Merry Christmas from Melissa to moms everywhere!

Here is my interpretation of the holiday season for moms everywhere (Click on it to enlarge) . To moms everywhere-know that you are not alone but in the end it is really worth it. I'll think of you when the cookies come out of the oven!

Cotillion

Here are some pictures from the 6th grade cotillion. Matthew was my date for the evening and I was so impressed with his manners and maturity. He looks so handsome here in front of the fire at Farmington Country Club. As we are headed out the door.

Real silverware, glasses, gravy boats, and 5 spoons plus 3 forks. Even I was a little confused. To make it even more nerve racking we ended up sitting at the table with the matriarch of the program. She was quick to note any elbows on the table, including mine.

The bunny hop to break the mood.

The full band which was outstanding.

Matthew dancing with his partner. We sat with her at dinner, too.

More bunny hopping.

He is super at the west coast swing. He danced with me and spun me four times in a row. I'm too old for that and got dizzy, yikes.

After shaking hands with 70 adults from the receiving line he was a little rattled. They had to go to each adult, shake their hand and introduce themselves. It was a great experience.

Beautiful boys

Here are some snaps that did not make the annual christmas card. They sure do clean up nice.

Thanksgiving

Serious gaming Praying to the chocolate fountain. More, More, More,

Football outside after the meal

I'm open...

Kids at the Kids table. They love the fancy glasses

The Bird. It was vegetarian, grain fed from Whole Foods. I brined it and even got some "awesome" comments from the children. We also had stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and more. All the classics for a great thanksgiving. Good thing we ran today!

The kids table

The adult table

A hot game of monopoloy while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade.

The Turkey Trot

Group shot pre-run with the Harvies. It was cold and the course was reversed which the group in total felt was more challenging. Everyone ran and beat their times from last year, strong work! Here are the final results http://www.charlottesvilletrackclub.org/latest/results/2008/TurkeyTrot5K.htm Matthew gets a mocha (coffee with hot chocolate packet, yum!)

Mike gets geared up with his iPod

Panera gives a million miles of bagels

Dan, aka Hobo runner. We have so much high tech workout gear and he shows up in this. That hat is the kicker.

Larry the cable guy christmas special

I am posting the song by Montgomery Gentry because we learned about it on the Larry the Cable Guy show. The entire program is rude, politically incorrect and just plain wrong but entertaining none the less. Click below for a sneak peek and set the TiVo to catch an episode during this holiday season, we did!

http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/319939/cmt-insider-111808-larry-the-cable-guy-christmas-special.jhtml

Happy 13th Anniversary!

Daniel and I celebrated our 13th anniversary today. We went out to dinner tonight at the Melting Pot with the children and had a fabulous time. The boys got dressed up in ties and sweaters, we reminisced about our wedding day (without them-which is hard for them to imagine) and we had plenty of yummies.

If you haven't been in a while, we definitely recommend the oreo cookie, marshmellow chocolate fondue. Sign up here and get free coupons! http://www.themeltingpotclubfondue.com/signup.cgi?n=4299

Snow

Yep, that's snow on the lawn and in the ivy. We woke up to temps in the 20's and light dusting. Everyone around here keeps talking about a cold winter this year with lots of snow. The children are hoping for such pleasures and see this as a very good sign. I couldn't capture the detail but the snowflakes were huge and looked like confetti. Brrrr

Suri likes beer, too

This girl loves beer. When we finish the bottling some beer drips down onto the dishwasher where she can get it. She makes no bones about her intention to lick up the last few drops. You can see the smile on her face here.

A few drops for the peke

Bottle master

Mike is the bottle master here at our production line. He likes to sort, sterlize and cap the bottles. He then sorts them by bottle type, height and so forth placing them in a pyramid. It works. Oooh, a cap is ready...

the pyramid is taking formation

Honey Pale Ale is brewing

It takes about 3 1/2 hrs to whip up this little brew which has been judged by family and friends to be their favorite. Likely because it is light and crisp with slight hop flavor plus it uses 2lbs of honey, yum! We can taste it in 6weeks. The brewmaster does not like to be photographed

what we've got cooking

Happy Fall

Aunt Lisa has moved back in her house and we miss her very much. She will be heading back to Canada soon.

The boys got a BB gun and airsoft gun

The pumpkin from Halloween was a great target along with cardboard boxes and apples. All was well until we were reported to the authorities by a local neighbor lady. We learned a hard lesson-NEVER POINT A GUN AT ANYONE, EVEN A SQUIRT GUN because IT IS A FELONY. Let's just say we learned a lot...