Thanks big and small!

We have so much to be thankful for this year and our list includes things big and small! Check it out!

Celebrations!

Not long after Samuel's Bar Mitzvah, we went to a really fun Bat Mitzvah at the American Sign Museum! It is such a cool spot in Cincinnati...full of historic business storefronts and neon signage...full of Americana!!

Snuggles

We're all so thankful that Blossom joined our family. She's incredibly patient with the kids when they oversnuggle, pester her and wake her from naps, etc. 

And we love how entertaining she is. Lately, she loves to roll and flop around on her back on the bedroom rugs. Too funny! 

And she's forever into hiding under beds with a bit of contraband or in search of a toy she's not allowed to have... 😂

Treats

The weather has turned cold here, so three cheers for making and baking warm comfort food! 

Smooth tunes

The 7th grade band performed at the high school recently. Gosh, are they good! It was wonderful to listen to!! 

Brie and Samuel have been practicing together, too, which always sounds so nice. 

And over the weekend, they partnered with their friend Sam to perform the Dreidel Song at Rockdale--once at Shabbat services and once at Sunday School. They were a big hit!

Good service and perfect temps

Our fridge died (again!) but, luckily, the weather hovered between below freezing overnight and 40 during the days, so we put all our fridge stuff in coolers out on the deck for two days. Totally worked until the repair guy arrived! 

(For those of you who were concerned, our ice cream went into a neighbor's freezer. Phew!)

Laughs

Tony and I took this pic at the Sign Museum Bat Mitzvah. I crack up every time I look at it.

Sebastian brought home this hilarious assignment he completed at school about how turkeys feel. His has a sword and he's "ready for war!" Ha! 

I wonder if the claw can pick up the cute puppy in the machine??

Good news

Samuel's Bar Mitzvah got a shout-out by Rockdale's board president in the latest newsletter...

And then it was featured in the local magazine from my parents' neck of the woods in Virginia Beach. The event got good reviews! 

Family

We've been really fortunate to see family so much over the past few months...over the summer, at Beth's 40th and at Samuel's Bar Mitzvah. And, lucky us, we got to meet Gammy, Granddaddy Rob and Auntie B yet again for Thanksgiving. We met them in West Virginia! Even Blossom got to come (that's her furry head behind Samuel)!

We stayed in a lovely cottage...very similar to the one we enjoyed with Samuel and Brie when they were really little! (We last visited the Greenbrier when he was nearly 4 and she was only 2 years old.)

On our first night, we threw a birthday party for Gammy! She's 70 years young! 

The kids made her cards...

And gifts! Sebastian sewed her a little blanket! 

Our favorite poke cake! 

Ready for bed! 

So pretty at night! 

Guess who got massages? 👼

West Virginia has gorgeous nature in abundance. We took Blossom for lots and lots of long walks.

We saw a lot of horses and Blossom freaked out EVERY. TIME. Here's Tony distracting Blossom while horses go by!

All dressed up and ready for turkey!! 

Happy birthday, Gammy! 

We even recreated our 2012 floral couch picture. Haha! 

We also went swimming...

And bowling..

And got a little silly! Samuel was even called up on stage--the first guest to participate!--during a magic show. The magician correctly guessed the color of the cube that Samuel selected and placed in a box (it was favorite color navy blue)! 

We capped off our time together with a delicious meal out. 

Still celebrating the birthday girl! 

Thanks for organizing such a perfect trip, Mom and Dad! 

And...we're...spent! 

Friends

We had a blast at all of Rockdale's Hanukkah festivities over the weekend!  

Health

Especially thankful for the vaccine this Thanksgiving. Bas and Brie are done for now! 

Hanukkah

The holidays seem to get better and better every year. The kids participate more and we're grateful to celebrate together and enjoy our family's traditions. 

We like to give themed gifts each night. Getting comfy clothes and jammies got a big smile! 

And the kids took a "Cookie Lover's Popcorn" cooking class (blue for Hanukkah) online. YUM! 

And, of course, we made latkes! 

They were outstanding again! 

Thanksgiving 2.0 / Thanksgivukkah!

Last night was the final night of Hanukkah. We celebrated with last gifts and...Thanksgiving dinner again! Since we were in WV for Thanksgiving, we didn't get to cook/bake anything and we didn't have any leftovers (the best part!). 😞 Tony and I loved making our favorite dishes all weekend! 

Everything turned out beautifully! 

Thankful twice!! 

Hope everyone had a yummy and thanks-filled holiday, too!

P.S. Brie's gift for the last night of Hanukkah was an instant camera. Here are her first shots! 😍

P.P.S. Our tree and decorations are up now and things are feeling quite festive! This photo could have been posted in the "Laughs" section up above because Blossom may or may not have nibbled a few of the low-hanging fruit (a.k.a. ornaments) when no one was looking. The old wooden ones from Bavaria might have been her favorite. 😉 They're now hanging out of reach...