Thankful Turkey

I was at the elementary school and passed the wall where Jacob's class had posted their "Thankful Turkey's." I smiled and started to read the sweet sentiments of being thankful for family, friends and homes. A few even said electricity (not surprising after all the issues we had in our town recently.)

I looked for Jacob's ....

{iPhone photo}

Yep, topping his list of thankfulness -

TV

tows (toys)

food

mune (money)

Perhaps we need to work on helping him realize the blessing the relationships in his life are.

(Little turkey!)

Millie Meets the Ocean

We had heard there are several beaches around here that allow dogs in the off season. I'd been dying to take Millie but things had been the usual hectic, crazy, non-stop and we hadn't had a chance.

Jane had a play date scheduled and we didn't have anything pressing during that time, so I decided to toss Emily & Jacob in the car with Millie and go to the beach.

She's totally a chicken when it comes to water - hates her bath, doesn't like to go out in the rain, jumps over puddles, etc. It was funny to see her reaction to the waves. She was fascinated by their sound, smell and movement but at the same time kind of freaked out by the fact that it was water!

The beach was empty and it was fun to watch the kids amble along and explore with her.

LOVE this girl. She is always so happy and up for anything.

My kids are always especially happy when we are at the beach!

Millie loves being off leash and we love taking her anywhere we can all go together, so it was a great outing.

No trip to the beach is complete without a little shell collecting - even in the dead of winter.

We stayed until the sun set and it was getting dark, then headed home to get Jane and dinner and warm up.

Thirteen Years and an Anniversary Dinner.

Today was our thirteenth anniversary. In so many ways it seems like time has flown by and I can't believe we've been married 13 years already. In other ways, it feels like we have always been together and I can't imagine a time without Rick and the family we've created. I guess both are good :)

We spent Saturday morning at the house looking at the driveway AGAIN. We can't seem to get it just right and this is the 4th time we've moved / changed it. The first three times were because the stone mason didn't follow the plan but this last one was exactly the plan and we still didn't feel like it was just right - so we tweaked it a bit and both feel good about it. It's a big, long driveway with a large parking area (that will double as a basketball "court"). We want to make sure we get it just the way we want it.

After that we went to look at lights and bath fittings (towel rods, toilet paper holders, etc) - which was totally unproductive. I think I'm through traipsing from store to store for these things and will get the rest of the things I need online. Even if I end up sending some back it's got to be more efficient to get them that way.

Just in case we began to think that romance was dead we did plan for a dinner at a restaurant I've been wanting to try for a couple of years. It just so happens that we now live very close to The Schoolhouse at Cannondale, so it made for a perfect place for our anniversary dinner.

It's small - but doesn't seem cramped, just intimate and cozy.

The food was absolutely perfect. The service was also wonderful, they'd put "Happy Anniversary" on the top of our menu - I always like when places do that. They were prompt and attentive without being a nuisance - a delicate balance, I say.

I ordered my favorite - beet salad. It came with the typical variety of beets, thinly shaved radishes, and the smoothest ricotta cheese I've ever tasted, sunflower seeds and a great dressing. So good! 
We also shared a cheese plate that included a Tasmanian cheese with honeycomb that I really liked and not just because it was Australian. 

For my Main I ordered the venison, which was melt in my mouth tender, with kale and butternut squash puree. It was all perfect and made even better by the crisp fall air outside. It just felt comforting.For dessert we ordered chocolate souffle for two with cinnamon ice cream and a bourbon caramel sauce.

It was a wonderful dinner, which was fitting because it's been a pretty darn wonderful thirteen years.

Google, You Tube and Jacob.

I have a pass code on my computer - well, I did. We're not sure what happened but Grandma came to stay while Rick and I were gone and it hasn't worked since (not that I'm blaming anyone Mum, but the evidence is pretty clear .....)

I keep meaning to call Apple and get it set up again and figure out why it still goes into "sleep mode" like the hot corner is still set up but with no pass code to bring it back. Darn my lack of technological ability!

Anyway, the biggest reason I have the pass code is so the kids can't use the computer unsupervised. It was a preemptive move for my younger 3 but I really need to get it set up again because Jacob's new found reading skills now mean he can get to Google and You Tube himself and I don't want him accidentally coming across something he shouldn't see (like when my nephew wanted to know if you can create your own Lego man and searched "naked Lego guy" or my friends daughter accidentally entered Web kittens, instead of Webkinz. Oh boy.)

So, it's on my to do list for this week but I will kind of miss coming downstairs in the morning (that boy gets up way earlier than anyone else around here) and seeing these in my search bar -

wat do turkeys sawnd lik

BeyBlade moovees

Pokemon moovees

sea worms

star wars

He said that the little cut-out from church that I have near my desk that says "I am a Primary Star" helps him because he copies the word star into the search bar and it drops down with Star Wars. I am slightly distressed that he doesn't know how to spell "sound" or "movies" but can easily come up with Pokemon and remember the second B in BeyBlade is capitalized!