Happy Thanksgiving

We are heading over to Vashon again for Thanksgiving dinner and I thought I should take a moment to count my many blessings:

It isn't raining yet this morning
I get to eat an amazing dinner and only have to bring dessert and rolls
Phil is off playing football without any current injuries
It is warm and dry in my house
The kids are happily watching Pokemon in the next room
I am heading out to ride the bike while reading a book that I can't wait to finish
I live in a free country where people (even if we really don't know what they are protesting) can protest against living in this amazing free capitalistic country

So many blessings. I love a day that we really can just enjoy time together with family, eat tons of food and watch football.

Random

This month has been amazingly beautiful and sunny. Yesterday it was in the 60s and the sun felt warm on your skin. Miya had an orthodontist appointment so I got the kids out of school early. After the apt. we headed down to Chamber's Bay and walked down to the water. The kids loved watching the dogs at the dog park, throwing rocks in the water, gathering all the really cool rocks in their pockets (I made them empty their pockets just before we got back in the car) and enjoying time together. We came home just in time to head to the school for the dinner with the police department. I love having really good days with my kids. I love it when they all seem to get along and I really love when we can be outside in the sunshine.
This morning was beautiful too. I was up and running early and when the sun came up the clouds behind Rainer were bright pink and everything looked so beautiful. I can't believe sometimes how blessed I am. The last time I ran in the rain was the 1/2 in September.
Jared Kunz called last week about coming up here for an interview and was asking questions about what it was like living here. That question is always a really hard one for me because of course I love it here and yes it is gray and cloudy a good chunk of the year and yes it rains a lot and yes it is a bigger city and yes it is hard being far away from all of your family...I don't know if you will love it as much as I do, but hey, Phil is here (he is the biggest selling point) and I find I can be pretty happy anywhere he is. So I guess if you got to move here and be close to Phil you would love it too. He is awesome!

Halloween

So honestly, by the time we made it to Halloween I was completely sick of the holiday. We didn't take our kids trick-or-treating and there was no dressing up last night. We all sat down after dinner and watched a family movie and ate baked apples. Everything is fun for awhile, but we started the partying the beginning of October and it had to end at some point and apparently it was the day before Halloween. We did have fun going to a family rollerskating party that even Phil and I dressed up for. We had pumpkin parties with cousins over at nana's house that everyone loved and a nice evening walking around getting candy at the trunk-or-treat. It is so nice to be training for a run the end of November just to get out and have some long runs with all the food and treats around.

Flu Shots

So I take the kids in for their flu shots today. Lyla hops up on the table and gets her shot first. Doesn't even flinch before, during or after. Miya is next and does the same thing with a little more worried look on her face. The nurse looks to Cannon next and he is glued to his chair with his hands wrapped tightly around the arms of the chair. The nurse asks if she needs to go get 5 people to help hold him down while she gives him the shot. This gets him up on the table, but he won't relax his arm and starts to cry during the shot. On the way home I give them all a little packet of Swedish Fish from the Halloween candy and of course Cannon's is the one that opens with a pop and Swedish Fish fly around the car. He ends up with three Swedish Fish left in his pack and an awesome attitude on life for the rest of the ride home.