Sunday, November 27, 2016

Fun&Games

i enjoyed taking my brother & his family
to some of our favorite urban spots -
both for eats & for feets.
YUM!  Crafted Art of the Taco is a MUST.
we enjoyed trying the bacon jar &
agreed that the caramel was the best.
happy with our taco creations - SLURP!
 then, OF COURSE, we walked a few blocks up town
to check out LeBauer Park!
Samuel with a handful of shaved ice
 the ice-skating rink was in full swing!
Samuel
a little wet on one end, due to the sunshine -
but the stiff breeze helped make it feel a bit like winter.
L-R: Alex, Samantha, & Joseph
there were one or two competent skaters on the ice,
and my two got a bit of a lesson from one of them.

Joseph & Samuel try not to fall

Samantha

Joseph, Alex, (my brother behind), & Samuel

all four cousins on the ice!

Samantha tries to even the playing field
once you've decided you're done with skating,
you can try your hand at a small sledding hill.
the bigger you are, the harder you wipe out.

i spy....

two footballs.
finally,
the teenager had a good excuse
to play on the merry-go-round :)
fun for everyone!

Joseph conquers the polygon

Samantha & Joseph

Alex

Alex, Samantha, & Joseph

Samuel joined us from the skating rink in time to summit the 'gon
how many ways can you go down a slide?
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR

on the way back to our house,
my Charleston relatives decided to buy
a North Carolina tree.
my brother stops traffic
and, of course, the required
Family Photo
are you okay?

stand like you mean it

ooooh! so nice :)

trying for fall foliage

yep - got it!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 25, 2016

ThanksGiving

 the laurel decided to bloom
in the warm early autumn days
leading up to Thanksgiving.
we've been alternating years for more than a decade,
but we decided to add a little jaunt north on Route 1
after picking Samuel up at NCState.
Thanksgiving stew, fried chicken, and pimento cheese sandwiches with my in-laws
the older cousins were not available;
however, i'd imagine they might join
these silly ones on the couch.

we scurried around like beavers making a dam,
getting the house ready for Company!
so much fun 'growing' the table to seat ten!
putting out the finery(ish)
i did the side dishes - taters & kernels & sprouts, oh my!

 a little bit of ACC action while waiting for the grandparents
Alex flies!
my brother has a slight height advantage
basketball action


Samuel flies!
Joseph eyes the goal ~ watch out!

 they were having so much fun, a little neighbor
rang the doorbell to see if she could come play :)
likely, they are being silly on SnapChat
tete a tete times two
 my sister-in-law brought all the PIES &
my vegetarian mom brought the TURKEY!

this should be a separate post.
The Family Portrait.
WolfPackMan & his brother

cousin Alex joins them
the iPhone Photographer & the Organizer

you, here...you, there...no, here...or, maybe, there

can't control the teenagers

Most Real.

Official

my brother Jeff, Mom, Dad, & me

more Organizing

lighting the fire
conversations while waiting in line for food

the View from my End of the Table

strolling minstrel (they look like they're singing along)

Fin