Adventures of Polle

It's always fun having Polle back from the North Pole!  My favorite part is watching the kids look for him every morning ♥

Here's a look at his first week back....

The week before Thanksgiving, I nearly gave into the temptation of putting up the Christmas tree.  But stuck to waiting until after Thanksgiving.  You're welcome, Chet ;)

Cru was the most excited. 

And the most impatient!  "Is it done yet?  Can we put ornaments on yet?  Where's the star?  Can I put the star on top yet?  Mom, WHERE ARE ALL THE ORNAMENTS?!"

My patience was running thin as well....between carrying up tubs from the basement, cheering on the Jayhawks, watching kids, and making trips back and forth to Walmart, it took me ALL DAMN DAY. Actually, I didn't finish finish until three days later, but the majority was done that night...for the kids' sake.

Always for the kids.

Oh yeah, and the new look of the tree....colored lights and ribbon....tried to make it "fun"....also for the kids.  They love it, which is good!

I haven't snapped a great picture of it complete, but here is what our decorating process looked like....

Checking for burned out lights.



































Once they passed the test, he'd pass them to Evee, and she'd relay to me.



































He wanted to put the star on...


Mom put the star on.

Happy to have Charlee's help too!
























Lots of "help" going on....



































I kind of wanted to rip my eyeballs out at this point!

But we kept trucking along....





















































































































Bonnie Jayde cat napped during most of the decorating, then woke for the finale ♥




























































Ran out of beads...



































So while ALL this decorating chaos fun was going on, Chet and my brother were enjoying cold beer and the beautiful 60 degree winter weather FISHING.

























I have no words....

except the kids had a great day.



































All about the kids, right?

Every year, St. Joe's kindergarten puts on a Thanksgiving play.  So cute!  They all memorize lines and sing a couple songs.  So thankful Mrs. Burghart continues this tradition!



























































I immediately worked with Cru on his lines the day he brought home his paper.  And he had it down after about two minutes.  Everlee still talks about Squanto and planting corn :) 

He seemed a bit nervous, but did great!














































































































































Once the play is over, they invite the pre-k class to their classroom for a feast.  Ms. Becky introduces her Indians one by one, the Indians are greeted by a kindergarten Pilgrim that say, "Welcome to kindergarten!", then the Indians present them with a handmade necklace.  So awesome!

Indian Colt and Pilgrim Dane




































Indian Graham and Pilgrim Brady




































Indian Jaxon and Pilgrim Asher







































































Indian Jensen and Pilgrim Cru



































Cru was SO excited his feast buddy was Jensen.  Jensen must not have known Cru was who he was going to sit with because after Ms. Becky introduced him and Cru came to greet him, he (loudly) whispered, "YES!"



































They served apples, grapes, crasins, carrots, corn bread, turkey, cheese and crackers, beef jerky, and pumpkin pie at the feast.

































































































Happenings of that morning proved to me yet again why we love our school, our teachers, and our classmates so much ♥






































































Seriously^^^squeeze them!!!



































My Pilgrim and his lil' sidekick ♥

**So bummed the videos I took with the camera are too big to upload :(  No clue how to fix that!**

With Chet's parents living in Florida, this year's Thanksgiving was a little different.  I'll be honest, it was hard for me to get into the "spirit"....I love Thanksgiving at their house!  Their food...sooo good!  The company....even better! 

But I kicked the attitude when we decided to play host and hostess.


































Casyn and her roommate/teammate/friend, Janelle, were our guests of honor.  We wanted to make them feel special and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal.



























No turkey for us host virgins!



































The meal was delicious!  Chet's ham was wonderful!  But it was definitely Casyn and Janelle who made us feel special ♥





























































So incredibly thankful for the love that all of our kids' aunts and uncles show them.



































And can I get an amen for modern technology!!!































































































The oldest and the youngest Buchmans ♥





































































We followed Casyn and Janelle right out the door and headed to my family's Thanksgiving supper.  Watching the kids interact gets better and better every year!  And seeing all the new babes added to the family each year...so awesome! 

I took one picture that evening....



































Baby hog.

Can't blame him.

I enjoyed just sitting with family, catching up, laughing at the kids, and filling my belly!  Again.

Yes, the holiday wasn't what it normally is, but that's ok.  I am grateful for each and every minute and memory of it.

And especially for my loves.