Gobble Fest Twenty-Ten

We had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Thanksgiving. We headed over to my parents house around noon and started the festivities off with some family pictures/Christmas card hopefuls.

I'll just post one...I love that Cohen is palming Payton's head, and that my children love their aunts and uncles so much they want to stand by them for pictures. I will also add that one of the things I am most thankful for is such an awesome and supportive family, and that they all live close!
The cooks in the kitchen...
The whole crew sitting down for dinner...21 of us this year! Oma Bosch, my Mom and Dad, Sue, Dave, Mark, Abby, Nolan, Heath (who was only a few days old last Thanksgiving!), Brad, Jayne, Cohen, Gwen, Tim, Rylan, Grandma Inge, Tammy, Wes, Payton, Brady, and Me!
Before we ate, Payton read us the story of the first Thanksgiving. She read clearly and loudly. We were very proud of her!
Cohen's First Thanksgiving Meal (Rice Cereal...)
Enjoying the feast...
Not too good at posing these days!Attempting to swallow a brussel sprout without actually tasting it :)
And no Thanksgiving would be complete without Aunt Sue's annual turkey game! This year there was a heat for the kids and two for the adults. Brady won for the kids and Wes won for the adults.
Gwen did not :)
And to top off a wonderful, relaxing day, Payton helped Oma and Opa do the dishes without asking!
We are truly blessed. I am thankful for so many things, and a holiday that reminds us to stop and remember just how lucky we really are...

JUMP!

On Wednesday night, we took a family trip to Jump Street, the indoor trampoline park that just opened near our house. In an attempt to prevent early labor, I stuck to taking pictures and didn't jump. But, Wes, Payton, and Brady had a blast and got in quite a work out!

The main attraction...a football field sized area with trampolines covering the floors and the walls. Getting ready to have a hopping race...
Running, jumping, flopping, and flipping...Brady's favorite part was the trampoline dodge ball area of course.
And Payton's personal favorite? Racing her daddy, who as hard as he tried, could NOT beat his daughter in a running race. Blame it on gravity sucking Wes deep into the tramps and allowing Payton to glide effortlessly across the surface. Laws of physics or not, Payton found it glorious :)
Take that gravity.
What a fun (and sweaty) family night!

Fingernails, Food, and Friends...

For the second weekend in a row, I was blessed with a baby shower. This one, hosted by my dear friend Gwen, included my family and closest friends.

My mom, Abby, Jayne, and Gwen kicked off the morning with some manicures and pedicures at a super cute salon near Gwen's house. Man, do I love manicures & pedicures :)
Once properly pampered, we headed back to Gwen's house where several more friends joined us for lunch. Gwen's classy and modern decorations...and thanks to everyone who helped with food...(I think I ate enough for four...:))
Anne, Kacey, me, and Anne (I'm not intentionally trying to hide my belly in these pictures...so far the chair and coffee maker have been conveniently placed!)
We retired to the family room for gifts and games...Anne, Kacey, and Lindsay...
My beautiful sister-in-laws...
Mom & Aunt Peg...
Our son will definitely be in style.
And, although I closely resemble a beached whale in this last picture, I included it anyways because it's the only one of the hostess, Gwennie. Let's blame it on the angle, or the turtleneck, or the horizontal stripes, or....
Anyways, I had a wonderful time. Thank you so much for a great day. We are so blessed to have such caring and supportive family and friends. So, now that we are overly spoiled, let the countdown to baby begin!

Volleyballs, Dirty Diapers, and Charades...

On Sunday evening, my volleyball players and their moms hosted a baby shower in my honor. It was truly one of the first times, other than remodeling the nursery, that I have gotten to sit down, relax, and celebrate the upcoming addition to our family.
Everything was awesome. We started with a delicious dinner...the weather was still warm enough to eat outside. Man, do my players look different when they're all dolled up!
The other half of the team, or should I say, the trouble-makers. All drinking sparkling apple cider and lemonade. I'm actually so thankful that this is their version of living dangerously!
After dinner, the girls played some baby shower games. This was my favorite part. I got to sit on the couch and snap pictures. They got to demonstrate their knowledge of all things pregnancy.

Game 1: Charades. I'll let you see if you can figure out which words the girls are acting out. Answers to follow.
The Answers. Pic 1: Contraction, Pic 2: Epidural, and Pic 3: First Steps. I kept it G rated and left out Water Breaking, Breast Feeding, and Pregnancy Test :)

Game 2: Guess which candy bar is melted in each diaper. A baby shower classic, but even better when played by high school girls!

Game 3: Chug the bottle full of Ginger Ale. Again, SO much better as a spectator/photographer!

The girls were also asked to write "words of wisdom from a varsity warrior". These were so cool, so I thought I'd share a few of the things the girls wrote:

"Don't pull your sister's tail..."

"I may or may not have accidentally hit you with a volleyball while still in the womb. Sorry!"

"Always respect girls (including your mom)"

"Always listen to your mom because she might make you run stairs if you don't."

"When I was a kid, I did a lot of things to get myself in trouble..learn from my mistakes...don't color on the wall, don't carve your name into the antique table, and don't eat your mom's lipstick."

And to top it all off, the team and their parents spoiled us rotten with dinner gift cards, cute outfits, and must-have baby gear. It was a great night, and I am extremely grateful!

The ONLY positive thing about fall yard clean up...

Our Hallow-Weekend.

We had an excellent Halloween weekend full of all sorts of fun and festivities.

The weekend began Friday at school. I heard my volleyball players whispering Thursday after practice, but wasn't sure what exactly they had up their sleeves. When I got to school Friday morning, this is what I saw...
Yes, there were 13 pregnant-puff-wearing-me's walking the hallways of Arapahoe all day...they actually looked pretty funny with volleyballs stuffed under their shirts. If only that was actually what my belly weighed...

After a full day of Saturday volleyball (we lost and now the season is officially over), Mark, Abby, Nolan, and Heath came over for some pumpkin carving fun.
The finished masterpieces...thanks to Abby for printing out some templates!
Sunday, Halloween Day, we made our traditional visits to Grandma Tammy at work (who showers the kids with full buckets of candy and balloons), Grandma Inge, and then off to my parents' house for soup and more trick or treating with the family.

Payton the Black Cat and Brady the Pirate were greeted at the door by two people they did not recognize...
I think they're looking pretty good for 60 don't you?!
Susie-Q joined in on the fun as well...
...and Wes enjoyed his red-headed company!
We also loved having Brad, Jayne (aka Mr. Schu and Rachel from Glee) and Cohen (aka Mr. Skunk for Part 1 of the evening and then my twin for Part 2) here for their first Halloween!
And if all of this wasn't fun enough, throw in Nolan the Fireman, his Puppy Dog Heath, Ella the Bunny, and Rylan aka Buzz Lightyear (and their parents of course!), and you've got one rockin' Hallow-Weekend!