Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

As another holiday comes to a steadfast closure, I want hope each and everyone of you had as good of a Thanksgiving as I did. Grandma spent the night with me and Riley - which Riley just loved!! Having Grandma over for a sleepover is the best thing since sliced bread as far as Riley is concerned.



Riley and Great Grandma (and her favorite snack - pickles!)

Today got off to a rocky start with Riley in a bad mood, so I had to pull rank...things calmed down for the most part after that. Grandma was here, Aunt Joyce as well, and Nana of course. It was nice to have the family together. it has been a long time since Joyce spent Thanksgiving with us, so it was definitely nice having her around.



Riley and Great Aunt Joyce...hard to believe this is the first Thanksgiving we've had together in almost 10 years!!! Gosh, time sure does fly by!



Riley and Nana (unbeknown to me, these two took about 20 pics of themselves together - such camera hogs!!)

The turkey turned out great (but not quite as good as last years) along with all the rest of the food, including the homemade apple pie me and Riley made last night.


putting the finishing touches on the pie




the final product...don't touch - it's hot!!!



that's right - I made that beauty!!

As the day comes to a close we find ourselves completing the Thanksgiving tradition of putting up the Christmas decorations - by far my favorite part of Thanksgiving. There's something about Christmas decorations that feels so warm and cozy - I love it! Tomorrow night is the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Boise. I can't wait to take Riley to see it! Another holiday favorite!



No...she is not hurt...she was laughing!

Love,
Mandy and Riley

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My very first blog!!!


So, here it goes...I'm not sure how this will turn out, but here is my very first blog (drum roll please!!). I guess I'll start off with a disclaimer - the only reason I am taking the time to work on this now is because I am on Thanksgiving vacation. Not unlike any other vacation, unfortunately, it is flying by!! No worries though...we're having fun.

This morning we awoke to a wonderful surprise...it was SNOWING!! We couldn't have been more surprised. We had just enough time and snow, for Riley to roll a small snowball before we headed off to school. School was a blast as well, since I volunteered there this morning. I try to go at least once a month; fortunately I am able to since my schedule is so flexible while I'm in school. This morning I watched the class during music and we made a book about what we were thankful for at Thanksgiving. The last page of each book was a picture depicting the friends and family they were thankful for. It was a really great project that made me think about what I was thankful for.


Being a single mom, while going to school is no easy feat - especially financially. However, we have always had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our back...which is more than some people have. With that said, I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving. I'll leave you with this quote: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." ~ Anonymous