Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

On Tuesday afternoon, Grayson's Kindergarten class celebrated Thanksgiving with a big feast! All of the kids could come dressed as Pilgrims or Indians. Grayson decided to be an Indian, complete with real pheasant feathers in his hat. Here he is with his sweet teachers, Mrs. Massey and Ms. Pennington
Grayson and his good pal, Isaac

Mom, Aunt Laura, and I all had fun at the feast, too ;)

Paul, Grayson, Isaac, and Finley

The Kindergarteners listening closely to Ms. Pennington as she tells a Thanksgiving story. It was so fun to see all of their costumes and watch the kids interact. What a great way to start Thanksgiving break!

Carriage rides

Every year, there are free carriage rides around the beautiful Bradley Fair shopping area at Christmastime. The horses and carriages arrived the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving this year, and we hit them up on the first night!

Yahtzee!!

There were no lines, and the boys begged to ride twice. So we did! :)

Opening weekend

Last weekend was opening weekend for pheasant hunting in Kansas. Jerry, his good friend Stu, his brother Darren, and other friend Eric all headed out by Larned to shoot their share of feathered friends.
Jerry was so proud of Zoe -- she did a great job. They shot their limit... 12 pheasants and 1 quail.

A fun hobby to share with your brother!

Darren (left) and Jerry (right)

It cracks me up how the guys "stage" their pics ;)

Miss Kay and Mr. Paul come to visit!

On Sunday evening, we enjoyed a lively dinner with Miss Kay and Mr. Paul at Mom and Dad's house! It was great to catch up with them!

Mr. Paul and Grayson were very serious about a game with paper wads :)

And, Miss Kay kept Carter smiling and laughing all evening!

The four of them are such great examples of what it means to be true life-long friends!! What a blessing their friendship has been to all of our families!! It was great to see you, Miss Kay and Mr. Paul -- come back soon!

Miss Mattie

So, I admit, I regularly check the website of the wonderful Humane Society here in Wichita. As most of you know, I grew up with Springer Spaniels, and my parents still have a sweet Springer named Fletcher who has been featured a few times on the blog.

Anyway, a few days ago, I came across a 4 year old Springer Spaniel named Mattie on the website. I showed her picture to Jerry, and we discussed the thought of having two dogs a little.

On Thursday, before heading into work, I ran by the Humane Society to see if Mattie was still there, and so I could meet her in person.

I fell in love with her!! She's 4 years old, and was surrendered because her owner died. Awww. :(

We brought her home yesterday evening, and she is, as my Mom says, a "velcro" dog. She loves, loves, loves to be wherever we are! She is sweet, totally laid-back, and very calm. (Dare I say she is the opposite of Zoe?)

Welcome to our house, Miss Mattie! We're glad you're here!!

"Friday is my favorite day!"

Grayson and Carter love, love, love Fridays when they get to hang out with Nana at her house while I go to work. Notice Carter is drawing while wearing his chef's apron ;)
Grayson is very much into connect the dots, doing mazes, and word searches right now.

My kids look NOTHING alike!!

What happens at Nana's, stays at Nana's!! :)

5 fabulous reasons why I {heart} FALL!

Mmmm... homemade caramel apples
I love my fall wreath and Jerry added some "fresh" pheasant feathers to it

Pumpkin Pie (and Buttercream) -- I love how they make my house smell!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!! Even on our back deck...

The beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees! Happy Fall!!

Lunch with Coach Self

We had a great time today at the Wichita Roundball Luncheon with Coach Bill Self. He was hysterical, as always, and it was fun hearing his updates on this year's team.
Dad sponsored a table at the lunch, and Grayson got to leave Kindergarten early to be there! :) Our friend, Sue, came with us, too.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!