foliage was incredible.
We hiked from manzanitas, through sycamores, up to spruce.

The trail followed along the creek, which provided nice background noise.

We ended up at the head of the creek . . . a spring. . .
Suddenly at the base of the mountain, water appeared from nowhere.

We'll take mother nature's filtration system any day.

So, the moral of this story
'Tis BOTH the journey and the destination.
Better enjoy them both.

A different stage of Halloween

We are sorta past the whole dress up/trick or treating thing at our house. Our celebrating consisted of Sully going to a rockin party with friends, Mitchell crashing the kiddy carnival to support the music department and Stella traveling with friends to the corn maze in Snowflake.

We had NO TRICK OR TREATERS - The candy is still sitting here a week later, untouched.
(We are cookie-brownie people, not candy folk.)
Excitement for these guys was carving the pumpkin. Travis got to carve the biggie in my classroom, and Stella and Sully had fun with the round orange oval vegetable grown in our very own garden this year.

Sully did have Stella give him a make-over for his party.

And I had to join in the fun with all the second graders.
(You can't see it, but I even have a cobweb skirt - fun stuff)
The problem with dressing up for the party at school - which is not on the actual Halloween day, is that you forget what you look like and stop by places on the way home from work.
What a weirdo!