What happened to November?

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving yesterday. We had a nice meal at mom's! After dinner we went over to see my friend and her family. Her parents were in town and we hadn't seen each other for about 15 years, so that was very cool. Then, we went back to mom's for some pie. Oh yes...she makes the best cherry pie ever!!!!!!

I was determined to go shopping at 4am this morning and that's just what I did! Up at 3:20am, showered, got dressed, fed Cody and found myself at JCPenney at 4:02am. I was there for a little bit and then headed to a bunch of other stores. I finished up at around 8:45am! Not bad. I still have some more things to get, but I'm in a good position right now. Of course I just spent my paycheck I received today, so it'll be a long 2 weeks I'm sure!

The boys and I picked up mom and then headed to Super Walmart. I thought it would be a good place to get lots of food for little money and it seemed to work. I told Ian and Gavin they will be going on meal plans! They eat nonstop.

When we got home the four of us decided to go to the movies. So, we head on over there and find out that the show we wanted to see was not going to be playing at that time. ARGH. So, back in the truck and headed home once again.

So then we put the Christmas tree up, hung the stockings and a few other decorations. Cailean bought a 48" wreath with white lights that he put between Ian's and Gavin's windows. It looks very nice. He got out the deer for the front lawn, but hasn't put them together yet. We couldn't decorate the tree because we need to replace some lights. But, it was fun to start getting the decorations out. Gavin wanted to get the soda for Santa to leave out. Yea, he doesn't quite understand time. He kept asking if Christmas was tomorrow. LOL

Tomorrow we are headed to the last football game of the season: UNC vs NC State. Ugh. Then, Sunday we switch over to basketball.

What we're thankful for...

Me: Ian, what are you thankful for?
Ian: soldiers who fighted for our country, house, family

Me: Gavin, what are you thankful for?
Gavin: My house, Cody and my shoe oh and red lights, leaves, food, you, me, Ian, Cody, Daddy, family, my shoe, etc.

Monday

I picked Gavin up from school a few minutes early today and took him back to work with me because it was our annual Thanksgiving feast. It's such a great tradition...everyone brings something and it's just a huge buffet. I have always taken one or both of my kids, but now that Ian is in school all day...last year and this year has been Gavin getting all the attention. He wore his Indian band thing he made and then showed everyone his art projects he made at school. Yes, front and center...I was shocked he did this! I didn't even bribe him.

We seem to always be in a routine every single day. Well, Cailean and I decided to change things up a bit. In a last minute decision, we went out to dinner with another family and chose a Mexican place. Cailean drops me off to get a table (thinking he would have to stand in line??) and I walk in by myself to the table and who do I pass??? Yup, 4 Kingswood teachers! :) I, of course, looked like a loner for a few minutes. LOL Mrs. Geiger, Ian is still in shock he saw you out! LOL We had a great dinner with some friends, then went to Walgreens to get some stuff and then home. Late night for the boys!

Cailean has the rest of the week off, so I can work the next two days. I decided to be a nice wife and I'll be at work before the sun rises, so I can leave in the early afternoon and Cailean can head out to hunt. It works out for me because I'm taking Gavin to a party for one of his classmates tomorrow afternoon anyway!

Time Flies By

Okay, since the last post...

Cailean arrived back home Thursday night from his annual VT hunting trip and yes, I turned the leafblower back over to him! I love how the yard looks all tidy after taking care of the leaves, but then hours later...UGH...the leaves still continue to fall!!!

Friday was a regular day for us. Kids were at school. Cailean finally was able to volunteer again in Ian's class. I was at work, but worked longer than normal trying to catch up and then get ahead. The contractor finished installing the two windows that originally had defects. So, that's done!

Cailean hunted this morning. The kids, mom, my grandparents and I volunteered at the Kirk for 2 hours this morning and helped package 35,000 meals with the Stop Hunger Now organization. We had a lot of fun and it was actually tiring! There were quite a few volunteers (maybe 140??) for our shift. It included a lot of teamwork and each person had a job. The younger kids were the Runners. They were in charge of taking the boxes of the food that the food prep people put together to the weighers (I was a weigher) and then checked the weight of each bag and then gave the bags to the sealers (my grandparents and mom) who sealed the bags and then tossed them to the packagers. When we reached 1,000 bags someone hit the big gong thing and you were supposed to stop and cheer for a second and then go back to work. It was very well organized and so much fun! Ian and Gavin were running all over working their tails off!!!! Oh, I totally would have taken pictures (I took the camera), but I didn't realize we had to wear these blue net things on our heads (all of us), so NOPE...no pics! LOL

We had a birthday party this afternoon into the early evening at the bowling alley. It was Omaid's 9th birthday! His dad works with Cailean and his mom watches Gavin once a week. The boys had a lot of fun bowling, eating pizza and cake as well as playing arcades.

Tomorrow we'll head to church and Bob Evans, then depending on the weather...we'll rush home to change into our NC State gear and head to the soccer field. The men's soccer team is playing in the NCAA Tournament and we're hosting tomorrow at 1pm.

Then, I have a Girls Night to celebrate some milestone birthdays! Happy 40th Lori! :) Looking forward to that. It has been months since we were able to go out at night! We've only been able to do a quick lunch before pre-school pick up!

No big plans for the holiday week. Cailean will take two days off, so I can work (kids have 2 days of school this week). We'll have Turkey Day at mom's and I'm hoping to hit up Black Friday, but I need to get organized about that.

Park Days

It has been a great week with the weather, so the boys and I have been taking advantage of it. We've done a lot of yardwork to take care of the leaves. After school yesterday we went to Morrisville Community Park and met Jessica, Ben and Luke there. We had a frisbee and some soccer balls that they played with in the open field and spent a few minutes on the playground, too. Gavin really took to Brodie, their black lab puppy! This afternoon we met Kim, Connor and Justin at a park in Apex before heading to Chipotle Mexican Grill for Kingswood Night. We headed home, did some homework, took showers, read and off to bed. Tomorrow night we're meeting Kim and the boys for a quick dinner before heading to the Kirk for WNL. We've never gone before, but I'm sure we'll have a good time!

Gavin and I went to the Cary library this morning after taking Ian to school. He loves to listen to me read and read and read. We were there I think for 1 hour. We checked out a lot of books and he wanted to take the books that we had already read. But, I convinced him otherwise! Then, we went to the mall looking for jeans. However, I was unsuccessful primarily because Gavin wasn't willing to cooperate. We came home and opted to organize and clean. Gavin spent quite awhile on the back deck brushing off all the leaves while I cleaned up my stamping area. I even managed to stamp quite a few cards for Christmas gifts. :)

It seems like Cailean has been gone a month!!! He flies home Thursday afternoon. I've already organized a dinner out with some friends this Sunday night. :) We're celebrating some recent birthdays! :) The boys have been great though and very, very helpful. I definitely can't complain.

Last night was the basketball draft, so we've got another year with the Armadillos! Our first practice is November 30 and looking forward to it.

The boys and I had a great weekend! We spent most of Saturday with mom at the football game and then came home to do lots of yardwork. They played while I took care of all the leaves, then they helped pick up the tree branches that had fallen during the storm. Early dinner, showers, snack, books and bed. Both were snoring by 7:30pm.

This morning we didn't get to lounge around since we had to leave by 8:30am for church. The kids got themselves dressed, had breakfast and got ready to hit the road. Gavin had his moments in church, but for the most part they behaved nicely. I was with Gavin's Sunday School class this morning, so that was fun. He wasn't attached to me because his buddy was with him. Ian said he had a good time with his class and I think I'm with the first graders for the next 2 weeks. Then, we met up with the family at Bob Evans and enjoyed a good lunch. Leslie, the manager, donated banana bread to Gavin's school for the teachers and Ian's school for the teachers...so that'll be a surprise to them tomorrow!

This afternoon we went to mom's to help her plant some flowers in the front. We had to dig up some of the red clay. ARGH. The boys were looking for worms. Gavin finds one...picks it up and looks at it and starts talking to it. Ian runs into the house to get a cup with a lid (one of Gavin's sippy cups) and proceeds to find another worm. Yes, they decide to name them IAN and GAVIN.

Once we finished that we were off to Target and then home. They went camping in the house while I made dinner. So, the kids are sound asleep now and I'm off to the kitchen to make cookies for my coworkers tomorrow!

I've got the meeting for head basketball coaches to get my team tomorrow night. Since it's near mom's house she'll watch the boys for the hour I'll be gone. I'm looking forward to who will be on the Armadillos team this year! Tuesday night is Kingswood Night at Chipotle Grill and no plans yet for Wednesday after I pick up the boys from school. Cailean comes home Thursday afternoon.

Heading into another weekend

It has been raining a lot the last few days. Rain, rain and more rain. Throw in some wind and that's our weather right now. It should stop tonight. I feel sorry for the teachers because the kids have recess inside the classrooms!!!

The boys are doing well. Ian continues to enjoy school and has been doing well on his quizzes and other assignments. Gavin looks forward to going to school as well. He keeps saying school is fun and then in the next sentence he tells us that he likes to play with his best buddy, Connor. haha

They are really into football right now and can't get enough of it. When they are home, then they are wearing their helmets. They start in the hallway and then run out into the living room pretending they are coming out of the tunnel like NC State. Then, you hear them yell, "Wolfpack in the hhhhoouuussseeee!!!" Right now it has been Duke vs NC State and I have gotten a few of these on video, but the ending has not been nice. Ian gets ticked at Gavin for scoring a touchdown and Gavin tries to take Ian down for a tackle.

We have Justin's birthday party Friday night at the bowling place and then we'll probably head to the football game on Saturday afternoon. I think it's going to be 70, so maybe we'll get a tan! he he

Cailean flew up to Vermont for his annual weeklong hunting trip. He'll be gone for a week. I have actually enjoyed using the leafblower, so we'll start working on the yard again tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning. It just needs to stop raining!

Camp Kanata 2009 Fall Outing

Cailean and Ian spent the afternoon/evening up at the YMCA's Camp Kanata. Seems like they had a GREAT time. Ian talked 100 miles/minute when he got home about everything they did and saw. He told me that people all over the world were there and they had their faces painted. LOL Yes, there were Indians there for "Indian Guides." LOL Cailean was very impressed with the event!!!

Oh and if you are all wondering about their names...Ian is Little Brave Eagle and Cailean is Big Brave Eagle! In a lot of the pictures you'll see Ian with his buddy, Andrew. They both are first graders at Kingswood and they are in the same tribe.

Here's a link to all the pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/turnbull1220/CampKanataFallOuting2009?feat=directlink

Cailean's parents came to visit

Cailean's parents drove up from Florida on Tuesday and stayed until Sunday morning. One of the highlights of the trip was attending the football game. I was able to get some tickets from co-workers, so we could all go. The seats were in pairs and in different sections, but we somehow made it work and we all got to sit together! Before we headed to the game we made a quick stop for them to get some NC State gear. Joyce had on a blue shirt that morning and we told her she would stick out if she wore that color. LOL So, off to KMart and they found shirts!

We caught a few minutes of tailgating before heading into the stadium. Ian wasn't too fond of the chicken sandwich he ordered. LOL He did have a few bites though, but he wasn't impressed.

Cailean's parents sporting their red NC State gear and they definitely enjoyed the game!

Gavin used the stickers that Ian had and wanted them on his face. He actually ended up with a tan mark on the left side because the sun was a little strong! Showing the camera how to make the wolfpack sign. He and Ian kept yelling all day, "Wolfpack in the hhhooouuussseee!"

Cailean and the boys trying to stay cool with some ice cream. It was a warm day at the field.

Marching Band at the half

Pretty soon Ian will have one top front tooth missing...it is very loose!



Gavin wants to eat ice cream and watch the game

Gavin's Sunday School class got to see the Anthem in the 11am service today. He did a great job looking all cute up there. LOL He sang probably one phrase of the song, but that's fine. There are definitely a lot of people sitting in the congregation and those 3-5 year olds did a great job! Plus, Cailean got to be there to see him.

Cailean and Ian are at Camp Kanata with the Y-Guides this afternoon into the evening! They should be home later tonight. They carpooled up there with another father/son and were supposed to meet up with their tribe. Then, they take a 2 mile hike and then earn some feather. Then, there is supposed to be a big bonfire before heading home. I can't wait to hear how it went!

November already

We had Ian's parent/teacher conference yesterday and it went great! Mrs. Harris had lots of good things to say about him and he is progressing very well. He also saved up 100 tickets and received a free skate pass to Jellybeans! That was his goal from day 1 of 1st grade was to be the first in his class to get that prize. Earning tickets is part of the positive behavior system, so good work kiddo!

Gavin loves his pre-school. He is always so eager to get there and he has a big smile on his face when I pick him up. He admires Miss Cindy and Miss Susie. Yesterday one of his teachers asked me if Cailean has a bow and arrow. I said, "Yes" and I was thinking, "Uh oh...what did he tell his class?" Well a kid in his class told Gavin that his dad hunts deer and Gavin told him that his dad hunts deer with a bow and arrow. So, probably not your typical pre-school conversation, but an interesting one to say the least. LOL

We're at a lull this week with not much going on with the kids. Soccer ended. The Halloween/fall festivities ended. No meetings this week. I have the basketball coach's meeting in 2 weeks and then practice starts after Thanksgiving.

So yes, I joined Facebook last week and it has been very interesting. I have fought it for quite awhile. Just didn't want to get into it for various reasons. But, I did and it has been great. I have reconnected with many age group swim team friends and college swim team friends from my four years at St. Mike's. Turns out one is actually 30 seconds from my mom down here, so we saw each other for a few minutes on Sunday...first time in over 15 years!! I've also been able to read up on people I went to school with in Northfield.

Off to take Gavin to the babysitter and then to work. We're awaiting the arrival of Cailean's parents this afternoon, too.