Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving day at Nana and Pop's house, but before we headed over there, our kitchen was hoppin'! I made sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, while Gene whipped up a huge batch of homemade dinner rolls (after testing out two new recipes the day before!).

As you can see, Henry is a huge fan of Daddy's bread!

I was trying out a new lens for my camera, so this post is picture-heavy.

Thanksgiving day was absolutely beautiful: sunny and cool and just perfect weather to get outside with a football.  

Henry made this crown sometime in pre-K and was slightly obsessed with it on Thanksgiving day.

 I took lots and lots of pictures of my boys.

I took pictures of Mike's family.   

 We so enjoyed being together.

 And I can't forget the feast! It was delicious!

To end, I'll leave you with Henry's list of things he is thankful for: mom, Legos, kitties, "bruthr" and dad. I, too, am so thankful for this wonderful life.

Thankful

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. There are no gifts to shop for, no candy to consume. It's all about family, good food, and remembering our many, many blessings. 

I am so thankful for so many things in my life, from the beautiful, friendly neighborhood we live in (a small town in the heart of a huge city), a wonderful school for my boys, and the best friends a girl could ask for. But, as always, I am most thankful for my family, immediate and extended. These are the people who bring me joy on a daily basis. 

{Fall photos courtesy of our good friend, Candice}

I am so very thankful. 

The End of Fall Soccer

Fall soccer ended last weekend. Unfortunately, the boys' final games were both rained out, but we still celebrated a fun season with parties for both teams.

Henry's team, the Hot Shots, had a party at Berryhill last Friday night. There were trophies and certificates for everyone! Henry's certificate was "Most Skilled" because of his great footwork this season.

Henry lucked out this season with a fantastic coach and great new friends as teammates. In fact, Henry went from being only half-heartedly interested in soccer to loving it so much that he wants to play again in the spring.

Henry's coach gave the boys beads for showing up to practice and games, and for making goals, assists, and the like. At the end of the season, Henry strung all his beads on a necklace, which he loves to wear!

Will's soccer party was a pizza party at our house on Sunday. The boys helped Gene make six times the normal amount of dough to feed the entire team and their families.

All the boys made individual pizzas.  

We passed out soccer cookies

and trophies,

and one of the moms made this delicious cookie cake for the team!

Will also had an amazing team and coach again this year. 

We are so thankful for our coaches and soccer friends that we have made over the years. They make soccer so much fun for all of us!