November Requiem

I've been meaning to blog for a few days now, but I really have so very much to do this week before Sunday that I haven't felt like I could take the time to blog. Of coarse, ask me how much I've actually done on those many things I have to do before Sunday. My life is odd in that I usually have so little that I have to do outside of my wife/mother gig and then out of nowhere I'm hit with a week of almost frenetic activity. Or at least of procrastinating the frenetic activity. Why, you may ask, don't I use my down time to plan and prepare forthe crazy times? And miss the excitement, stress, headaches, and nausea? Surely you jest.

All in all, November has been a good month for us. We had our first snow fall right before Thanksgiving and got another few inches last night. Rob is like a little school boy in his excitement and both our kids are pretty impressed with all this white stuff. It's funny, both Sam and Grace have had to be gradually introduced to snow over a few years time before they really love it. Two years ago Sam hate snow, and cried when it got on his face, hands, any other part of his body. Then last year he suddenly realized its full potential (mostly as a projectile) and this year it's all I can do to keep him inside. Last year Grace freaked when we took her out in snow. Observe:
But this year, holy man is she excited! Perhaps its all the new cloths and accessories she's gotten specifically because of snow that has her thrilled. New snow pants, boots, mittens, etc. She is a very girly girl after all. Anyway, this year with everyone in the family all on the same page with regards to our attitude towards snow, we should finally get some good use out of the wicked cool sled grandma gave us.
Our Thanksgiving was just lovely. The weather was amazing for November in the Pacific Northwest. Sunny and crisp everyday. The day after we left it rained buckets. We spent most of our time at Rob's sister Susan's house. She has three kids who Sam and Grace just adore so they had a great time. The only difficulty the whole time was that Grace decided to not be potty trained every time we were at Susan's house. I stopped counting after 6 accidents. Playing with cousins was just too fun to take the time to perform life's necessaries I guess. By the second day we were there I was taking her to the bathroom every hour, but she would still mess herself 10 minutes after bathroom trips. Talk about annoying. I think it is the closest I have come to losing my temper in front of Rob's family.
Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous, of course, and I have the singular honor of having made the one dish that was completely consumed in that one sitting. My Brussels Sprouts are quite good. Of course, they were also the only dish that there wasn't lashings of, so take that for all it's worth. My pies didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped, but both were comepletely consumed so I can't complain. Actually, Rob really liked the sweet potato pie so much that he wouldn't share even one bite with me while he was eating the last slice! Where's the love?!?
Friday after the feast we went to the Pacific Science Center in downtown Seattle. The kids really loved it, though there was soooooo much to do and look at that after a few hours they were suffering from overload:
Luckily there was a Seattle's Best Fudge shop nearby so we perked them right back up.
After all my trips to Seattle, this is the closest I've been to the Space Needle. Someday I'll get to the top.
All in all, it was a really nice Thanksgiving break. I have to admit, though, after 4 years of being with Rob's family I'm beginning to long for a Hansen Thanksgiving. I just read an email from my cousin who stopped by our Grandpa Hansen's house last week and got some of his famous mesquite smoked turkey. Oh the agony! To read about it and almost be able to taste it but to be too far away for the real thing! I extend my pity to almost all who will read this who has never and will never taste Grandpa's turkey. It is exquisite. It is turkey as it is meant to taste. And I miss Grandma's pies (a true pie aficionado) and Dad's potatoes and Mom's stuffing and Whitney's sweet potatoes and the good company of all my family. Sigh! Maybe next year.
Well, now that I've got this blog out of my system, maybe I'll be able to settle down and get my other projects done. As a final note, we have our Christmas tree up, but not decorated, the Little People nativity set out for the kids but not my creche collection, we've made a couple different Christmas cookies, and our itunes Christmas music collection is in full use. Many Happy Returns of the Season to All!