Happy Thanksgiving!

We're pretty used to working through holidays by now, but this is the first year John has had to work Thanksgiving night. Because of his regular days off, we've been able to have that Thursday off for the past few years. To make up for it, we decided to celebrate early this year. I scooted out of work a day early and we headed to Lebanon on Tuesday night for a short trip to Grammy and Pop's house.

We celebrated Thanksgiving Wednesday night, but before we did, cousins Anna and Ryan came over to play with the boys all day on Wednesday. Jack, as usual was in awe of Ryan. Ben, meanwhile, had the full attention of Anna. I caught this video while they were playing Just Dance on the Wii.



When the Mettees gather, we usually eat dinner and then the adults play cards while the kids play. This week the kids disappeared upstairs for a while and then came downstairs to present their Thanksgiving parade. Jack was a pilgrim, Ryan a "buff" Indian, Katie a turkey and Anna, well, she's our announcer.

We also had a "thankful" tree this year, where everyone put something that they were thankful for. In addition to me and the boys, John made sure to add "Obama" and "Unions" to his thankful list, just to make sure we continued our tradition of debating politics whenever we get together. I was so proud.  

Thanksgiving, Chick-fil-a Style

 

Apparently, the pilgrims had Chick-fil-a nuggets. Nuggets, mac and cheese and popcorn, to be exact. Oh, and Capri Sun. We joke about the Thanksgiving Feast at Lord of Life Preschool each year, but it truly is my favorite event of the school year. Those Pilgrims (and Indians, er, Native Americans) know how to chow down. 

 

 Jack and Ben celebrated Thanksgiving three days early today, and I was able to break away from work to enjoy it with them. Today, I am thankful for the coolest boss ever, who reminds me every day that I am a Mama first. Nothing like seeing dozens of 3- and 4-year-olds feasting on nuggets to make the day better. 

 I didn't really get a visit with Ben, though. The school director forbid me to enter the 2-year-old classroom (unless I was ready to take him home afterward). So, I begged her to take my camera in and get some photos of my little Indian.

 

With all this talk about Thanksgiving and the Mayflower, Jack's class was assigned last week to bring something to school that they would carry with them on the Mayflower trip to America. Jack's item: a Nerf gun to kill turkeys. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when John asked Ms. Nancy if it was OK for Jack to bring a gun to school. Thankfully, she was fine with it. 

"Don't Touch Anything"

I had to share these. Tired of watching his brother in yet another practice, Ben found his own fun this afternoon during Jack's basketball practice. Crazy kid. He crawled through chairs, explored the church, found trails outside -- anything he could do to pass the time.

"Don't touch anything," he told me when we started our adventure. (I guess I say that a lot to him). Meanwhile, John tackled coaching a group of 5 year old.

Taekwondo, Round One

Last winter, we spent a lot of time indoors and Jack grew restless quickly. So this time around, we're changing directions a little: basketball and taekwondo. I'll post basketball pictures later (John is coaching, or shall we say, herding, that group of 5-year-olds.)

After just a few classes of taekwondo, John and I love it just as much as Jack. There are lots of "Yes Mam" and No Mam" required in class. Sprints if you talk in class. Situps to get back in if you want a drink of water. Discipline. We like it. 

Last week, Jack earned his second stripe after learning a four-step sequence. I caught it on video.

We are able to walk to classes from our neighborhood and can go to as many classes we want each week. It makes for a nice after-school activity when Jack is restless. Ben, meanwhile, is growing tired of getting dragged to one more thing he's too little to participate in.

 

Happy Birthday Great Grammy

We celebrated Great Grammy's 90th birthday in Mount Juliet last week. It was a great chance to all of John's family to get together and visit. 



Jack celebrating with a cake cone that Aunt Susan made for everyone.

Best Buds: Reunion

Jack got a huge surprise yesterday afternoon, when he got to see his best bud, Josh. Josh moved to Louisiana this past summer, but his family came to Memphis this weekend to visit. On our way over, I told Jack to get ready for a surprise, but didn't tell him where we were going. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he figured out where we were headed -- both to see Josh and their friend Brody. Mama, meanwhile, was happy to let them play and have a glass of wine with friends. 

Jack and Ben with Brody and Josh.

My Obligatory Halloween Photos

John and I took our two Transformers trick or treating on Monday, along with the Hancocks. This was the first year Ben understood the concept and took to it pretty quickly. "Go get more, Ma," he'd say each time we left a house.

My favorite part of the night was watching the boys hand out candy when we got back home. Tbey gave away handfuls of their own candy to older kids who stopped by. (Jack told me it was OK, too much candy hurt his stomach).