Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving started out pretty crazy. I finished baking a Pumpkin Pie while Shaun went to the local Police Department to sign our statement regarding our Identity Theft case. Hopefully that'll be over soon! Then off to my parents for our Thanksgiving Feast! We missed you Grandpa and Nancy! We hope Nancy is feeling better! :)

Here are a few pictures of our day.

Christopher with his Thanksgiving Placemat he made at school.

Anneli showing her favorite Disney Princess Placemat!There was room for the kids at the big table, but they LOVE to eat at their kid table at Meme & Pepe's house!

Shaun cutting some super yummy turkey for the kids!

Val posing for a picture with the turkey leg!
There was no way Christopher was going to touch the Turkey Leg!
Spending quality time crafting and watching TV together before hitting the stores Thursday evening.
Anneli, asleep on the couch after a long tiring day of giving thanks!

Christopher was excited because he got to sleep over Meme and Pepe's house Thanksgiving night so Shaun and I could go to the Disney Store at midnight, yes midnight!

We had a great day--the Thanksgiving feast, the assortment of pies, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Dog Show, Star Wars, shopping and being together as a family making memories that will last forever! Can't get much better than that!

Did You Miss Us?!

I can't believe I haven't posted in over a week--except our Thanksgiving Thursday of course!! What a week we had! I started out not feeling good last weekend. Just a cold, but they can kick your butt and last forever! I wish I could say that we had a boring week away from Blogging, but it sure wasn't boring around here! Here are some highlights...

On Friday, November 21st, Christopher lost his first front tooth! It was late evening and Christopher and Anneli were playing nicely on the computer together while I was watching the news. Then all of a sudden I heard screaming and Christopher was running down the hallway. He came to me and his mouth was all blood! I noticed right away that one of his front tooth was GONE! He was laughing at this point as he told me that he was going to bite his sister, but had bit her Christmas necklace she was wearing instead and his tooth came flying out! Ha--he deserved that one!

The Tooth Fairy came to our house that night and brought a Susan B. Anthony dollar coin and a coin from Bermuda. Super fun!


Let's see...Thanksgiving Week...

On Tuesday, I went shopping to one of my favorite stores, AC Moore to pick up some stickers for Shaun and Christopher's Cub Scout Den Meeting. They were going to make Holiday Mail for Heroes who are abroad this holiday season. Anyways, I didn't spend much, about $10 to be exact. As usual, I didn't have any cash on me so I pulled out my Check Card. Much to my surprise it was REJECTED! I couldn't understand why! I knew there was plenty of money in our account! I called Shaun, he thought it was because he just activated his new card the day before and maybe mine expired too. I wasn't too sure so I went home and looked up our account online! ALL our money, and more was GONE--or should I say being held on a Mastermoney hold! I called the bank and they told me that there were multiple transactions made that very day at a Home Depot in Ohio in the process of being cleared. What?! They weren't our transactions. To make a long story short, someone in Ohio was using a fake card (since we had both our cards in CT!!)with our Check Card Account numbers on it! They made three nice purchases and we paid for them! UGH! The bank wasn't too helpful about the whole thing, but Shaun got paid the next day so we were all set as long as the crooks couldn't get back into our account and wipe us out again. So our account was frozen for the entire holiday weekend. It's terrible not being able to get money out of your account, except through a teller! I miss my Check Card!!!


The rest of the week was pretty quiet. I was just getting over my cold and was pretty worn out, so we cleaned the house and baked pies for Thanksgiving later in the week. Anneli had a blast helping Aunt Valerie and I with Thanksgiving pies.

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Aunt Val's Lemon Meringue Pie

Can't forget the Rice Krispie Treats for Christopher!

Stay tuned for our Thanksgiving Day update!

Thankful Thursday- CRYSTAL (aka MOM)!

Every Thursday for the month of November, each of us here in the St. Lawrence Family have taken a minute and written down 5 things we are thankful for! (Christopher , Anneli & Dad). This week it's my turn!

• I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who has blessed me with my life and all things. I'm grateful that I can pray to Him for guidance and comfort. What a great thing to know that He knows me and everything about ME.
• I am thankful for my dear sweet husband Shaun--my best friend. I love him with all my heart and am grateful for all that he does for me. Thanks for your understanding, love and always being there for me!
• I am thankful for my children, Christopher and Anneli. I love being their 'Mommy', through the good and the bad. I am so thankful for their sweet spirits, hugs, kisses and cuddles.
• I am thankful for my parents. They brought me into this world, helped me to grow into the woman that I am today, and are always there for me and my small family. Thanks for all you do!
• I am also thankful for my two sisters Jess and Val. Yes, my sisters! We may argue at times and not agree with each other, but we are always there for each other to lend a listening ear. We miss Jess who lives far away, but you are only a phone call away. As for Val, we are so glad to have you home again. Thanks for all you do for me, like watching the kids and hanging out with us!

We wish you all a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!!
Off to spend time with family, eat and shop...

Thankful Thursday - SHAUN (aka DAD)!

Every Thursday for the month of November, each of us here in the St. Lawrence Family will take a minute and write down 5 things we are thankful for! (Christopher & Anneli)

This week, we will hear what Shaun (aka DAD) is thankful for.

• For my beautiful wife, that shares every intimate moment, dreams, and challenges with me.
• For my children, that bring smiles and laughter to my life.
• For my parents, for allowing me to grow on my own and make my own decisions.
• For my wife's parents, for showing me how important family is.
• For God in my life, for giving me hope, guidance, companionship, and everthing above.

Stay tuned, next week we will hear what Crystal (aka Mom) is thankful for!

I knew this time would come...

Today, Christopher said to me rather carefully as we were dusting his Thomas the Train Collection, "Mom, I think I'm growing out of them." Even though I knew it, it stung a little. My baby boy is growing up... It's hard to believe that he'll be "6" on December 24th. This will be the first Birthday and first Christmas where Thomas the Train 'stuff' won't be on the list. We'll keep the train table up for now, since Anneli plays with it from time to time, but eventually it'll be packed away as memories of his childhood...

Weekend Review--a little late!

Our weekend started out Friday afternoon when Anneli and I dropped Aunt Valerie off at the Train Station in Waterbury. She was heading to New York City to visit Johann. Oh how her weekend rendezvous remind me of my own to Washington, DC/Virgina to visit Shaun when we were dating...years ago! Here's our story if you don't remember.

That evening we met Shaun at the bowling alley here in town for a Cub Scout Bowling night. Super fun! Anneli did pretty good the first game and then she got a little tired. Christopher did a great job and had fun with his friends! They can't wait to bowl again! :)

Saturday there was swimming lessons early in the morning. Thanks Meme and Pepe for coming to watch! Then we all went out to lunch at Lee Po Chinese Kitchen in Bristol. It's one of our favorite places to eat! YUMMMY and the prices are very reasonable, especially for lunch. There were six of us and our lunch included soup and an entree with rice--the bill came to $32! Not bad! We definately recommed it!

After lunch we did a little shopping and then back to Meme and Pepe's house and hung out there. Pepe hasn't been feeling too good and the kids missed him last week, so they enjoyed spending some time with him!

Sunday morning came too soon as always! WE got up and got dressed and headed off for church. Sunday was our Childrens Presentation to the Congregation--(Primary Presentation). Christopher, looking all grown up in his khakis, white shirt, tie and blue blazer, did an awesome job with his speaking parts and singing with the other kids! We are so proud of him. He has grown up sooooo fast!

After church we always head over to Meme and Pepe's for lunch. Pepe cooked chicken, sweet potatoes, and some yummmy fresh beans! Thanks Dad--we really look forward and appreciate Sunday Dinner! We love the food and love spending time together! :) After that everyone, except Anneli and I, went outside to get rid of all the leaves in their backyard. With Pepe not feeling well last week, all the leaves fell and kept piling up! While they were outside Anneli slept on the couch with Lily, my parents dog. She was exhausted and had a little runny nose. Hopefully she's not getting sick!!

It was a nice and relaxing weekend here for a change. I'm sure it won't last though... As I look at the calendar, the holidays are approaching and it sure looks cRaZy here! :)

B6, O75, G48, I23, N41 ...

BINGO!!!!!!

'Family Bingo Night' at Christopher's Elementary School was super fun last night. It was a great way to have fun as family and friends and to also gather food for the Plainville Food Pantry. Participants were asked to bring one non-perishable food item for every BINGO Card. Christopher, Anneli and I each took a bag of food to donate and we each got 3 BINGO Cards. Shaun met us after work, and we had a fun time! We even had BINGO once and won a notebook. (Anyone who knows Christopher wouldn't be surprised that he picked a notebook! He is our little author! He can NEVER have enough notebooks!) There were lots of super fun prizes like books, webkinzs, gift cards to local stores etc. It was a late night and the kids were a bit tired this morning, but it was a fun family night!

**Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I used my cell phone!**

Thankful Thursday! - ANNELI

Every Thursday for the month of November, each of us here in the St. Lawrence Family will take a minute and write down 5 things we are thankful for! (Christopher was last week.)

This week, we will hear what Anneli is thankful for.

• "I'm thankful for 'White Kitty', horses and my fish, Thunder and Lightning."

• "I'm thankful for my heart."

• "I'm thankful for my Mommy and my Daddy and ME."

• "I love my brother Chris too."

• "I'm thankful for my Dorothy shoes."

Stay tuned, next week we will hear what Shaun is thankful for!

Wordless Wednesday

"Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet."

~Vietnamese Proverb

What Christmas Tree Are You?

I saw this quiz on RAE's Blog and thought I'd give it a try.

You Are a Traditional Christmas Tree

For a good Christmas, you don't have to re-invent the wheel. You already have traditions, foods, and special things you bring out every year.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

I would say the results were true. Some of my favorite childhood memories and also adult memories have to do with our annual Christmas Tree! Each year we search for the PERFECT Christmas Tree early. For the past 9 years, Shaun and I have gone out the day after Thanksgiving and searched for the perfect Christmas Tree. It is a long process, but each year our tree is perfect--for us!! Well, maybe not last year...Last year was the year of the Spiders! We had a spider family living in our tree! It was crazy! There were little spiders and there were BIG ones too! They seemed to make their home in our Angel on top of our tree--so we chucked her outside with the tree as soon as Christmas morning was over! We sure hope our tree is insect free this year! IKKKKK!!!

This year it's been difficult not to break out the Christmas decorations super early. The kids see all the Christmas decorations being sold at all the stores already and they want their tree and to get all our decorations out NOW! Can't we can celebrate Thanksgiving first!?!?

Wolfpack & GNO

Tonight, Christopher, Shaun and my dad, along with a bunch of Cub Scout friends, went to see the Hartford Wolf Pack. He had a blast! I heard he was hyper, dancing and screaming and just having a grand old time. I had to post this picture Shaun took with his cell phone at the game. Definitely the picture of the week!!

Where did we get him!? Is he ours!?!?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While they were at the game, Anneli, my mom and I had fun going to dinner and then shopping. My little Anneli is on a shopping kick right now. She LOVES to go shopping! She is so cute. As she passes things she wants, which is just about everything, she says, "I'll put that on my list." I love it--but her list is rather long!! We are definately in trouble!

Here is a picture of Anneli circling another item for her never ending Christmas List.

Yes folks, that is an American Girl Doll--Kit to be exact. I think we are going to have to make a little trip to Boston or NYC to get her one soon, very soon...

Finally!

I was pretty excited this afternoon when I pulled in to pump gas and the price was $2.27 a gallon! I only spent a little over $30.00 to fill my tank--that's the cheapest I've seen it in awhile--except when I use my Price Chopper Gas Advantage Card. Anyways, that's pretty good for Connecticut, considering about a month ago we were paying approx. $3.36 or so. Hopefully we can enjoy the drop in price for awhile, before it jets back up again...

Thankful Thursday! - CHRISTOPHER

Every Thursday for the month of November, each of us here in the St. Lawrence Family will take a minute and write down 5 things we are thankful for!

This week, we will hear what Christopher is thankful for.

• "I am thankful for my family. I wouldn't be able to grow up without them because I wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for my mom."

• "I am thankful for my clothes because if I didn't have them I'd have to walk around naked and freezing cold."

• "I'm thankful for school. I like to go there and learn to read and write better."

• "I am thankful for paper because I wouldn't be able to write my stories or ideas down to share with others."
  

• "I am thankful for books. I like books because they teach me facts, like at school."

Stay tuned, next week we will hear what Anneli is thankful for!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER--400th Post!

Happy 4th Birthday Carter!

Aunt Crystal with Carter when he was first born.

Carter just a few weeks ago!

Oh how time flies...

We hope you had a great day at the Zoo with Mommy!
We love you and miss you!

IT'S ALSO MY 400TH POST!!!
Here's to 400 more!!

We voted, did you?!

What a beautiful day to get out and vote!

We hope you all got a chance to do so--no matter who you voted for!!

We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Our Halloween Weekend Review!

Let's see...our weekend...well, it was just as busy as usual!

Friday started out with Christopher getting out of school at 3:30pm. Anneli, or should I say 'Dorothy', and I went to pick Christopher up and then rushed him home where he and I quickly changed into our Halloween costumes. He was 'Luke Skywalker' and I was the 'Wicked Witch'. Then we jumped in the car and made it to the Town Recreation Centers Halloween Party before 4pm. We watched the annual magic show waiting for the Costume Parade down the center of town. Fun, fun, fun!
Then we went home to meet up with Shaun, who got home a little earlier than usual. (Not really, but 5:15pm is pretty early for him!)

The kids quickly ate before heading off Trick-or-Treating with Dad and Aunt Valerie. I stayed home and handed out candy to the kids who came around our neighborhood. At one point I got a little nervous, here's what happened. I heard a car door, so I peeked out the front door. A car had parked going the wrong way in front of my house. The car was an old Crown Victoria--sort of like an unmarked police car with an antenna and large mirror on the side. Anyways, the guy inside got out, in full army fatigues. Okay it's Halloween...He went to his trunk, opened it, and pulled out the biggest gun! Thank goodness it was Halloween, right? Then he closed the trunk and laid the gun on the trunk and grabbed a black hat/face mask out of his pocket and put it on. He then grabbed the gun and attached it to his fatigues and stood in the road for a few seconds... Even though it was Halloween, I'll admit it freaked me out a bit! I locked the door and called Shaun to see where he was...it was all good, it was funny because Shaun and I saw the guy later and it was a little freaky. The gun looked so real!After the kids were Treated out, we dashed off to my parents house where the kids went with Aunt Val to a few additional houses in their neighborhood. Then we dumped out and inspected all the kids loot, had a few treats, they brushed their teeth, got into jammies and we went home. Luckily, they fell asleep on the way home!

Saturday was a crazy day. The kids started off with swimming lessons at 10am. Christopher and Shaun then ran to his LAST Soccer game! YIPPPEE!--sorry! I met them after Anneli's swimming lesson--without Anneli. Anneli went with Memere, Pepere and Aunt Valerie to Massachusetts to visit Grandma Fox. After Christopher's soccer game he had a Pizza/Awards Ceremony. He was pretty excited to get a Medal and a Trophy! Super cool!Right after the Pizza Party, we jumped in the car and headed off to Massachusetts to catch up with my cousin Laurie who is up from Georgia and Soup Mem & Ray and Aunt Donna & Uncle Jim who came to Massachusetts as well. It was great to see you all! I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few.
Luckily Sunday was a little more quiet. Christopher had a talk in his Children's Class at Church, about how he is thankful to be a beloved Child of God. He read it all by himself and did a fabulous job! We are proud of you Christopher! Then we spent the rest of the day with Memere, Pepere and Aunt Valerie. What a fun weekend! :)