Anna's School Feast and Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you so much! This morning Anna and Henry couldn't wait to give Chad his presents! They brought them to him in bed!

Anna also had a school feast today! It was at beautiful Jordan Lake. The kids and adults had so much fun. Our feast was not the traditional Thanksgiving feast, and it was so interesting to see what everyone brought! Here are a few of the foods we enjoyed: yummy Korean BBQ, Rice balls from Japan, ham rolls (a NC food tradition), fruit, pumpkin pie, etc... Chad roasted marshmallows for everyone and made s'mores. Some of Anna's friends from other countries had never had these. We all enjoyed sampling so many different types of food.

Tonight we will go out to dinner with everyone and then have cake at home. Tomorrow night Chad and I will go out together! :)



The s'mores birthday boy...needless to say, he was quite popular!


Time for a hike...or RUN through the woods!

Girls talk...

Boys play! :)






Anna and friends with Mrs. Edmonds...We are so thankful for her!

Nanny and Grandpa's visit

Nanny and Grandpa came to visit for a little over a week...We had so much fun, but we were so thankful that they kept our kids while we went on our trip. Thank you Nanny and "Pa"! Anna and Henry loved having them here!

Nanny and Anna went to a Sugar Plum Tea at the Carolina Inn while we were gone. Some of Anna's friends from school were there. Anna loved seeing all of the ballet dancers and getting their autographs!

Costa Rica

Chad and I went to Costa Rica last week and stayed at his dad's house!!! Thank you Willis...it was fabulous! Stephanie (one of my oldest friends) and Kevin joined us! The views from the house were amazing. It was oh so relaxing! We loved exploring the area around the house with all of the restaurants, beaches, etc. I only wished that we could have stayed longer...I guess it means we have to go back!

Pura Vida!

Halloween

Willis and Elaine came to visit this past weekend for Henry's birthday and Halloween! We all had so much fun...you would not believe Halloween in our neighborhood. I have seriously never seen anything like it...there were thousands of kids trick or treating, no exaggerations, there were lines of people at our house waiting for candy. Decorations galore! It was a blast. Anna and Henry loved trick or treating, but I think that they loved passing out candy more! Henry was telling people, "Now you say thank you!" He gave the kids candy and a little manners lesson. :) He is so funny!

Ready to trick or treat!

Typical Anna

Typical Henry...after this he safely stowed the sword away. Amazingly enough, he never pulled it out again. It now has a new home WAY UP HIGH...it may even disappear altogether! :)

Friends!

This is a son and father wearing masks...Henry was nervous!

The dad took off his mask, and Henry was still nervous! Grandpa helped him out! :)

Anna's friend Emily's Dad, "The Butler"! He even passed out adult treats to us!


After trick or treating, Anna and Henry set up chairs and passed out candy. We were out of 5 HUGE bags in 45 minutes...CRAZY! I guess next year we need 10 bags?

Vocabulary Parade

Anna's school had a kindergarten and first grade "vocabulary parade" the Friday before Halloween! It was so fun seeing all of the children in costume with a vocabulary word to describe themselves! Afterwards, we had a fun snack in her classroom and then they did Halloween centers. The parent involvement is just amazing at her school, and there were about 12 parents in the classroom all morning. It was so fun!
Maizie, Emily and Anna









This is the snack we brought...Anna thought it was so funny!

Henry joined Anna at her table for snack. She was so excited to have him there, and he was a bit hesitant with all of the big boys in their costumes...