Thanksgiving 2010

We went to Nebraska for Thanksgiving this year. My Uncle Pete and his family, as well as my grandma live in Nebraska. They have a big house, so it's a good opportunity for us all to get together. My parents and brothers were all there as well!

We left our house on Tuesday and spent a few nights with Amy and Greg. Joey and Kylah had been talking about spending time with Logan and Olivia forever! Needless to say, they were excited!
Somehow we didn't get a good picture of all four kids together, but we did get some other fun ones!

How cute is this...Logan is helping Joey tie his shoes (they did this all on their own.)

Joe and I took the kids with us to visit our old offices in Omaha on Wednesday morning. It was fun to see where we used to work, but I think we both agreed that we are definitely happy where God has us now.

We met up with Greg and Amy for lunch. Later that afternoon we took the kids to a fun bounce place.
Olivia shows us how it's done going down the big slide.

Joey loves them as well!

This was probably the most fun thing there. (I'm pretty sure the "big" boys had more fun in here than the kids!)

Knock out!

I kind of wished I could have gotten in there with them, but baby girl may not have appreciated that! :)

Joey thought it was hilarious to put on those huge boxing gloves.

Amy and I.

My baby girl and I. (I've realized that I call her my baby girl a lot. I'm probably going to need to change that when this new baby girl comes!) She has a new obsession with sticking out her tongue. It's pretty cute here, but not always so cute! :)

We were able to put the kids to bed that night and then Amy's mom graciously came over to sit with them so we could go out for a while. It was nice to be able to talk without the kiddos around!

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Thursday morning we drove to my uncle's house. I think Joey was pleasantly surprised at how short the drive was. He must have been thinking we were taking another 6 hour trip, because he was so excited when I told him we were almost there 20 minutes later.

It was great to see everyone. My aunt and uncle have four kids as well with families, so it is always a full, loud house. That's how we love it, though!

Dad and I.

Tony was the potato-masher last year, but his flight didn't get in until a little later, so Uncle Pete had to do the job (yes, that's a big pot and he's using some type of shovel-contraption to mix them!) Kylah was in awe. :)

Cousin Tommy, Aunt Patti, Dad, cousin Nick, cousin Jordan.

Cousin Nicole, me, cousin Ashley.

Thanksgiving dinner is always a feast to behold. There were 34 of us gathered around the table this year. Kylah looking adorable at the table. (She loves to have a braid in her hair now like her bestie Audrey!)

My brother Aaron and sister-in-law Esther. Esther has finals this week, but that didn't stop her from traveling to be with us for Thanksgiving! (Actually, she's just super smart, so she'll do well regardless!)

Part of the dinner table...Sister-in-law Gina, brother Tony, Aaron and Esther.

Joey was pretty excited to get sparkling apple cider! That's my cousin's daughter, Elizabeth, sitting next to him.

The "head" of the table: Mom, dad, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Pete.

There is always a football game after dinner with the neighbors and their family. I'm pretty sure the Manes family is on a 6 year winning streak, but the neighbors keep wanting to play! Obviously, I didn't play this year...but I was thinking I would have been a good decoy---just stick the football in my coat and they would never know if it was my pregnant belly or the football! :)

Since the temperature was in the 20's on Thanksgiving Day, Joey only lasted out there for about 15 minutes!

All of the "little" kids enjoying a snack. Let me tell you...having a 7,8 and 9 year old around really made our jobs pretty easy! Joey played with Zack, Elizabeth and Taylor all weekend long. We barely saw him! He was so happy to do whatever the big kids wanted to do. Kylah did great playing with them, playing with Papa or Gramma, or just playing with toys by herself. It was nice break for Joe and I!
Nicole or Ashley...if you want to let us "borrow" your kids anytime, just let us know! :)

Joey dressed up as a construction worker. He was very particular about getting all his tools on his belt.

Gramma and Joey. Joey is definitely a Gramma's Boy!

Gramma and Kylah. (Doesn't my mom look great?! She's done a great job on her Weight Watchers, and I'm so proud of her!)

Kylah loves reading books. And she's definitely a Papa's Girl!

This is Gina watching the Penn State game. Yes, she's actually looking at Facebook on the computer...the Penn State game is on TV. :)

Friday was the Nebraska game, so a big group went to watch the game. Joe and I stayed around the house (warm and a big TV!). I took a nice nap and ate more food.
Friday night we took a little girls trip to Roja (a favorite of mine when we lived in Omaha). A few friends of mine were also able to meet us there, so it was good to catch up with everyone. Sarah came (she's been my friend since 5th grade). She's also pregnant with her first baby. I forgot my camera so I didn't get a picture. I would have loved to get a picture of our baby bumps together!

Saturday we pretty much spent playing cards the whole day. I'm not kidding...from about 10 am to 11:30 pm it was a Pitch tournament between whomever wanted to play. Esther and I made a good run, but I think Joe and Aaron were the final champions. They may or may not have cheated... :)

Saturday night my Uncle Pete cooked up another fabulous meal. (Oh, I forgot to mention that on Friday he made Italian beef as well as gumbo...amazing.) On Saturday it was lasagna, eggplant, Italian sausage and Italian meatballs. It also was amazing. I don't know how he does it. I'm sure we all went away from this weekend weighing an extra 10 pounds. (Fortunately for me, I can blame it on the baby!) :)

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Sunday morning we stopped at our good friends Chris and Erin's house on our way out of town.
Their son Ethan and Joey are only 5 months apart in age, so they always have a blast playing together.

They had baby Wyatt a few weeks before we moved to Arkansas, so we haven't seen him since he was tiny. He has changed so much, and is just the sweetest little guy. Kylah was enthralled with him (gives me hope for when her baby sister gets here!)

These two just kept kissing each other...so cute!

We got home Sunday evening. We had such a fun trip. It was so full, but so fun. I don't think I have quite recovered...meaning, I haven't done any laundry yet! Oh well, another day...

We put our Christmas decorations up tonight, so I'll post those pictures soon!

In case there was ever any doubt...

We rediscovered a lot of fun things while cleaning out our garage yesterday. (We originally thought we'd be in this rental house only about 6 months, but since it seems like it will be a while longer, we needed to go through our boxes.)

One thing we came across was this picture.
I asked Joey who this was. "Me!" he said. I asked Audrey last night who it was, and she said, "Joey!" Who do you think it is?
Yep, it's Joe when he was little. I was amazed how much Joey actually does look like Joe! I always thought he had a lot of Manes in him, but after seeing this picture, I'm beginning to think he looks a lot more like his daddy than I thought! Joey thought it was pretty fun to see daddy as a little boy!

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Yesterday morning--after my wonderful husband let me sleep in until 10, and then made me a yummy breakfast--Joe and the kids were wrestling on the floor.
I love this picture because it shows how multi-talented women are. Look at Kylah...wrestling with daddy, carrying her purse, and eating a pancake, all at the same time!!

And, it always turns into a tickle fest!

For both kids!

We've had a nice weekend at home. All of the baby girl stuff and baby accessories are now accessible in the garage, so we can start bringing things in. Kind of crazy!!
Laundry is pretty much done, and I'm going to try to start packing tonight for our trip to Nebraska!

Babies!!

Christine and her kids came over to play with us last week. Joey always has a blast playing with Jakin and Anna (especially his super hero friend, Jakin!)
Not a great picture, but the only one of the three of them.

Look at those tough super hero's!

I didn't get a picture of Kylah and Mikaiah, but they were so cute together cooking up a storm in Kylah's little kitchen!

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Joe's parents came and picked up Joey and Kylah Wednesday morning so they could spend a few days with them. (I know, they seriously drove all the way here to get them and took them back to Kansas!) It was a nice, quiet few days around here without the kiddos!
It was actually Joe's dad's idea to come get the kids because he had a few days off work. Jennifer warned him that she still had to go in to work for a while and had some practices to go to. Jody still wanted to do it, and I'll give him credit, he even changed a poopy diaper!! :)
The kids had a blast as always with Nana and Grandpa and were full of stories for Joe and me when we got there Friday night.

On Saturday I had a baby shower for my sister-in-law Katie, who is due with her first baby in late February (a few weeks after me!) We are both having girls, so we're pretty excited.

Val, this one is for you! We know you've been wanting some belly shots! :)

In reference to the belly pictures...I say whoever says everyone carries girls high has never seen Katie. Look how low her belly is and how high mine is. Crazy!

Here was the table full of the goodies.

It was so fun to be able to see both of Joe's grandma's at the shower. Grandma Manthe is in the blue. Joey and Kylah actually got to go see Grandma Manthe at her house. Grandma said she never thought she'd see the day when her son (Jody) would get out of a car alone with a diaper bag on his shoulder, carrying one grandchild and walking with two others! :) I tell you what, he's super Grandpa!

Grammy was also at the baby shower. (and Kylah just woke up from her nap and is cuddling with Nana.) :)

Look at that pile of presents Katie got! I love all the pink!

Such small little shoes.

Gotta love the girlie clothes!

And, just because she is so cute...Kylah is sporting some Pippy Longstocking braids I put in for her!

Not many people can pull off that look, but I think she can! :) (and don't mind the stains on her shirt...she just ate a Starburst.)

Kylah loving on Grammy.

So while we spent the morning getting ready for the shower and then hanging out with women all afternoon, all the guys spent the day cleaning out Grammy's basement. Joey worked all day right alongside the men. Apparently he did really well, and even helped out when Grandpa assigned him things to do. It's so fun that he's old enough to go hang with the boys all day.

That night, Grandpa sat Joey down and gave him some money for all the "hard work" he did that day. He gave Joey a lesson on tithing...he gave him four one-dollar bills, and then 4 quarters. He explained to him why we give Jesus part of our money, and told Joey he needed to put 2 quarters in the offering at his church. Joey didn't get it at first (he's never earned money before!), but after we talked about it for a while, he understood today and was excited to do it. How adorable is this little talk they are having?!

We had a fun weekend in Kansas. Next up...Thanksgiving in Nebraska!! Looks like I have some laundry to do in the next week!

What a mom...

Something I never thought I would say..."Joey, get your hot dog out of your shake."
Oh the joys of being a mom to a 4 year old!

Camping and Trick-or-treating

We had quite the adventurous weekend last weekend. After not seeing the Adair's for what seemed like forever, we saw them three days straight! :)

Friday night, someone had the bright idea to go camping. Actually, Dave and Mere invited us to tag along with them camping. This is actually a first for our little family. It would have been a great idea...had it not been the coldest night of the year here in Arkansas so far! It got down to 32 degrees that night! More about that to come...

The actual camping part was great. The kids had a blast running around the campsite and helping set up the tents. We got this beauty at Walmart. It is the perfect size for what we need.

Audrey and Kylah decided to go for a little walk together. Can they be any cuter?!

I mean, really, too cute.

After finding loads of firewood, the boys (yes, the big boys and little boys!) started us a great fire. All the kids had their chairs up and ready to go. Kylah made me quite nervous around the fire. She doesn't really have a concept of how hot it is or how dangerous, so we really had to keep an eye on her!

Then it was time to roast some hot dogs.


Daddy decided Kylah needed a little help to actually cook the hot dog!

After lots of playing, making hot dogs and smores, and singing by the fire, it was time for bed for the kids. I think Joey actually asked me if he could go to bed. I'm not sure if he was really tired, or just wanted to test out his new sleeping bag. Don't they look all warm and snuggly in those?! They are fully clothed with multiple layers, extra fleece blankets inside their sleeping bags and have hats on. You'd think they'd be warm enough...not so. It was frigid. A few hours later, all four of us were on our queen-sized air mattress (yes, we brought an air mattress camping...I have my limits) trying to cuddle up to stay warm all night. Between the freezing cold temperatures, the fact that all of us were squeezed onto the bed, Kylah coughing, me coughing, and the kids kicking us, none of us got much sleep that night. We were pretty much wishing morning would come! :)

Morning did come! As the sun came out it thankfully got much warmer. We cooked breakfast over the fire: eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes. The kids loved it!

Then it was time for fishing!

Joe got Joey started and then he was good to go. (He's been fishing with Papa before, so he knows what to do!) :)

All that talking about fishing made Kylah so excited to go fishing. However, she didn't have a pole. This little one was so sad to discover that she didn't have a pole. :( I told her to talk to Papa. :)

Fortunately, Connor was more than happy to give Kylah a turn with his.

Look at that happy face!

Joey and Audrey having some time together. Usually when Connor is around it is all Joey and Connor being boys, and they don't have much time for Audrey (although we often remind them to include her). Luckily, Kylah is becoming more of a fun playmate for Audrey. The funny thing is, when Connor isn't there, Joey and Audrey play together so well too! These two will actually be in the same grade together in school since Joey won't start kindergarten until he's six.

Mere said when Audrey was fishing with Joey she turned to Mere and said, "This is my Joey time." So cute!

So to sum up...camping was a blast, minus the frigid night. We will definitely be doing that again...in the spring! :) Joey wants to go back now, but we try to remind him how cold it was at night and that we will definitely go again when it's warmer.

We all headed home after camping for lunch and naps. I took a great 4 hour nap, which is just what this preggo needed! I don't think the kids slept that long, but thankfully Joe got up with them!

Dave and Mere had tickets to the Razorback game that night, so we watched their three kiddos for them. It was a nice relaxing night of movies. We figured the kids had had enough fresh air for the day! Beauty and the Beast is a hit for boys and girls since it has a big beast! We made a little theater in Joey and Kylah's room with the computer (hey...Joe and I wanted to relax and watch TV in the living room!)

After the movie it was bed time. This is what we found not long after putting the kids to bed. Four kids sleeping soundly!

We did have Matty too, but apparently I didn't take any pictures of him. He was a trooper camping, and he was great that night for us. Check Mere's blog soon for pictures of him from camping!

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Sunday was Halloween.

The kids have been so excited to get dressed up and go trick-or-treating. And I'm not going to lie, I love digging through their candy buckets at the end of the night! :)

This year we had Mr. Incredible and Cinderella.

Joey already had this costume (Thanks Logan for the hand-me-down!), and he had a great attitude about wearing it even though it wasn't new. We talked with him about it and decided that we would get a fun new costume for him to play with after Halloween when they are much cheaper. He got an awesome Spider Man costume yesterday, and he loves it (and it was so much cheaper!)

Kylah got her Cinderella dress from Nana. Thanks Nana!

Despite their looks in this picture, they were quite excited, just not in the mood for a picture.

There's that pretty Cinderella smile!

We met up with the Adair's at Connor's school for a little carnival first. Here's a cute one of all the kids (minus Kylah who wouldn't look at the camera. She couldn't take her eyes off the cute monkey lion in the stroller!)

Kylah loved the little chicks. Unfortunately there were goats in the cage as well, so she wasn't about to go inside of it! She was able to hold and pet the chicks from outside the cage, though. Joey loved them too...we just had to keep reminding him to be very gentle! I'm hoping all those chicks made it through the night after being manhandled by all the kids!

Here is Kylah jumping in the little bounce house at the carnival.

And then she got to fish for duckies!

Joey was at the carnival too, but he was over in the bigger kids section with Joe, so I didn't get a picture of him doing anything.

Then it was time to go trick-or-treating!

Superman and Mr. Incredible had the whole thing down: "Trick-or-treat; thank you; Happy Halloween!" (They may have forgotten the thank you a few times, but we were quick to remind them!

The two pretty princesses were usually a few steps behind the boys. Actually Audrey kept up pretty well, but Kylah didn't have a chance! But, she seemed to get more loot that way because everyone felt sorry for her as she toddled up to the house way after the others were gone. :)

The kids were wiped out about halfway through our trek through the neighborhood. We learned a few valuable lessons for next year: Bring water! The kids could not stop telling us how thirsty they were...no matter how many times we told them we didn't have anything to drink. The other lesson we learned: Bring extra bags to empty the buckets into halfway through. Those things got heavy for the kids!

Seriously, the kids kept sitting down in the grass while we were trying to walk. You'd think we were making them do something awful instead of FILLING UP BUCKETS WITH CANDY!!

It still turned out to be a great night. The kids were exhausted when we got home, so it was right to bed with them! Don't worry, they enjoyed some candy (and some water!) on the way home.

Then it was my turn to "inspect" the candy. :)