And the Rest of November (and maybe some of December)

So...where did I leave off...oh yes...the middle of November.

First up, Happy (Belated) Birthday Kaylee!!!!  She turned 12 this year (and that makes me feel old).  She is also growing up to be a very beautiful young lady and I am super great-full to have her as part of my family!  I remember the first time her and Sami came to visit G and I overnight so many years ago...it is amazing how quickly time passes!  Anyway, while we couldn't be there for her birthday part, we made sure we sent a gift...a deluxe sketch kit, and from what I hear she loves it!  It looked like Kaylee's party was a success, and we really wished we could have been there.  We also made her an online birthday card and posted it on Facebook.  Here's to hoping we didn't embarrass Kaylee too much!It always stinks that the girls live so far away, but even more so on birthday's and holidays!  It always makes me wish we were all still because in Sierra Vista so we could see each-other more often!

Kaylee, the first time they came for an overnight visit

Kaylee at her 12th Birthday Party

Next up, Thanksgiving.  This year the boys and I headed up to Cleveland to spend Turkey Day with my family.  It was a very quick trip, but we were able to get a lot done.  The ride up there, was rather uneventful, which was really nice.  We ended up being able to leave at lunch time because the schools here in Pulaski closed for a nasty storm that was brewing.  So, I skipped my philosophy class and we were on our way up to Cleveland.  Of course, even though I cut the boys off of liquids on the way up there, we stopped exactly ever hour and a half to pee (go figure).  On the upside, I actually only paid $3.03 a gallon on the north side of Nashville...the only bad thing was, I had already put $100 in my tank the day before in Pulaski (I have a 44 gallon tank...and it takes two swipes to fill up).  The way home, we weren't so lucky.  We sat in traffic for over 2 hours on the north side of Columbus.  The only good thing about that was, after avoiding peeing my pants and getting a yummy wildberry lemonade for Wendy's, I only paid $2.96 for gas...I cannot remember the last time I paid that little for gas...so that was kind of cool!  But, the rest of the trip stunk...it poured the whole time, and it took us almost 14 hours to make the trip that only took us 9.5 on the way up!

 

Anyway, we made it safely to Cleveland.  We ate some yummy food at Grammy Jane's and then headed over to Grandma  Borgmann's for dessert.  While we were there, I guilt-tripped my mom into opening her Christmas present while I was in Cleveland (she prefers to wait until Christmas Day)...I used the whole, "But don't I deserve to see how excited you are to get what I gave you" line and then asked all of the rest of our family there if they thought the same thing.  I won...she opened it, and she loved it!  If you look closely at the picture above, you will notice Kade has a bone clenched in his mouth.  He ate an entire turkey leg, by himself...or I should say...he picked the damn thing clean to the point it looked like it had been found in a desert years after being left behind.  To top it off, we were not allowed to throw it out...he insisted on saving it...for two days.  I would have been worried about maggots, but, like I said...it was picked clean.

Grammy Jane and the kids making some weird pineapple cranberry crap

Thanks Aunt Kelley, for getting the stuff to make s'mores!

Now, on to Cookie Time!  And yes, I capitalized that...because it is an event...which as far as I am concerned makes it a proper noun.  Every year my family goes on an epic cookie baking spree.  And I mean epic.  The amount of cookies that are put out each year is ridiculous, and from my understanding they have already downsized the number and amount of cookies they make each year.  I know my Aunt Butch was less than thrilled it was in Cleveland this year, because they have two ovens at her house which helps speed along the process.  But, I am glad it was at Aunt Nancy's this year so that my boys and I could be there.  There is no real way to describe how many cookies they make, except for to show you...

Kade making some spritz cookies

of course, there is always some kind of flour/sugar fight...this year it was me and Ben (my 9 or 10 year old cousin)...its all good...I dumped an entire box of Bisquick on his head before we were through

yummy...Drew's favorite cookies...go figure...we were NEVER allowed to mix colors on our sugar cookies when I was younger

Me and my Aunt Butch!  I :heart: her (she is also my Godmother)

of course, cookie making requires power tools...the boys decided hand sanding the wooden dowels for the clothespin cookies would take too long, so they helped themselves to Uncle Gale's power-sander

My mom HATES making cookies...so here she is supervising the making of Buckeye Balls (my fav)...she kept making us make them smaller...geesh

Everyone helps...no matter how young...4 generations of Borgmann's were working on this batch

and we were never allowed to have 2 sugar shakers at once either...Kids today

Yeah, I totally egged Liam on (he's my cousin's Leigh's baby boy with his Grandma)...I had all the kids licking the sugar off the table...he he he

Drew was very focused on the cookies

some getting ready to go in the oven

the amount of cookies made was ridiculous.  there were 3 tables covered in cookies that were done, plus the kitchen table and counters covered with ones that needed to hit the oven still

Look...no one lost an eye!!!  Amazing...my 2 boys and a power tool with no injuries!

So, we get back to Tennessee and what happens?  It snows!  Not a whole lot, but the boys thought it looked pretty cool...and they were amazed by the ice that formed in the bird bath.  I don't know that Drew was thrilled with how cold it was, but they both are hoping for some more snow soon so that they can build a snowman...unfortunately, it has been pretty warm here lately and almost 70 degrees...so it looks like we won't be having a white Christmas (not that we expected one)...but we can still hope!  I also managed to finish my Christmas shopping, which was nice and score myself a pair of some kick-ass converse shoes...now that may not seem like a huge deal, but I wear a half-size in converse and can never find them in the stores...and while I get that I can technically order them online...I hate to do that because I never know if I like them or not until I see them on my feet.

Aren't they cute?  I wanted the grey and light pink ones, but these were the only ones they had in my size!

And last but not least, for the this post (I lied...we won't be getting to December since this is already too long)...look at what I painted:

No, it's not a paint-by-number (thanks Mom)...but it was a lot of fun.  There is a lady that comes down here, and for a small fee, will walk you through painting that month's project.  There's wine (and beer) involved, and a bunch of ladies.  And a lot of fun.  We did snowmen (my favorite) this time around, and I totally appreciate Pa Pa watching the boys so Angie and I could go together.  Can't wait until January - we're doing a heart one!

Anyways, that is all for now.  It's feeding time at the zoo, so more later.

And if I don't get back before Christmas - Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!