Thanksgiving!

We had a whirlwind of three wonderful Thanksgivings this year. We had a great time catching up with family and eating all kinds of good things. We had a lot to be thankful for!

On Wednesday, we had Thanksgiving with Grandmother and Aunt Diane. We had amazing appetizers - Katie made a cranberry-cheddar turnover thing that was to die for! The potatoes were the best ever (did I see 2 sticks of butter go in the pot???). Mom made a corn dish from Southern Living that included bacon. Definitely food coma worthy! And don't forget the gingerbread. Wyatt LOVED it and ate two slices under the "watchful eye" of Gabby.

The Garrett Family Thanksgiving

Baby bird eating gingerbread

Katie and I did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. After we ran our (overly crowded) 3.1 miles, we enjoyed some alone time at Starbucks. And from there, it was Cassady Thanksgiving. Ham, potatoes, turkey and stuffing, pie, sweet potatoes, and more butter!

It was FREEZING when we got to the start line!

The Cassady Family Thanksgiving

Saturday was the Griffiths family Thanksgiving - Cowboy style. Mom had table-scapes with all kinds of cowboy motif. Since we all had traditional Thanksgiving on Thursday, this Thanksgiving was made up of brisket, sausage, and cowboy sides. Since we all come by our sweet tooth naturally, the table was piled high with desserts of all ilk. Ugh! I feel full just thinking about it.

Katie and Uncle EJ

Grandma and Aunt Sue

Laura, Eric, Linds, Alex, Jas, & Me - The Older Cousins - First Wave

Cousins!

No one will even notice this is missing...

The boys!

Giving thanks as a group before the prayer

There is much to be thankful for this year - and always. My cousin EJ being at Thanksgiving is definitely one of those things. :) Watching Wyatt and "Berkie" play - highlight reel for sure! And planning the next girl cousins trip definitely gives us something to look forward to!

"And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen."
~Terri Guillemets

Happy 4th Anniversary!

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years." ~Simone Signoret

Engaged in 2007

Tied the knot 11-16-2007 at 4pm! Cheers!

November 2008

November 2009 - plus one!

November 2010 - look at those tiny baby feet!

November 2011 - Our happy family (except for the baby crab that replaced our sweet son)

Happy 4th Anniversary, Jas!

A Visit with Grandma & Grandpa

This photo is so amazing, it looks like I enhanced it with some editing tools...but I didn't. What a great drive down to Tyler!

Jason traveled with work last week, so Wyatt and I decided to jump on the highway and pay a visit to Grandma and Grandpa - a long overdue visit. The colors of the leaves were amazing and the weather could not have been better.

Reading a book with Grandpa - Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?

Blowing bubbles with Grandma. He's almost as big as Grandma now! :)

Grandma served us sandwiches on croissants and Red Rose tea. It was a delicious lunch. After which, Wyatt rounded us all up and scooted us outside for some play time.
He had such a blast running free. I didn't have to worry about cars or other folks or anything really (except Wyatt falling down - which he does quite a bit).

Climbing all over things - including this tree stump.

...and this wall.

He "helped" Grandpa pick up leaves.

He ran wild on the beach and played games with Aunt Donna (who was nice enough to spend the whole day with us).

Finding treasures!


He found a fish skeleton, picked up shells, chunked shells into the water.

Gross!!

Throwing the shells in the water - something Aunt Donna showed him how to do!


The piece de resistance, however, was the golf cart. That goofy boy had the biggest smile on his face - I'm sure he felt like he was breaking the law. He was able to ride in the front seat of a moving vehicle - unencumbered. :) Boy, that was fun!

Should I be doing this? Feels illegal!

We left in the early evening, and he slept most of the way home. What a great visit. We have a lot to be thankful for in this family!

The Lion

We had the most wonderful Halloween. First, we visited Aunt Katie at work. You never realize how loud a kid is until you have him in quiet office setting. He's pretty rowdy! He was pretty thrilled because Katie showed him the giant popcorn machine and even gave him his very own bag!


Then Gabby, Gramps, and Aunt Katie all came over for dinner & trick or treating! We had homemade chili and tons of homemade treats. It was a fun new tradition. We took Wyatt out for a walk, but no trick or treating this year. We have enough sugar in this house! Instead, he had an excellent time looking at all of the kids that came to our door.

Hey, Gramps - what does this button do???

Gabby & Wyatt - besties!

Roar!!

Trying to talk Kitties into giving him the BMW for his first car.

Walking with Gramps & Da-da!


I took the lion to the doctor today for his year and a half check up. I can't believe he's already 18 months! Pretty soon I'm going to have to quit counting him in months and go on into years. :(
Turns out he has a giant head - 19.5 inches - 90%.
He is 33.5 inches tall - 81%.
He is 26.2 lbs - 52%.
Clean bill of health! Dr. S. even recommended a few parenting books to help "govern the strong willed child". Cross your fingers they work! Maybe a devil would have been a better costume choice???

Pumpkin Patch

Which one do I want?

I like these big stems. They're easy for me to pick up.

Let me just stand on this one to get a better look at things.

He ran around the sheep/goat pen yelling "BAA-BAA" at the top of his lungs!

Peek! He loved this wooden train.

Climbing up on the chicken coop to yell BAK-BAK at the chickens.

Working on the "B" of BAK!

Our little cowboy on his first pony ride.

Today was our 2nd annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This year we picked one in Mansfield and we went with our friends, The Peterson's. The weather could not have been more perfect. The drive out was so neat - lots of farm land and open fields. Reminded me of growing up in Rowlett when it was just cotton fields.

Wyatt had a wonderful time. There was a playground with a wooden train - he went all through that. Then we toured the "petting zoo". Goats, sheep, a cow, horses, chickens - there were several pens, so we made sure to see them all. He loves animals & making all of their noises. A quick trip through the corn maze, a visit to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins, a hayride, a bounce house, and then running around with the girls. By the time we made it back to the car, W was exhausted. He slept on the way home!

I'm so glad Jason and I are both around to take W on such fun adventures. He spent the whole day smiling and very pleased with himself. Jas and I are exhausted and ready for bed, but it was a great day. Tomorrow is Halloween, and there are lots of fun things on tap!

Hope everyone has a safe holiday!