Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We spent Thanksgiving evening with more than 40 friends and I am just so grateful for the good, good people we have around us here. On Friday we drove up to Birmingham and walked around the German Christmas market for a while. It was really festive and there was so much good food and pretty things all around! The kids loved the carousel and all the little sweets stands.

We came home and had our annual "Night After Thanksgiving" snacks and movie night. I love it when we get to spend all day together. I'm so thankful for my little family.

Grandpa & Grandma

Joseph's parents came to visit us for a few weeks in October! We were so excited to spend time with them and show them all around. Grandpa fixed a bunch of things around the house and did projects with the kids, and Grandma colored and ate all the pretend food Anna cooked for her. :)

They spent some time visiting Norfolk and Sussex to see the places where their ancestors lived. They were able to find some headstones and visit churches where family members had been christened and married. It is so neat to be in a place where so many of our ancestors have been before.

We visited Kenilworth Castle and Blenheim Palace, spent some time at Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed, took them to some of our favorite villages and churches.

We loved spending so much time with them and showing them our lives here in England. We had some beautiful weather in between the rain, and we made some happy memories. I am so grateful for good family!

Happy Halloween

We went pretty simple for Halloween this year, but the kids loved it! I'd seen the shark idea on Pinterest, and Matthew was all for it. Anna bounced between ideas for weeks, but finally settled on a pink horse. :) Some sweats, felt, and a few stitches later, they had their comfy costumes ready!

They had a "dress up in words" day at school on Thursday, and then of course, trick-or-treating on Friday night!

Trick-or-treating isn't a huge thing in England, but everyone has learned that our neighborhood has a lot of Americans in it, so they flock here by the hundreds for our candy! We bought over 1,000 pieces of candy, and we were out in just about an hour! We just sat outside our front door and rarely had a break in the crowds.