Giving Thanks

We had a great, fun and relaxing Thanksgiving week this year.  A week off of school and all after-school activities - heaven!  The kids didn't leave the house on Monday or Tuesday, but it was great not having to watch the clock and the girls played together like BFFs all day long (with some melt-down fights by night).

On Thanksgiving day, Gwen surprised me with a letter she had written:

Translated, it reads:  "Mom, I'm thankful for the activities I do.  I'm thankful because each Wednesday you take care of me.  I'm thankful for piano lessons.  I'm thankful for the books you buy.  I'm thankful for having a mom.  I'm having fun because of Mom.  Thank you Mom. Mom's the best.  Piano is fun mommy."

A-ma and A-gong visited us this Thanksgiving, and, thanks to a broken oven, we had a very relaxing day.  Without having to worry about cooking and cleaning, we instead made a big brunch at home in the morning and then went for a hike.

We came back and relaxed at home during Paige's nap and then headed over to the Lafayette Park Hotel for their Thanksgiving Grand Buffet.  This may just be a new tradition for us.  The girls love a buffet, I get to spend the day hanging out, and it was just fancy and special enough to feel like a holiday.

Paige was sporting some great smiles all night!

The next day, we went head first into Black Friday by hitting Toy-R-Us.  I was hesitant, but A-ma and A-gong wanted to get the girls gifts.  Gwen picked out her first pair of roller skates, Whitney got a Mobi and the girls picked out some baby doll gear for Paige.  After 2 days, Gwen has gotten pretty stable on her skates after taking some pretty animated and hard falls on her toosh!  I personally just love the cute skater gear!