Happy Thanksgiving!

Kai's class put on a Thanksgiving program for the parents today.  It was so cute.  They sang, danced and made us pumpkin pie.  I was really glad I was able to be there, not all parents were able to make it.

A pirate among us

Kai has a pirate themed math night tonight at school and the school sent a note home saying the kids should dress as pirates when they came to school today.  Like they couldn't have told us BEFORE all the Halloween stuff was gone.  Being the diligent mother I am (or out of pure neurosis) I tracked a pirate costume down (the last one at party city).  I think he looks really cute.  Never mind it's like 30 degrees outside.  He has several layers on (it's like being out west).

Kai's birthday

We gave Kai the option this year of having a "birthday party" or taking a friend to Ollie Koala's (similar to Chuck E Cheese but a little nicer).  He chose Hunter and his sister Suzie to come and have a sleepover.  It worked out great.  We went on Kai's b.day which was a Monday (so it was not crowded) and the next day was Veteran's Day so they had no school.

The end of a good day

The kids had a wonderful weekend at their grandparents.  They played hard and slept even harder that night.

Kai's b.day celebration with family

Kai turned 6 November 10th so Matt's mom invited us down for a family celebration.  The kids enjoyed the time spent with their cousins, aunt, uncle, grandpa and grandma.  Kaden wasn't sure why he wasn't getting presents (that's the look you see in the first picture).

Fishing

Grandpa and Grandma thought they would be teaching the kids to fish this weekend which naturally requires they sit still and be quiet.  Are you kidding, a 2 and a 6 year old BOY sit still or be quiet?  If there's one out there that does let me know what I am doing wrong.  :)

What counts is the memories the kids will have of "fishing" with their grandparents.

I'll leave it to you to decide if we caught anything.

The boat trip

To say we had a busy weekend is an understatement.  The highlight of the weekend however, was a trip to Grandpa and Grandma McKendricks to celebrate Kai's 6th birthday.  The kids had been looking forward to the trip all week.  One of their favorite things to do is go out on the boat so we "braved" the chilly FL morning and did just that!

Stressed about the election results? Don't be.

I, like many other conservatives, was disappointed, but not surprised by the results of the election. The pendulum has swung the way of the Democrats this election cycle, just as it did for Bush in 2000, The Republican Congress in 1994, Clinton in 1992, Reagan in 1980, and Carter in 1976. Whenever there is turmoil in this country, whether it be due to war, the economy, or scandal, there is a natural (and necessary) tendancy for the political parties in control of the government to be voted out in favor of new faces from across the aisle. I, like many other conservatives, have been let down by the Republican party these last 8 years. Not only because of the mishandling of the war and the ill-advised invasion of Iraq, but also because of the complete lack of fiscal responsibility. Overspending, bail-outs, pork, financing of 2 wars, complacency in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, and scandal have plagued the Repulican party these last 8 years, and go against the principles that attracted me to the Republican party back in the days of Reagan. Although, I couldn't vote for Obama during the election due to idealogical differences (socialism, abortion, tax policies, radical associations), I will do my best to support him. I think it was a good thing the country got to "clean house". A good butt-kicking is exactly what the Republican party needed. It's a good lesson on what happens when you abandon your principles.

The best thing about Obama's election (at least to me), is that it shows how far our country has come in overcoming racism. It is exciting that we finally have our first African-American President. That is very encouraging. I just wish he was a conservative.

Let's hope President-Elect Obama can have an impact in turning our economy around and getting us out of the middle east without taking us into socialism (cause we all know how well THAT worked for Russia).

-Matt

Fun morning with dad

Matt stayed home with Kaden this morning so I could go and vote.  When I got home I came upon this scene.  What could get better than this (for Kaden)?  He got to go have Krispy Kreme donuts with dad and play guitar hero! I got a few moments of peace, a hot chocolate and pumpkin spice donut out of the deal! 

Halloween!

This year was the coldest Halloween we have spent here to date.  It was awesome! The redness you see on Kai's cheeks is actually from the chilly wind and rain we experienced, not the heat for once.  Kaden didn't end up participating in the night's festivities due to a small crisis but I think Kai had a fun night anyway.  He got lots of compliments on his costume.