Graduation!

Somebody graduated!  And this time it WAS this one, at his preschool graduation...

No idea why he walked in like this, but he did it his own way.

With his teacher and his diploma.

His teacher asked if anyone wanted to say the prayer before we ate, and this boy JUMPED at the chance.  He is not shy, not one little bit. We all held our breath, because with this one you never know what is going to come out of his mouth.  But he did such a good job and we were all proud (and relieved!)  

My guys having a nosh after the ceremony.

Our little family with the graduate!

And now on to bigger things for our little guy!  

December decorating at Mom's house

Whew, have been away for a while!  I could blame it on the busy days of Christmas, but that's not entirely true.  I've just been feeling uninspired.  I figured I could at least come on and put some December pictures on though!  

Here are pictures from when we decorated Mom's tree:

Macy

Macy, Milo, Casper and Mr. GV

Milo and Casper have the *best* time together!  Here Milo is biding his time until he can steal the toy.

J and I decorating.

J and his NaNa

J chose S to help him put the angel on top! Poor S was so sick at the time, but she rallied and came in to visit anyway.

S and her boyfriend, striking a pose.

Almost all of us!

More Thanksgiving

It worked out that Mr. GV was off work this Thanksgiving, and we were able to eat our meal at his brother's house.  

We took servings of our dressing and potatoes, plus the green bean casserole and pumpkin pie to share. There were rolls we could eat AND my mother-in-law made bean salad with Veganaise and tofu (instead of hardboiled egg!!!)  This is HUGE.  My mother-in-law always says she can't cook for us anymore, and I know that bothers her.  I have mentioned that my mom cooks for us but I don't think it gets through to her exactly what I mean.  

J came by for a while with my mom and sister, and made a quick friend!

Love this picture of Mr. GV and the little one.  

Babies all over the place!

Simple Pleasures: Sliding

Is there anything more fun than sliding?  Or if you're not into that, then maybe you enjoy watching a child slide, because of the sheer joy that exists on their face.  

We had a day like that recently, a small fall festival in my hometown, and I met up with, J, my sister, and my mom there.  J had an excellent time playing in the bounce house and slide, and I had a great time snapping a few pictures and watching him have a blast.  

Vacation, Day 1

Since I turned 40 this year, my husband wanted to take me on a nice vacation. Our plans were to head to Toronto first, then on to New York, where we would stay at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, and then on to Vermont.  Why Vermont?  Well, it is the only state in New England that we've never visited.  And it is supposed to be beautiful in the fall.  

Unfortunately, we had a family crisis happen while we were headed to New York, so we decided to turn around and go home.  Is there some disappointment?  Well, of course.  That's human nature.  But there is no vacation or amount of money that can compare to my family.  Period.  Vermont will still be there the next time we are ready to visit!

We did get to spend a few days away from home though.  The first day we traveled through Cincinnati, and that gave us the perfect excuse to finally try out a Loving Hut!  

Mr. GV had a slice of raw blueberry pie.  

I had a fresh summer roll, which was delicious!

Mom had the spring roll meal.

And some black bean sweet potato soup.

Mr. GV had soup, although I don't remember what type, a buffalo wrap, and salad.  

I had the raw taco salad.  I liked what I could eat of it, but it was way too spicy for me.  

Mom at the fish pond in the back of the restaurant.  

I was glad to finally get to try the food at a Loving Hut location.  While I didn't pick wisely for my meal, I have no doubt that the next time I try one of their dishes, it will be great.  

Family Reunion Part 3 (final)

After showers, the boys decided they needed to dance!

 Earlier there had been some watermelon eating outside.  Pre-bath, thank goodness. 

 When it was time to go, J was not ready for his cousins to leave.  There was a bit of wrestling.

 And some rolling around on the ground.

It was a good day, filled with lots of reminiscing, photos, stories, "I didn't know that!", and playtime.

Family Reunion Part 2

After the first round of reminiscing and water play, we headed out to a local restaurant for lunch. 

 These two young'uns were pretty tired already at this point. 

 J's room looked something like this, which is pretty good considering there were three boys in there, playing hard!

 After lunch the moms relented and the boys had another round of Slip 'n' Slide. 

And of wallowing around in the resulting mud. 

 Some (OK----one) of the grownups even got involved with the fun. 

 There were a few pileups. 

 And lots of big splashes. 

 The way that J approaches the Slip 'n' Slide is this:  He runs toward the end, then throws his feet out from under him, landing hard.