Thanksgiving!

Troy and Britt invited us to make cider at their house. It was quite the party.

 Rock wasn't there to party, he was there to work.

 Ryker was all about the hot cocoa bar.

 Rock hit the cocoa bar during his union-mandated break.

 Jens "helped" but never actually put down the hot cocoa.

 It was back to work for lil' Rock once his break was over.

 I was supervisor. The hot cocoa was too rich for me, and the cider was too dirty.

DeA claims that she doesn't love Leo, and that he's too dirty, and he sheds too much. Whatever. 

 Our nights at the hockey rink are still filling our lives, but it can be fun.

 The kids were begging to decorate the house as soon as Thanksgiving dinner was over. We made them do the hard work. 

  It looked good, for about a week. Then the cheap Command hooks failed and now it looks like a jump rope. 

 We even put up the inflatable Frosty from the office.

  The kids decorated the Christmas tree, much to the chagrin of their mother.

 She eventually relaxed and let them do what they wanted to the tree. Oh, and she claims that Leo isn't allowed on the couch.  

 We didn't have a star, so DeA created a Guantanamo Bay tortured elf star.

Thanksgiving Week!

A friend from Argentina sent me a recipe for alfajores. After converting some measurements and figuring out what "some of this..." meant they turned out great.

 Hadley visited us with her posse. 

 The kids had lessons and practice in Wenatchee. To get them through the evening, we packed some food for them to snack on. 

 Ryker put his queso in a Thermos and enjoyed it hot and delicious. 

 Rock is still keeping his stick on the ice.

 Thanksgiving was a wonderful weekend. It started with 25 pounds of  potatoes that needed peeled.

The crew helped willingly and happily.

  Jeffery didn't raise a ostrich turkey this year, but Travis and his kids did. It was almost half the size of Jefe's bird, and took a normal amount of time to cook.

 While we were at Janet's eating, Jens mentioned that she had a loose tooth. While we were sitting there she popped it out. Everyone cheered and the attention kind of surprised her. She got embarrassed and started to cry while burying her face in my chest. 

 The important thing is she got it out.

 The kids loved giving Hadley attention and loves.

 Thanks to some youtube channel, the kids wanted to make colored and chocolate chip pancakes. DeA was just super thrilled.

 It was quite the production. 

 Even Leo loved giving Hadley attention. 

Lots Going On

Ryker is a Cub Scout, and he looks good in uniform.

Jensley is training for a career in blood pressure taking.

Rock is channeling his inner "Master Chef"

Leo continues to push the boundaries of where he is allowed to sit.

Rock has been having fun at hockey, and learning to keep his stick on the ice.

DeA is smiling because she is pretty and she bought a new car.

Look how happy she is!

The car isn't pretty, but she loves it and she looks good driving it.

The kids love it, too!

Hockey, a little Halloween, and more hockey

Rock is playing on the house team in Wenatchee. He was pretty nervous for his first practice.

 All the suicide lines gave him quite the appetite. 

  Real Halloween came around, and that's all the excuse I needed to dress up.

 The kids met me at the office for some more trick or treating downtown.

After we walked around a while, I left for elk camp with Dad. We didn't bring anything home, but it was nice to be away for a day or so. 

 Nick rolled in about lunch on Friday.

 I made it home in time to pick up the kids. DeA showed how she likes to arrive.

 Ryker stayed the night at Grandpa and Grandma's. He looked miserable.

 Jens and Ryker wanted to get in on the skating fun, and are doing a Learn to Skate class.

 They said that they had fun.

 So...yeah. We basically live at the rink.