We celebrated Thanksgiving at the lake with Grandma, Bopa, Auntie, Taylor and Uncle Tom this year. Dinner was delicious, if I so say so myself, although I am biased as the Sous-Chef.

After dinner, Max went outside of that window you see in the background, dropped his pants and mooned us while he peed. Not only that, but he also drew pictures while everyone sat inside the window laughing. Seriously, my boy? (Yes, I do have a picture but no, I won't post it for all the internet to see.)

Bopa and Daddy picked up a boat from GG John's house that they wanted to try out to make sure it floated. Grandma and I were really disappointed when it did, it would have been way more fun to watch the boat sink with Bopa in it!

The kids have been putting good use into the tricycle that Bopa brought to the lake. Rory took it down the big hill, spilling one time but that didn't stop her from doing it again.

*Please note Daddy giggling as his daughter is sprawled out on the ground.

Grandma and Bopa made an obstacle course for Max. Tell me these pictures aren't hilarious!

*Yes, they do let the kids ride the tricycle indoors, I know, GRANDPARENTS!

Needless to say, Thanksgiving has been fun for everyone again this year. And I'm really looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner again tonight, yummy!

Brooke came through with the adorable bathtub photos, check them out!

http://danaandbrooke.com/n-3881-eva-does-wisconsin.html

And can someone please convince my skin that it can be that tan again? Where did that coloring come from?!

Yesterday I was snapping pictures of the kids faces, aiming to capture how beautiful their eyelashes are.

I should have known that my attention to eyelashes would lead to trouble.

That's my son, passed out in my bed, covered in my makeup. Specifically my mascara. Oh boy.

The kids of course, also had a fun time while at the lake with Grandma. She bought them new sticker books which they worked very diligently on.

After the first snowfall of the season we took a walk and got our faces all red before coming back in to enjoy some hot cocoa. (No marshmallows for Max of course.)

Grandma and I did a good job knocking them out before heading home. This is the first time, in a long time, that both kids slept the entire drive home and woke up when I pulled into the driveway. (If I tell you I was stopped at a stop sign when I took this picture, will you forgive me for taking it while being the driver?)

We got home and decided to get our new snow gear out so we could really play in the snow since I didn't have it with us at the lake.

I have to brag here, Max tried out the snowboard and made it all the way down without falling on his very first try!

To be fair, it was going really slow, but he still had the balance to stay up the whole way. I think the neighbors at the other end of the street heard me screaming when he reached the bottom.

Rory also attempted the snowboard, but required me to run along side her so I could help her balance. She did make large strides before loosing her balance and grabbing my hand, but there was no way I'd attempt to help her and take pictures so you'll just have to trust me until I can get someone else out here to capture it!

I also taught the kids how to make snow angels. (Left to Right: Max, Rory, Mama's)

It was such a beautiful afternoon in the sun and in the first snowfall. I hope we get to do that again real soon!

Thanks for waiting, the pictures are loaded and I'm ready to brag about the amazing family I have.

Wednesday evening the kids and I went to the airport to pick up Brooke, Dana and Eva as they were flying in from San Diego to come home for Grandpa's funeral. Max was so excited to get to go to the airport and since leaving he has been back to visit the airport many times while playing pretend! Brooke and I had to get the kids in the bathtub together of course.

She has a picture of all us kids in the tub together when we were little. If she decides to go forward with her blog post idea of posting both the past and present bath pictures, I promise to link up to it, as I know you want to see itty bitty adorable little Ashley in the tub with her sisters and cousins. (Hee hee!)

Thursday we headed up to my parent's lakehouse where Judy met us as she was bringing Brooke, Dana and her grandbaby, Eva, home with her. Thankfully, Granny Judy was willing to share her attention not only with Eva but with Max and Rory too. They wouldn't really leave her alone!

The funeral was very nice. A lot of the family was able to make it, including all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Max fell asleep on Grandma towards the end of the ceremony and while Auntie Andrea sang Amazing Grace, Rory attempted to sing along with her. After the funeral we had a nice lunch and were able to take quite a few pictures.

My family:

Grandpa and Grandma's children, minus Aunt Jeannie:

The Grandchildren, minus Pat Jr. who did attend the funeral but wasn't able to join us afterwards:

Later that evening, Uncle Tom took us out to a bridge that was upstream of Grandpa's fishing hole. Apparently, this fishing hole was well known as John's fishing hole and no one would dare fish it but instead would go around it. It was cute to hear that story.

Uncle Tom also brought a bottle of Brandy so we could all take a shot for Grandpa, which was his drink of choice. I had my tripod with and used the self timer on my camera for the first time. This is the first picture, prior to anyone taking a drink. (Reminder, to see a larger image, click the photo.)

Here is the fourth and last picture, after many had taken a shot. (Lots of us shared because a full shot of Brandy was too much to handle.) Needless to say, Grandpa can still out drink a lot of us!

After the shot, Uncle Tom sent the ashes over the bridge and talked about how they would end up in Lake Superior so Grandpa could fish the lake trout. They will also leave some ashes at his deer stand, because you know Grandpa isn't one to miss hunting opener. Speaking of which, that very next day was rifle opener, and my mom, the kids, and I were greeted by three deer right outside our window that morning!

It was a busy few days. We had a great time seeing family and celebrating the life that Grandpa and Grandma made but it's also great to be home. Max even said, "thanks for the house" to me when we arrived home this afternoon. I think we all were feeling the need to snuggle down in our beds and attempt to relax before Thanksgiving approaches.

I can't seem to get my photos to load from the last couple of days, except for this one.

Yes, that is a really awesome picture.

I'd love to tell you all about the last couple days and how great it was to be with my family and celebrate the amazing life of my Grandpa. But pictures are my style, so kindly wait a little longer while I work on getting these pictures uploaded. Thanks!

I am totally and completely slacking at posting and I expect it will remain this way at least until the week is out and the funeral and family visits are behind us. Of course, then there is Thanksgiving and all the craziness that brings, but hopefully both events will lead to lots of fun family pictures.

Rory has taken to telling you she doesn't like whatever it is you were just discussing. For an example I was telling her that we were going to have pizza with her Auntie and Taylor today. Her only response? "I don't like pizza." Of course, when I told her she didn't have to eat then she suddenly starts yelling, "I like pizza!" When I told her that Brookey, Dana, and Eva would be coming and staying in her room she instantly started telling me, "I don't like Eva." When we got in the car a little while later? She was mad at me because she wanted to go to the airport to pick up Brookey, Dana and Eva. At least this is an easy stage to manage, she eventually comes around to what you wanted.

Max is still very into talking in the 3rd person. Just now? He told me, "Max has to point and talk to you." And while on a walk with Auntie and Taylor he was telling us how, "Max will hold Peanut's leash." Some people want to correct him, Daddy is one of those, always asking him to say the statement as an "I" statement. Me? I'm totally encouraging it. I'll respond back with a question like, "He is?" as if we are talking about somebody else. This may come back to bite me but right now I just think it's cute and I don't really see how it can be harmful. He is forming his sentences very nicely, he just prefers to talk about himself in the third person. It's cute, and I'm going to soak it up while I can.

Oh, and this is a craft they did at the library. We finally made it to a story hour!

Someday, when I'm back at work, I'm going to laugh at how overwhelmed I felt while being a stay at home mom. Of course, I'll insist on having a cleaning service if I go back to work. A girl has to have her priorities!