Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we traveled to Oklahoma to spend Thanksgiving with Gramma, Grampa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Kim, and a pack of dogs...not all of whom behaved themselves. We enjoyed our trip and our visit though! In spite of the arctic cold front that brought freezing temperatures and runny noses (and a little snow on Saturday) to southern Oklahoma, the kids and dogs had a blast playing soccer and chasing balls in the big backyard. My favorite Thanksgiving memory this year is from Pookie and Beanie setting the table. "Gramma, we need more plates." "Gramma, we need more forks." "Gramma..."

Pookie was very excited to see the tofurkey come out, while Beanie was thrilled to have unlimited refills of Gramma's sweet tea.

Here we have Jackson family history...a photo of Uncle Brian as an adult...smiling!

Missing "you"

Bitty's verbal skills are remarkable...he speaks clearly and in complete sentences, and, much to my dismay, has already lost most of his baby speech patterns. One that he still has, though, is his habit of omitting the word "you" from his requests. It is so cute! Some examples: "Will hold me, pease an' thank you? Will get me someting to dwink?" My other favorite thing is how he says the word "forgot," as in, "Mommy, you got-for 'bout get me some canny!" I hear that one pretty often.

"Shhh, shhh!"

Here is Pookie in her role as a "native 'merican lady" for her first Thanksgiving Play.

"The turkey is a funny bird,

its head goes wobble, wobble, wobble.

The turkey only says one word:

it's 'gobble, gobble, gobble!'"

Good dog!

Today, Tracy talked with the county animal control officer who responded to our neighbors' complaint that Oliver is a vicious, overly aggressive dog. Apparently, in their sworn affidavit, they stated that they were standing in the street with their unleashed dog when Oliver came trotting down the road toward them. One of them picked up the dog and yelled at Oliver to "Stop! Go home!" And...he did! So, let's review. First, they acknowledge that they allow their dog to roam the neighborhood off-leash (at least ours was accidental). Second, they prove that Oliver is not aggressive or vicious; he responded to the command that was given and did what he was told. The deputy who came to the door that night told me that the neighbors reported aggressive behavior, but that Oliver was just laying in the front yard with Marjan (!) when he arrived. What a good boy!

Finally, and best of all, the ACO actually said, "Your neighbors are just crazy!"

Ah...vindication!

The Sweet Pickle Bus

Last Friday, I had a workshop in Dallas and then went on to Wilson to spend the weekend (thanks to Gramma, Grampa and Uncle Brian for having me; I had a great time!). Pookie's class was scheduled to go on a field trip to a farm on Friday, and, since I couldn't pick her up, she also got to ride the bus to Cat's house after school. Today, I asked her whether she wanted to ride the bus again. She answered, emphatically, "No! On Friday when I rided the bus to Cat's house, I had one teardrop roll down my face Mommy, because I missed-ed you so much!"

Miss Julie's

Today Beanie started attending preschool at Miss Julie's. I took her by to visit earlier this week so that she would know what to expect. When we drove into the parking lot she informed me, "Mommy, you don't needa walk me in. You can just drop me off at the door!" I think she likes it.

Finally, Treats!

Thanks to Princess Jackie, we had the best Halloween ever! I deperately wanted the kids to go trick or treating, so I asked her if we could stop by and ring her doorbell. I even brought candy! When we got there, we discovered that her neighborhood had been transformed into Halloweenland! She put together some wonderful treat bags for the kids, full of good "canny" and some other great treats. After the kids explored everything in those bags, they were ready to head outside. We walked up and down the street for a half hour or so, ringing doorbells everywhere. Bitty lagged a bit behind his sisters. When the doors opened, the girls would say, "Trick or treat!" and wait patiently as the candy was handed out. Bitty always ended his visit with a wave of his fistful of candy and a "Hap Howween!"