Thanksgiving 2009

We had a very happy holiday with lots of family and food. On Wednesday, I went to Karsen's class to help make "I am thankful for..." books. One of my favorite little boys, Sam, was quite busy coloring in the hair of one of his girl classmates' picture, making it very dark and big and crazy curly. He explained to me he was making her look like Michael Jackson. Ha! After Karsen's class was finished, Karsen and I went to help Mrs. Brammer, the other 2nd grade teacher at Westwood, set up for the Thanksgiving Feast she and Mrs. Underwood's class had. Then we went home to play with Kalli and fix some food for Thursday. Andrew and Collin also came over to play after school.

It is getting harder and harder to keep Kalli still for a picture :)

On Thursday we had dinner at Uncle Gary's and then dessert at my parents' house. The kids had a very long day but had a lot of fun. Luke was very pleased with himself most of the evening and entertained all of us with his clapping for himself. We all played Catchphrase at mom and dad's house. It would not be a holiday without Catchphrase. We learned that Erin considers Amy synonymous with the phrase "nag." Erin also gave us the clue "a special time of the month for ladies" for us to try to guess. While most of us had no trouble with the phrase, Austin hilariously thought it was Mother's Day. The kids also gave a performance of some of their songs from their upcoming Christmas program.



On Friday we went to Papa Jay's mom and dad's house here in New Castle to see Bob and Vern, Bobby and Lana, Grandma and Papa Hall, Uncle Phil and his daughter Kelsey, and Katie and Kalli. Aunt Lana gave us all family cookbooks that she had made with old family pictures included. It was such a sweet gift and Karsen wondered why Papa Jay looks like a girl in most of the pictures from the '70s. I guess she is not used to seeing him with long hair and very tiny shorts.

On Saturday Josh and I painted Austin's room before I had to go to work. The kids got a special surprise in the mail from our favorite Irish lass Katie. What a beary sweet card!!

Austin went with his friend Nathan and his dad to play, go out to eat, and then to the New Castle Trojan basketball game last night. Both kids got to spend the night with Grandma and Papa Hall after that.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Blessed Week

We have had a very low-key week, but full of blessings.

NO HOMEWORK all week for Austin!!!

FUN TIMES at Grandma and Papa Beneker's house for the kids this weekend!

COLTS win!

STEELERS lose!

It's WARM (enough) out today that Austin, Drew, and Karsen have set up a picnic on beach towels out in the yard after school to play.

THANKSGIVING is coming!

PAINTING BIRDHOUSES was a blast at Cub Scouts last night!

GRANDMA PURVIS is out of the hospital--just an overnight stay!

We get to babysit KALLI tomorrow!

Josh only has ONE DAY of work this week!

So yeah, it has been a really great week around the Morgan's. It's the little things that make us happy :)

Manners Breakfast

This week auntie Erin came for a visit from Fort Wayne. She arrived Monday night so that she could spend a couple of days with us and then attend Karsen's manners breakfast Wednesday morning at school. Both kids were so excited to see her, and Karsen was especially excited to show her off to Miss Beth and all her friends.

The manners breakfast was hosted by the kindergarten class to showcase their newly learned manners, such as how to greet guests, take their coats, introduce them to others, and set the place setting at the table correctly. Auntie Erin informed us that she had only learned the correct way to set a place setting last year, so Karsen appears to be ahead of the game.

I was there as a helper, not as a guest, but still had a great time. The kids sang a "thankful" song, ate a delicious breakfast of eggs, muffins, bananas and grapes, and cereal with their adult friend, and gave their friend a tour of the classroom and building. Erin did double-duty, also being the friend to a classmate of Karsen's who did not have a special friend in attendance. If mommy hadn't forgotten her camera, I would have some cute pictures of the manners breakfast, but this cute picture of Erin and Karsen will have to do. A funny story from the breakfast was Karsen who kept returning to the food line for, as she said, "a great deal of butter." If anyone reads the Mercy Watson books, you will know that the heroine in the stories, a pig, loves to treat herself with "toast with a great deal of butter."

By the way, I blame the fact that I forgot the camera on the dog escaping from the house just before all of us got out the door for school this morning. It in no way reflects on the fact that I am about to have another birthday and will be yet again teased by my dear husband that I am getting old.

Children's Museum

Last Friday I went with the Westwood 2nd graders to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. We had a great time. My little group of Austin, Andrew, and Jackson was so well behaved and fun. The boys really liked the exhibit on Egypt, the science place with the water table and the cave, and especially Dinosphere and the thunderstorm in the biosphere.

Austin and Jackson playing an interactive game about irrigating a desert area.

The boys riding a buggy like they do in Egypt.

Learning about communities in the make believe town.



The old style race car.

Digging for dinosaur bones in the Dinosphere.


The boys also liked the life size train car.

We got to see a planetarium show about the planets, which was very interesting to Austin. He likes all things outer space right now.

Building a Birdhouse

We have had a couple of busy days here at the Morgan's. On Saturday was Westwood's fall festival. Josh and I took our turn working the games in the kindergarten class and Mrs Underwood's 2nd grade classroom. For the kindergarten game Austin hid behind a sheet and the kids threw their fishing pole over so that he could give them a prize. Josh and I managed that game as well as the pick a pumpkin game. In Mrs Underwood's class it was the live fish game, where if you got a ping pong ball in the fishbowl you won a fish. Josh dipped the fish out for the lucky winners--two of which were Austin and Karsen. The new fish are getting acquainted with the huge big fish we already had in our tank. We hope they don't become food for the big fish. The kids had fun throwing pies in Mr Carter's face, playing games, and winning prizes.

Tonight at Cub scouts the boys built birdhouses. First they talked about the different tools they would use and tool safety. Here they are listening and examining the tools.Next the boys actually got to use a hammer and nails to put the birdhouse together.
Here is Austin working hard with Mr Sproles.
And Karsen and Mark--playing in the hallway, having their own Cub scout meeting.

Fun Times

This week has flown by with school and friends over to play. Austin had the 2nd grade version of ISTEP (the Terra Nova testing) on Monday and Tuesday, a Spelling test Wednesday (no missed words, thank you very much), and will have a Social Studies test tomorrow. He also has a science project due next week that we just finished. He had to choose an animal to illustrate the life cycle of. He chose a falcon. He will have to give an oral report and present his poster next week.

He had Andrew and Drew over to play yesterday after school. It was a nice sunshine-y day so they played light sabers outside, and then came back in to play Bakugan battles. They all get along so well (and include Karsen) that I almost don't know they are here. Almost.


This evening Austin is going to the Caribbean Cove with Drew, because Drew sold the most magazines in the school for the fundraiser. Since Drew was the top seller, he got to choose a friend and ride in a LIMO on the way there. Austin is excited (and Drew's mom is excited--because she is the limo chaperone). At this point in his life, Austin has ridden in a limo more times that I have! In kindergarten he was the top seller in his grade, so each grade level winner rode in a limo to Westwood Park for a picnic. Mr Carter, Westwood's principal, must be in good with the limousine company!!

Since Austin was going to have a special night, Karsen got to have Ellen over to play after kindergarten today. We ate lunch at McDonald's, played in the playplace there, and then came home where the girls gave each other makeovers and used enough body spray to overcome a small animal. Then they played dolls going on a vacation. It was nice for Karsen to have a friend that is a girl come for a playdate, because she had someone to help play with her girly toys.

Our Mobile Visitor

Yesterday we had a very special visitor and his special mom. Big news - the Lukester is walking!!

Check him out:
We were very excited and kept clapping for him. Then he would clap for himself, too. It was so funny.

Now that he is mobile he seems like such a big boy.

Trick or Treat

While I was working Saturday night, Josh took the kids over to Grandma Purvis's house for trick-or-treating and passing out candy. Here are some pictures of Jango Fett (a Star Wars character aka Austin), Batgirl (Karsen) and a lovely fall fairy (Kalli).
A side note: I am EXHAUSTED from "falling back" --Daylight Savings Time. I never really noticed how much it affected me, if at all, until I worked night shift. The psychological torture of actually working the 1:00 a.m. hour twice was about enough to do me in. Strange the difference one hour makes!