thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving weekend was a success.  Thanksgiving Day we went to Grandma and Pop Pop's house.  Dinner was delicious, and the company was top notch.  K enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner, last year he had a bottle.  R was not as impressed.  The next day U Jordan, U Nathan, Kim, Grammy and Grandpa came down for a visit.  It was great to see everyone and Kim even brought a festive craft for the occasion.

The Polar Express

Saturday night R donned her new pajamas and we headed to the North Pole to see.....Santa, of course.  R, Grammy, Momma and Dad took a train ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.  They did a reenactment of the book, Polar Express.  R got a gold ticket and as the train pulled out of the station, the friendly elves read the book for us.  After the book, we were served hot chocolate and cookies.  This was R's first cup of hot chocolate and she enjoyed it.  We then pulled into The North Pole.  There were lots of lights and many elves there to welcome us.  We also saw Santa and Mrs. Claus.  We then started the ride back to Akron.  On the trip back we sang songs and did the reindeer hooky poky.  We also got a special surprise -- Santa boarded the train when we were stopped in the North Pole.  He visited each car and each kid.  He asked R what was on her Christmas list and  R gave him a big hug.  He gave her the "first gift of Christmas" - a bell from his sleigh.  She was so excited about the bell that she has not let it out of her sight for a moment.  It was super cool!  The conductor even punched her ticket to make the trip official.

Halloween 2012

Halloween was cold and wet, but that did not deter R from a sugar filled night.  After a fun Halloween party at school (and by fun, I mean - R running in circles in the parking lot from so much sugar). R came home to refuel and go out for trick or treat.  R's friend S came over with her mom, along with R's grandparents.  We had a fun dinner and headed out despite the rain.  R, S and K all went up the street to our neighbor's house, but K quickly got tired and headed home with Pop-Pop.  R and K continued on in the rain.  R loved to knock on all of the doors and ask for candy.  She did not want to stop until her bucket was full.  She also ran up to someone and said "I'm a beautiful strawberry!!"  It was a very successful evening, despite the bad weather.  Great time, thanks Grandma and Pop-Pop for handing out candy so we could go out with R!!