Thanksgiving in Chicago

Phoebe didn't have school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so she headed downtown with me.  We made sure to stop on the circle to mail our letters to Santa Claus.

And then HAD to stop and pick up some breakfast!

Already multi-tasking!

She helped decorate my office.

I think it's obvious who she thinks is MOST important in family pictures
(regardless of how old they are). 

We went home and baked up all kinds of goodies and headed to Chicago for Thanksgiving.  We played lots of ping pong with Uncle Steve until all the balls mysteriously disappeared.

Then we moved on to pool for the rest of our stay.

The kiddos had LOTS of fun with Aunt Mary!

They enjoy the water, no matter what the temperatures are outside.

We did venture out later in the day on Black Friday - no deals to be had but the kids were troopers all the same and entertained themselves.

No naps over the entire break but they did take some time to slow down and read together. 

And then they were ready to rough-house with Uncle Steve!

He was a trooper, too!

Phoebe got to go with YiaYia and Papou and all the other girl cousins to see Frozen.

Uncle Steve went to see another movie with Auntie Kate but couldn't resist a photo op!

While Phoebe had fun at the movies, I went with my boys to Cabela's for some "outdoor" fun.

Twins!

Before we left on Saturday, they wanted to get in the sand one more time.

And they played a few rounds of "Jail" to warm back up.

Auntie makes a great sheriff!

Ah, the life of a mom.  Wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole wide world!

On our way out of the city we stopped at the Oasis so the kids could eat and watch cars go by.  They were more interested in pizza and all the activity going on inside but it made for a nice break to get out of the truck.

We made a final stop in Merrillville at the Albanese Candy Factory that isn't too far from our newest offices in Valparaiso.  It was Santa's first day at the Factory and it was a mad house!

Phoebe is getting SO big - even though she wouldn't sit on his lap, this is the closest she's ever willingly gotten to Santa Claus.  She told him she wanted a purple sock monkey, panda bear AND a dog named Boo (her list keeps growing, you see).

On Sunday, Ryan, Phoebe and Maverick all stayed home from church with colds and I went to teach Sunday school and then head to the grocery store alone (a treat in itself).  Sleeping in and taking it easy did wonders for the kiddos so we decided to get out the Christmas décor.  I keep all the Christmas books with our decorations so they're like new books every year when we bring out all the Christmas totes.  A year or two ago, YiaYia recorded herself reading the Christmas story and Phoebe likes to listen to it.  Over and over again.

Decorating.

We got out our ice skating rink that belonged to Great Grandpa Ray and the kids absolutely love it.

Hope that as the holidays have begun, you find yourself thankful for much and blessed beyond measure.