Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful time in MN celebrating Thanksgiving. We were able to see some relatives, and the kids had lots of time to play with their cousins. On Friday we went to the Mall of America - crazy! Actually, it wasn't so bad - we played at Lego Land and went on some of the rides. Saturday was my mom's 60th birthday, and we celebrated at a fancy restaurant. We were brave and took the kiddos too - they loved all the "extras" - the sorbet to cleanse the palate, the juice for toasting the birthday girl, the warm washcloths and the chocolate-covered strawberries at the end of the meal. Mmmm....yummy!

Fish and Giraffes Beware!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Weekend Trip

We went last weekend to Sarah's (my sister-in-law) wedding shower. What a fun time to be with my sisters in law and my mother in law. We thought it was funny that we all ended up wearing brown to the shower.

Sarah's beautiful engagement ring says "For My Glory" in the Cambodian language, where she and her hubby will be missionaries.
Papa Ice has it all figured out - he had the kids helping him rake the leaves while we were at the shower!

Costumes and Candy

Last night we went to church for Family Fun Night. The AWANA directors offer this carnival every year on the Wednesday that is closest to Halloween, so this year it fell on Halloween. The kids get to play carnival-like games and win candy and prizes. They also have a contest for costumes, which have to be Bible-based.

Chloe was a frog - one of the Egyptian plagues.

A pretty good frog pose!
Olivia is into everything princess, so she was disappointed when she found out she was going to be a queen...Queen Esther. Then she started liking it and told everyone she was "Queen Esto".

Noah's costume was made about 30 minutes before we had to leave for the carnival. He is Paul in prison (see the ball and chain?), and he won third place for his outfit! (in his age bracket)

Noah was pretty good at this game.

Olivia just LOVED her butterfly hand.

Olivia and her friend Michael

Is she peeking?

By the end of the night my camera was sticky from all the little fingers touching it, so this picture is a little fuzzy. But I thought these costumes were pretty good - salt and light is on the left, Moses is in the middle and another Queen Esther on the right.