Holiday Party

Here is some of the crew at the party. We enjoyed lots of yummy food and conversation. Nick played christmas music for us and did an awesome job. Mel's soup was awesome and kept us warm inside. Here's to another great year on 5 Central at UVA!

The Prom

Here is the finished product. I call it "The Prom" and we had lots of usable space for the party. The kids especially enjoyed playing downstairs where they made bugs with the creepy crawly machine and played table soccer. Looks cool!

Shhh! He's asleep

As we were finishing up tonight Matthew's job was to clean the windows. Evidently, that did him in because he snuggled up on the fluffy rug with the cat and fell asleep. So cute.

coming along

The prom project is coming along nicely. Still more lights to add and trimming to do. Amazingly, we have far less dust than before with all of the insulation exposed. Looks like I need to clean the camera lens-yuck.

Design on a dime

Those of you who know me know that I am always up for a good project. So here is the latest brainstorm-use plastic sheeting to finish off the basement in time for the party on December 16. The goal is to temporarily have a usable space without spending $30,000 (not in the budget right now). We are placing twinkly lights all around plus a scene setter and lights on the overhead beams. It should look really cool. Feels like a prom! Stay tuned for final results.

Happy Anniversary!

Dan and I enjoyed our 11th anniversary on November 18th. Hard to believe that we have been married so long. I guess that means we are officially getting old! Anyway, as you age things become more special-like a roaster for example. I have never had one and Aunt Lisa got us one for our anniversary. It is super fab and I can't wait to make a meal with it. That is what a modern wife if supposed to do, right?

Sleepover

Here are the boys at the sleepover. They had pizza, played basketball and LOTS of Pokemon! Legend has it that they stayed awaked until 4am (Mr. D. knows better). Quote of the day from Michael Donaldson"It's fun to have 2 people sleeping over. That way everyone has someone to play with." Mike, you're the best!

Claire+bandaids=next fashion craze

Here is my beloved Claire with Bandaids all over herself. She is so adorable and was so proud of her bandaids. She even has them on her pants. When she pulled them off at dinner time she said, "OUCH!" (We adults were prediciting that but maintain that the law of natural consequence is often the best choice).

I'll take the silver one

Check this out. Matthew left this love note for me on our mail station so that I would be clear on his Christmas desires. It is fabulous and he even took the time to spell properly. Great effort Matthew!

I will translate in case you cannot read the image:

Mom if you want to know what type of go kart I want go to menintools.com If you see a yellow go kart on the front page click on it. There should be a bunch of go karts on the next page. The go kart that I want is the 2nd one on the top row. It's silver. From Matthew

Bruce Almighty

The tree is decorated and I am finished with decorations at home, yeah! I decided to also do up the mantle and the kids have helped by adding their special touches to the decor. Michael says, "This is what Christmas is all about. Spending time with your family." To that I say, I love you Michael. You are the best kid ever!"

Bruce getting glam

Stay tuned for updated pictures of "Bruce" with decorations. Total count is over 1200 lights. Dan is not happy with me because he does all the lights and the tree is prickly, but it is beautiful. Thank you, Dan!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! AKA Bruce Spruce

This is the most beautiful Blue Spruce tree! Every year we go to Turk Mountain and cut down our tree. We went today and had a great experience again as always. We chose a blue spruce this year because of needle retention and the beautiful blue color. Dan cut it down and the boys helped haul the 7 footer from the field to the truck, which is a long way (Dan is sore in the shoulders as a result). We named the beauty Bruce Spruce-get it Blue Spruce=Bruce Spruce.

Dance Party-Boy Style

Be prepared to bust out your best moves when with this crew. They have got it all down to a groove. Not bad music either...if you're into that stuff.

Caution! Too much turkey causes "Cross Eyed Mike"

Thanksgiving was fabulous! We enjoyed a great meal with friends and ate way too much. Everyone was thankful-including the children and we had the privilege of spending a first Thanksgiving with our friends from Argentina.

(P.S. Matthew only ate ham.)

Gross doesn't discriminate

Okay, just to be clear. Michael has strep throat too. Yippee! Good news-We now have antibiotics on board for both mighty Donaldsons.

(Michael would like to point out the nasty lesion on his nostril because it's especially ooey and gooey. Nice.)

Lesson for today...wash your hands!

Thanksgiving Tradition Lives On...

Every year, and I mean every year our Thanksgiving holiday is highjacked by illness. This year is no different and we are yet again being held hostage by the Group A Streptococcus Bacteria (I have really come to resent the power of this bacteria specifically.)

Here is a view of Matthew's throat and blisters. Fortunately, he hates mashed potatoes and turkey because they are obviously not going down his hatch!

We hope you have Happy Thanksgiving!