"Dear Santa, I've tried my really best to be a good girl..."

After we left Gammy's this afternoon, the girls decided it was time to give their annual report and wish list to their dear friend Santa Claus. Both letters started by explaining to Santa that they had tried to be good this year...modestly, neither of the girls proclaimed perfection. The most accurate evaluation will come from Mr. Claus himself, although Mom and Dad are not quite so modest about their children...they're as good as they come. So, after a week of anticipation, we finally wrote to Saint Nick. The hot cocoa and Girl Scout Cookies only made the situation more exciting (if you could imagine).

Each of the girls thought very long and hard about what they wanted. The items they had in common were: a new nightlight for their room, Pokemon cards, a camera, a Wii, and many, many books. They were even thoughtful enough to include a small note reporting on Nolan...he's done well considering he's a two year old little boy. Also, they thought of a small list of things he may enjoy. His list included puzzles, a stuffed Winnie the Pooh, a dancing Brobee doll, and a potty seat. Kendall and Natalie even suggested a book for Nolan..."Everybody Poops"...no comment.

We had a lot of fun writing to Santa, and from all reports, it should be a Merry Christmas!!!

A Visit With Aunt Teresa and Uncle Dennis (and Molly and Tater Tot)

Aunt Teresa and Uncle Dennis stayed in town this weekend, and we were lucky enough to see quite a bit of them. On Friday, Aunt Teresa met us over at Gammy's for lunch. Common sense would say leftover turkey for lunch, but the kids said pizza...Gammy was happy to indulge us once again. We had a very nice time just hanging out. We also enjoyed yummy homemade apple pie and coffee after lunch. The kids had ice cream. After a few hours of visiting, Mom and Nolan left for Nolan's naptime. The girls stayed and played at Gammy's until 4:00 when Mom had to go to work (on Black Friday, at the mall...).

Is it just me...or is she glowing???

On Saturday, the girls went to Holly Days in Horseheads with Teresa and Dennis. They had so much fun. Natalie and Kendall sat right next to Santa Claus on the firetruck!!! There are no pictures on this end because Mom had to work a double on Saturday. By all reports, everyone had a ton of fun (except maybe Mom).

Today, we all gathered once again for one last visit at Gammy's before Teresa and Dennis left. Gammy prepared a yummy lasagna, and pasta with my Gree's famous meatballs and sauce (yummy). We all ate and watched the Bills lose. Kudos to the chef (Mom and Gree), and the kids had fun harassing another dog (Molly, Teresa and Dennis's dog).

Nolan even had fun both days hanging out with Mom and playing with the dollhouse (yes, his sisters have rubbed off on him). He doesn't have two good days in a row very often...but he must have been happy to see everyone (and eat all that yummy food!!!).

Once again, we said our goodbyes...gave hugs and kisses, and wished them a safe trip home. The kids always have such a nice time with Aunt Teresa and Uncle Dennis. They are very good to us. Gammy and Gampy made it a nice weekend for all. We love you!!!

Oh, and to answer the previous question...yes, I think they're both glowing!!!

Must be baby "Tater Tot Hall" that's growing inside Aunt Teresa. That's right...they're expecting, and I can finally tell!!! What a wonderful family this child will be blessed with. We can't wait to meet you little Tater Tot!

CONGRATS TERESA AND DENNIS, YOU'VE BEEN GREAT TO MY CHILDREN, TATER TOT IS VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS PARENTS

For updates stayed tuned, and check out http://www.teresandennis.blogspot.com/

The Edwards Family Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We concluded our day with another dinner. This time, it was at Gammy and Gampy's house. Along with us, Aunt Teresa, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Dani, Chris, Mitch (Dani and Chris's dog...he looks evil in this picture), Gammy and Gampy were there. We arrived just in time to eat. Even though it was the second meal, everyone still managed to pig out.

Dinner was awesome. Gammy made a beautiful turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, crescent rolls, and cranberry sauce. Teresa brought a green bean casserole and a salad. Everything was soooooo good.

After dinner, we took some time to visit with eachother (and watch football of course). Kendall and Nolan harassed the dog for a bit and then did puzzles with Gampy. Natalie was busy in the kitchen helping clean up...what a helpful young lady.










Believe it or not, most of us even managed to have room left in our stuffed tummies for some dessert. Gammy made apple pie and Aunt Dani made chocolate cream pie. Natalie, Kendall and Mom made cookies. The girls spent a lot of their morning decorating cookies for everyone. We used candy footballs and Barbie sprinkles. I would say it was about the snazziest (and tastiest)batch of cookies I have ever seen.

Everyone enjoyed dessert, and eachother for a bit longer. Then it was time to go home. We gave hugs and kisses to all of our family, and went home to go to bed. Everyone went to bed happy and with full tummies. The icing on the cake: Mom had no dishes to wash tonight!

We have so many reasons to be thankful. Natalie is thankful for her family and for her break from school. Kendall is thankful for giraffes, her mom, and her sister Kristen. I am thankful for my happy, healthy, beautiful family that I get to spend so many nice times with (Cruise and Edwards), just like we did again today.

The Cruise Family Thanksgiving

It's Turkey Day. Our family loves eachother, and loves to eat. Naturally, Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. We started our Thanksgiving day festivities with the Cruise family. It was a large crowd, and it was only immediate family. Grandma Cruise was there, our family: Kevin, Sara, Natalie, Kendall, Nolan, and Kristen, Kevin's sister Shelly and her family: Tom, Molly, Maureen, Nicole, Greg, and Alex, Kevin's sister Cassie and her family: Todd, Josh, Brittney, Morgan, Seth, Alaina, Taryn, and Caelin, Kevin's brother Jake and his family: Jenn and Ayden, also Sandy (a very close family friend)was there, and Morgan and Josh's girlfriends joined us. So, that would be... 29 people. All 4 of Grandma Cruise's children and 17 of the 19 grandchildren made it to have dinner together. The only two that couldn't make it were Andrew (he was with his mom), and Cassie's and Todd's son, John, who is training in California to go to Iraq in January. They were very missed. This year the family rented a building because we simply wouldn't all fit in anyone's house. It was very nice there, it even had a fireplace. Spending time with eachother today was the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving. Except for a few smoke alarm scares (well, really more scared that the sprinklers may go off), and a blown circuit, which we were locked out of the room with the breaker in it...(good thing it happened after almost everything was cooked), it was a very nice time together.










Before dinner, the children played board games. The adults finished up getting food ready, and everyone was having a nice time visiting. Everyone waited very patiently... yes, even Nolan (for that, I am thankful). We also enjoyed many pre-meal snacks: chips and dip, mini meatballs, cheese and pepperoni with crackers, pickles, olives, and lots of other yummy snacks.





















For dinner there were 3 big turkeys, stuffing, cornbread, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and rolls. Everyone helped make dinner, and everyone did a great job.










Dinner was delicious. We all ate ourselves silly, but we skipped desert because we had to be a Gammy's for another meal. We loved our time with our family today!

Rock On, John!

This morning, we all started watching a John Mayer television concert. The music moved Kendall to some pretty serious (and spastic) dance moves. She jumped up and said "rock on" and held up the "rock on" symbol (her older sister Kristen taught her that when she was two). Then she danced like a star. We all enjoyed ourselves, and so I thought I'd share a couple pictures...

ROCK ON, JOHN!!!

Note to self: Teach Kendall to dance with her tongue in her mouth

Don't Put Those Party Hats Away Quite Yet...

This week, the children's godmother, Patty, came into town. We finally got to see her tonight!!! Despite a ridiculously cranky little boy, I believe we all had a very nice visit. You better believe this visit involved yet another, and certainly the final, shin-dig for Miss Kendall's big 05.

Patty arrived on Sunday night, but as poor timing would have it, our family was feeling quite under the weather this week. We had a nasty stomach bug go through 4 out of 5 members in our household (Kendall got it Friday, Nolan on Sunday, Kevin on Tuesday, and Natalie on Wednesday). Mom managed to stay healthy somehow. Unfortunately, we missed the majority of Patty's visit. After everyone had been nursed back to health, we all gathered for a visit before she leaves tomorrow (hopefully without any of our germs).

We started out with the irresistible pile of gifts Patty had waiting for Kendall when we arrived. She got lots of new, groovy winter clothes and two board games. Kendall shouted, "I love shirts!" as she opened her gifts. She especially loved the PURPLE cheetah print shirt that Patty gave her. How awesome, purple is her favorite. Natalie even managed to get a very nice pink pea coat from Patty, just because Patty saw it and thought it would look good on her. I think Patty was right, it looks great on her, like such a young lady!

After presents, we had some pizza and wings. We always have pizza because it is our favorite, and everyone likes it. After dinner, Aunt Dani and Uncle Chris sat down with the girls, and played Kendall's new "Littlest Pet Shop" board game.

CHEESE!!!

Gammy and Nolan spent time doing puzzles and chatting with each other. Nolan loves puzzles and his Gammy, so naturally it was a good combo. Puzzle time with Gam was by far the most content he was all night. Gampy hung out with all of us, and even let me sneak a shot of him and his girls on the stairs. What a wonderful Gampy and Gammy we have.

After many snuggles, kisses, pictures and good times...it was time to head home. We had a very nice visit with our Patty. Everyone is pretty bummed we didn't get to see more of her, but we're all glad we at least saw her tonight. What a nice little visit it was.

Bye Patty, we cant wait for you to come back soon!!!