Week 47

Where did my free week go?  It sure flew by fast.  How many days until Christmas break? :0)  I didn't get half the things done I wanted to get done, but I had fun and it was relaxing.  Christmas--yikes!  I'm not ready for that.  Our decorations will not be going up until after Dec 1st.  I need the rest of this week to transition and say goodbye to fall.

Here's a look at Thanksgiving week:

Day 323- Sunday, 11/18/12

Last stop on our girl's weekend.  We're having a drink while waiting for a late lunch.  What a fun trip with a fun group of girls.

 Day 324- Monday, 11/19/12

Time to thaw the turkey.  It's almost as big as Brandon.  The kids are happy to be home this week and look forward to turkey dinner.

 Day 325- Tuesday, 11/20/12

I was looking out back and noticed that our patio tree by the pool is now full of these beautiful berries.

 Day 326- Wednesday, 11/21/12

Look how big our kitty is getting.  Rusty is about 4 and 1/2 months now and is turning into a fun loving cat.  He's really happy we are home this week to give him some extra attention.

 Day 327- Thursday, 11/22/12

Happy Thanksgiving!  The boys are ready to eat.  It's just our family today and then tomorrow we do another large meal with John's family.

 Day 328- Friday, 11/23/12

It was turkey yesterday and prime rib today!  John's parents, his brother, and brother's girlfriend will be coming over to help us demolish this huge slab of meat.

 Day 329- Saturday, 11/24/12

 John and I met up with an college friend, Deb and her husband Doug, for some wine tasting in Lodi.  It was a beautiful, sunny day so we visited a few wineries and had a wonderful picnic lunch with thanksgiving leftovers.  We're so blessed to have such good friends.

Wait!  Time for our monthly family photo.

 November's Family Photo
This month we got the whole Packham clan in there with John's parents, his brother, his brother's girlfriend and us all together for the holiday.  My couch is just big enough ;0)  His parents live in Oregon so we don't really see them much.  It's been a few years so we had a good visit.

OK!  That's it.  Thanks for stopping by and see you in December.

 

Week 46

I'm running a little late today.  Tuesday snuck up on me.  How is it almost Thanksgiving already? I'm home this week with the kids who are off from school, but I'm working a couple early mornings like today. I had a great weekend with the girls and am looking forward to some family time at home now. I know this week will go by fast with so much cooking and baking and preparing to do. We have John's parents coming into town Friday as well so we'll be preparing two huge meals--Turkey on Thursday and Prime Rib on Friday. I'll have to hit my workouts hard after this week!

Here's what went down last week:

Day 316- Sunday, 11/11/12

The boys are at a loss without their computer.  The new one we bought in August turned out to be a lemon so John packed it up for a return.  After talking to tech support for over an hour it turns out they can just send us a new hard drive so we don't have to ship the whole thing.  Hopefully we'll be back in business soon.  They need that computer for school!

 

Day 317- Monday, 11/12/12

Happy Veteran's Day!  I truly am grateful for all those who have served to protect our country.  Typically this is the day we set aside for having our family pictures done so here we are waiting to view the shots that were just taken.  It's a zoo here so there is a long wait, and Tyler is happy the new Star Wars Angry Birds has just come out to help keep him entertained.

 Day 318- Tuesday, 11/13/12

. . .and today he has moved on to another new game just released.  He used some birthday money for a pre-order, and being the nice mommy that I am, I picked it up for him so he could play as soon as he got home.  He conveinently finished all his homework at school ;0)

 Day 319- Wednesday, 11/14/12

This must be Tyler's week.  It's harder and harder to get pictures of him these days.  The younger ones are more willing so I'll take what I can get.  Anyway, today was the water polo end of season party and Tyler was voted "Rookie of the Year!"  He had a really good season and we're so proud.

 Day 320- Thursday, 11/15/12

My sweet napping pets.  At least it's a lazy afternoon for them, and they look so cute napping together.

 

Day 321- Friday, 11/16/12
Time for girl's weekend.  Justin calls it "Momcation" and John calls it "Moms Gone Wild".  Whatever you want to call it I 'm glad I'm here ;0)  We're finally all together and finishing up our first night with a yummy drink.


 

 Day 322- Saturday, 11/17/12

 Here is the view from our hotel.  It's the Tower Bridge in Scaramento.  LOL!  I live just on the other side so I didn't escape very far, but it's a nice hotel in a great location with lots of fun places to vist within walking distance.  It poured rain most the day, but we still had a really good time.

 

 

That's it for now. See you next week and have a happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Week 45

Yep, I'm liking November a whole lot.  We had a grwat, relaxing, long weekend and are enjoying the fall weather.  It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but I'm ready and not feeling stressed or rushed this year at all.  Talk to me after the first of December and see if I still feel the same way. Things on the home front have slowed, but work in busy as ever, and even though I have Thanksgiving week off I'll still have to come in a couple days to make sure my bugs, cells, and hamsters are all good and fed.  Oh well--it's always like that so I'm used to it, and it feels good to be needed somewhere besides just home.

Speaking of home, here are last week's pictures:

Day 309- Sunday, 11/4/12

 Rusty is enjoying football season because he knows he has a nice, warm, and reliable couch buddy to snuggle up to. 

 Day 310- Monday, 11/5/12

I pulled out the Christmas countdown ornament this weekend, and the two younger boys were so excited to be wearing their winter pajamas and checking in on the clock tonight.

 Day 311- Tuesday, 11/6/12

Wednesdays are trash day which means the trash needs to go out Tuesday evening.  It's Justin's job to collect all the trash in the house and make sure it gets taken out.  He's just barely tall enough!

 Day 312- Wednesday, 11/7/12

Someone is becoming interested in what the outdoors might hold but not for this kitty.  He'll be a strictly indoor cat.

 Day 313- Thursday, 11/8/12

We had a beautiful sunny and warm start to our week, but today the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in to dump some rain in our area.

 Day 314- Friday, 11/9/12

Brandon is fascinated with the Empire State building.  He's had a Lego version built for awhile now but keeps tweaking and adding to it.  He asked me to take a picture today because he thinks this is his final version and would like it to go into the Lego Club catalog.

 Day 315- Saturday, 11/10/12

I'm back from a nice, long day of retail therapy.  With the weather turning cold I was in dire need of some long pants.  I've dropped at least 2 pant sizes since last winter so none of my current pants fit.  Sharon was kind enough to join me for the day and share some of her coupons.  We shopped, had lunch, scored on some sales, and had a bunch of fun until our arms got tired.  LOL!

That's it for this week. 

Thanks for stopping by and see you next Tuesday.

 

Week 44

I'm liking the look of November.  All this week my kids have minimum days for conferences which means I have short work days, next Monday is a holiday, and the week after is the week off for Thanksgiving.  Throw a wine trip, clothes shopping, and girl's weekend in there, and I am all good! I'm so looking forward to this much needed me, family, and down time.  Plus we have our oldest son back because water polo is over.  It was a wonderful experience with a great group of kids but very time consuming, and I felt like I never got to see my son.  He's bored out of his mind now, but I love that he's home.

Take a peek at our last week in photos:

Day 302- Sunday, 10/28/12

I did a lot of fall baking this weekend which was fun and yummy.  We still have apples from Apple Hill so for dessert tonight I decided to finish my baking off with some apple turnovers. They were a big hit fresh from the oven and topped with a little vanilla ice-cream.  Yum!

Day 303- Monday, 10/29/12

Late last night--too late for a picture--the SF Giants won the World Series in a sweep!  WooHoo!  We're huge Giants fans here since John was born and raised in San Francisco.  I was going to take a picture of John's Giants' flag flying out front today, but he's already moved on and is ready to root for the Niners in football tonight.  LOL!  Thankfully they won too.

Day 304- Tuesday, 10/30/12

It's time to carve pumpkins.  I love their concentration.  Tyler rocks at gutting this year.  Must be those strong water polo muscles.  What a fun and messy afternoon.  I'm so glad Tyler could be here to join us ;0)

Day 305- Wednesday, 10/31/12

Happy Halloween!  Here is my very cute, not so scary werewolf.  The boys had a great night treating, and luckily the rain held off until after we were done!

Day 306- Thursday, 11/1/12

I'm so happy it's November!  September and October were brutally busy so I'm looking forward to some slower days and fun family time.

Day 307- Friday, 11/2/12

Tyler came home and pulled out this certificate to show me.  He was selected by the school's leadership team as Athlete of the Month for October!  I have no idea what the criteria are, but I think it's pretty cool and a great confidence builder for him.

Day 308- Saturday, 11/3/12

Time for some adult fun at a local winery.  This one is in Lincoln not too far from Sharon and Richie's home.  It was a beautiful fall day in an amazing vineyard with great company and good wine--the perfect way to end yet another week.

That's it for now.  Check back next week for more family fun.