Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I have so much to be thankful for.  I am thankful for so many things that I don't even think that I can list them all.  But most of all, I am thankful for my family.  I have the most perfect children in the world and the best husband that anyone can ask for.  I am also blessed with a great extended family and wonderful in laws. 

The thing that I am the most thankful for this year is my mother.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August and is now going through chemo.  It has been tough but she has been so strong.  I love her very much and I am so thankful that she is on the mend.    I have truly learned that your every breath is a gift and I will not take anything for granted!!

Claire and Oliver had a touch of a cough so just to be safe they wore masks, which they thought was totally awesome. 

Since my mother wasn't feeling well my Auntie Rose had Thanksgiving this year and we had a great time.

 My little Turkeys.

Oliver had a great time playing dinosaurs with Fran.

The guys did a great job deep frying the turkey.

Claire told me that she didn't need to bring any toys with her to Auntie Rose's house because, "As long as Leah will be there I will perfectly content hanging out with her."

It was another great Thanksgiving and I just loved being with my family.

Girls Day

Last weekend Claire enjoyed a great girls day with her besties Giada and Bella.  We signed the girls up for a cute art class and then we enjoyed a delicious lunch and some games!  It was a great day!

Claire really loved the class.  The teacher was great and guided the girls without doing it for them.  It was great!

The girls all loved making their turkeys.

The girls with their final products.

I LOVE them!!!

After the class we had a nice lunch!

The girls had a blast playing a game and everyone won a prize!!!

The final product looks beautiful hanging in our house!!

Niagara Falls Marathon

On October 27th Mark ran in the Niagara Falls Marathon.  This was his first full marathon and we were all there to cheer him on!

Even though it was a little chilly, it was a beautiful day!  Here is Mark just about to cross the finish line.  For just having Run 26.2 miles I think he looks pretty good!

The kids were so proud of their Daddy!  Here they are right after Daddy finished the race!

Me and my favorite runner.

We all had a great time!  

We are so proud of you Mark!!!

Next up...THE IRONMAN!!

HALLOWEEN!!!

I  have so many Halloween pictures that I decided to put them all together into one big Halloween post! 

Claire's School Halloween Party!

Claire's school had their annual Halloween party this year.  They do such a nice job and the kid always have a blast.  I had parent teacher conferences so I had to meet everyone there a little later but we still had a blast.

Claire had fun playing with her new friends but she really loved seeing her old besties from her class last year.

Oliver loved coloring in the library.  

This year the party was great!  There was a live band and all kinds of activities!  I love Claire's school and all the fun stuff that they do.

Pumpkin Carving

This year the Cappellis came over to carve pumpkins with us and we had a blast.

Claire was a little grossed out by the "cleaning out" process but she took it like a champ.

Oliver loved every second of pumpkin carving!

Even Nicholas loved getting in there and scraping out his pumpkin.

And of course, these two just liked hanging out together.

After the kids cleaned out the pumpkins and chose their designs, Mark and I got to work carving away.

And I must say, they came out pretty spooky :)

Dancing Parties 

Claire loved her dancing party this year.  It really worked out that Claire and Giada's costumes went together.  Giada was a witch and Claire was a black cat.  They thought it was a riot that Claire could ride on the back of Giada's broomstick like her cat.

I can't even stand it out how old these two are!!!!  Click HERE to see the girls at their dancing party two years ago!

Claire's dance class.

Oliver recently started dance class.  Every time we would take Claire he loved to watch her dance and would tell me, "I wanna dance too!"  So Aunt Jacqie let him try a class and he LOVED it!  So now it's official, Oliver is a dancer :) He loved going to his dancing party too!  He loves taking dance class and he really enjoys all the activities that go with it!

He loved passing out all of his candy to his lady friends.

Oliver's dance class.

Trick or Treating 

Finally the big night came!!!  The Cappellis joined us for dinner and then some TRICK OR TREATING!!!!  Here are all the chickens in their costumes!!!!  Click HERE to check out last year's pics!  I can't believe how big Nicholas has gotten!

The kids could not wait to get out there!

Their first stop!

Poor Oliver spent the entire night trying to keep up with the girls!

And entertaining us all.  He stopped at EVERY house and talked to EVERY single person.  Some of his famous quotes for the night:

"Happy Halloween!  Where's your dad??"

"What's that smell?!"

"Where did you get your pumpkins from?"

"Do you have a dog??"

"What's your costume??" (to the elderly woman who was not wearing a costume)

"I had a dog, he is in heaven now."

And of course, he worked Aunt Jessica over and got a ride.

Nicholas did pretty well for his first time trick or treating on foot!

Oliver was proud of his loot!!

Claire was pretty proud of hers too!

Oliver loved sharing his candy with his best buddy Uncle Nick!

It was another great Halloween season!  Now it is time for Thanksgiving and then my favorite...CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Apple Picking On Hookie Day

Last Friday Claire had off of school so me, Mark, and Oliver all played hookie and we went apple picking!  The weather originally called for super cold temperatures and rain but it ended up being a beautiful day.  There is something magical about playing hookie.  It's not like a Saturday or a Sunday or even a vacation day....it's more like a snowday.  It's a free day.  It's a Hookie Day.  A day to do whatever you want, with no rushing around.  It is a more relaxing day.  My God, even the sun shines differently on a Hookie Day.  Maybe it's because I spend the entire day thinking, "Oh, right now I would be doing calendar."  or "Right now we would be at lunch."  Who knows.  All I know is everyone deserves a good Hookie Day.  I sure did enjoy mine.  It was so nice to just be with my family with no worries, no rushing around, and no commitments.  Just me and my perfect little family.  It was a perfect Hookie Day.

Me and my babies on Hookie Day.

I can't believe how big Claire is getting.  Her and Mark did a great job scoping out the trees and picking just the right ones.

Oliver used his usual "work smart, not hard" motto and found a tree just his size and picked about 1,000 apples off of it.

He did manage to grab a few apples from some of the higher trees.

Claire made sure that she got the biggest apple from the highest point possible.

 I was the only one who wanted the green apples.   But after a while Claire agreed to help me pick some.

I thought this was the coolest thing!  This apple actually grew this way!  The stem is attached at the bottom.  Mark and Oliver didn't think too much of it but Claire and I were blown away!

Claire had a blast apple picking but I am pretty sure that she loved the animals even more.

She buddied up with the farm dog and she followed Claire around for a while.  It was really sweet, when we were leaving the dog actually followed Claire up to the car to say good bye.  Needless to say, Claire loved that.

 Once we had all of our stuff, we loaded up our loot.

Then we worked together as a team to take it to the farmer to pay for it.

Oliver really enjoyed apple picking but I am pretty sure the highlight of his day was pulling the wagon.

He actually pulled it all the way back to the car, all by himself with no help!  I can't believe how old these two are!  I know, I know I say it all the time!  But click HERE to see the first time we all went apple picking together and you will see what I mean!

After apple picking we had to go to Canada to pick up Mark's race packet for his marathon on Sunday.  While we were there we decided to have a quick lunch at Margaritaville!  The kids absolutely love this place!  Oliver loved wearing his pirate hat!

And Mark did too!!  

Claire loved the whole place.

Overall, it was a perfect day!  The kind of day that I know I will remember for a long time!  We just had a great time and enjoyed being together.  There was no rushing around or trying to get 1,000 things done.  Just us hanging out together.  It was the perfect Hookie Day.

I had to add this in.  Here is Claire next to a picture of Mark when he was a few years older than Claire.  Someone looks just like her Daddy!!!!