Thanksgiving, Holiday Activities, Ike's Birthday, and a New Puppy!

Wow - we've had a lot going on! We had a nice Thanksgiving - it was quiet, just us, very leisurely. Natalie & Owen enjoyed watching the Macy's parade on tv, and Henry really enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner (he wasn't eating solids yet last year). The day after Thanksgiving, the kids were out of school, and they were happy to be home on a weekday. Natalie impressed me with her computer skills and played some games online. That night Ike & I took Nat and Owen to see the Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet. They were wide-eyed and really enjoyed the whole experience. We had great seats and a perfect view. I let them each pick out an ornament (to buy) from the little display area when we left. Natalie was very interested in all the fancy clothes all the ladies were wearing. She's something else. We went out for pizza and live music on the weekend with our good friends, and got rained out while there, which is what happened the last time we went the same place. But it was fun anyway. The following week Ike had a trip to NYC and DC, so we were glad to have him home at the end of the week. Last weekend, Ike took Natalie to the ballet again (we had a sitter and were supposed to go for a date night - but we were hosting a holiday party the next night and I used the opportunity to prepare for the party, decorating, getting the food & drinks, etc). Again, Natalie had a great time and got to wear a fancy new dress. We had our party that Saturday night and we all had a really good time. Everybody that came brought kids, so needless to say, I was up late that night cleaning up (there were toys everywhere!).

Last week was a very exciting week. We had snow on Wednesday! I was out running errands and I watched as the precipitation turned from rain, to sleet, to snow. I couldn't believe it! Of course it was the same night that Grandma Laura and Grandpa Roger were arriving for a visit. It snowed for about 5 hours and accumulated a little, but it was gone the next morning. The kids were very excited! And of course Natalie called us out because we recently told her there would be no snow in Houston. Grandma & Grandpa brought an extra surprise with them - our new puppy. They had been fostering him for several weeks and about a month ago Ike & I decided to adopt him. So he flew in with them. He's a sweetie! He's a Catahoula mix and we've named him Louie (for Louisiana since Catahoulas are the state dog). The next day was Ike's birthday. I had to fly to New Orleans and drive to Baton Rouge for a conference. By the time I got there, it was snowing a lot, and we didn't make it to Baton Rouge - the roads were horrible. And Louisiana drivers are not very skilled when it comes to snow. So I ended up at the office for a couple of quick meetings and then on an earlier flight so I could get home. Karen flew in that night and we celebrated Ike's day. We had a nice visit over this past weekend and did our Christmas presents/celebrating with Grandma & Grandpa and Karen. On Saturday night we walked over to the neighborhood next to ours for their annual Lights in the Heights event. Two parallel streets close down and the residents decorate their houses with Christmas decorations and have parties. It's basically a walking, kid-friendly party. So now we are looking forward to Christmas - next week already!!