Days with the Dorans

 This year was a "Drapal" year for Thanksgiving and in addition to my folks and my brother's family, my Aunt Barb and her husband Gary joined us too!  They have moved back home and it's great to be able to spend time with them. I only cook a few things, but my Nan's Sweet-Potato Balls are one of those things.  They turned out yummy but I missed my Nan.  It's hard to get her around now that she's 97 and even harder to spend a lot of time with her because she doesn't know who we are really.  I'm heartbroken for that and literally pray every morning on my early walks that she's fast asleep and remembering us in her dreams.  Of course we have much to be Thankful for as we do every year but more than anything, we have each other.  I do these projects at school that I started last year called Thoughtful Thursdays that really remind me of our many blessings! It was sweet because Timmy Ziggy actually said the prayer for us and he did a ...

I absolutely LOVE our tradition of going to the D the morning of Thanksgiving to burn some calories before consuming so many.  Chrissy (one of my best work friends) and I have been coming for 7 years now.  I took off one year since I was recovering from a c-section!  My dad has been coming the longest (since Danny and I were little)!  We actually weren't sure he would make it since he just started running a couple weeks ago after ankle tendon surgery this summer.  Still he did great and came in second in his age group! Chrissy's oldest son, Eddie, came too.  This was his first race with us but I'm hoping not his last (I think he had fun).  Eddie did awesome and ran 7:42 minute miles! When we were making our way to the start, of course it was packed.  It was a nice mild day and the rain held off too (it was spitting a bit back home).  I took Joe's hoodie and the the boys were off.  Chrissy and I walk so they went ahead of u...

 Sean had his Kindergarten Pow Wow the day before Thanksgiving!  I, of course, could not be there because of work but Jeff and my folks were able to make it (as you may recall from his guilting text).  No one gave me many details about the day... Cute.  Sean was mostly interested in eating.  He yawned when he was up singing.  My mom took some pictures and VIDEO for me too.  Our last Kindergarten Pow-Wow. Time Flies!!

The other day I was in the bathroom when I heard all this barking coming from my bedroom.  This was odd because Marty's not a big barker at all, and it's not like he could see out the window (and if he could, our bedroom faces the trees...).  When I found him, he was staring in the mirror at his own reflection!  It was really funny and I took a video that I posted HERE (and if you click on it that would be cool because I love making money on YouTube).  He went on barking at himself for a long time.  In fact, I had to put laundry baskets on top of our dresser to block Marty's view of the 'friend' he met. I guess there's one reason not to put laundry away!

Our plan was to go to Saginaw the Saturday before Thanksgiving to celebrate with the Dorans (since this is a "Drapal" year). Our plans changed because on Saturday we got hammered with 15 and a half inches of snow! So instead of going on Saturday, we headed out on Sunday. The kids (and dog) ran quite a bit and got good and tired.  Sean even slept in the car on the drive north which was nice. It was great to see Grandma and catch up (even though the boys and I had a nice visit with her a couple weeks ago).  Jim, Trish and the girls came too (JD was out of state on a mission trip).  It was great seeing them and sharing a WONDERFUL meal around the table. The kids were right next to us at their own table and I think they loved that very much!  It was fun eavesdropping on their silly conversations now and then.  I am thankful for kiddos that get along so well!  Joe also spent some time serenading all of us with his Trumpet abilities (kind of nic...

The following is much cuter if you SEE it by clicking HERE . Still, I wanted it in my book as a fun memory.

Marty's first snow was a BIG one!  We got 15 1/2 inches and actually had to change our Saturday plans (which were to go north for Thanksgiving with the Dorans).  I somehow didn't realize we were going to get QUITE that much snow.  I got up for my usual morning walk and by the time I got home (only two miles) there was a light dusting.  I don't walk with Marty for MY exercise... He's afraid of EVERYTHING.  I love his submissive, sweet heart but he's afraid of the dark (it's dark before work),  cats, dogs he doesn't know, a flag flapping in the breeze (not kidding) and loud random noises.  He also tries to pee on every mailbox (not ideal for exercise for moi). After MY walk, I took him and we made it about three tenths of a mile out before he heard a loud noise in the distance and wanted to come home. By that time, the snow was really sticking to the grass and I knew he was going to have fun.   THIS was his first experience running in th...