Baby Buffaloe: Happy Thanksgiving

The kids and I went down to the Bootheel with Nana Jana for Thanksgiving. Sam stayed home and had a meal with his folks on Thursday. I took very few pictures (which seems like par for the course lately! I'll do better next time).

For entertainment on the way down, I checked out a book on CD from the library, then got out to the van and thought that it didn't have a CD player, then got to the bootheel and Sam informed me that yes, there was a CD player, though of course I left the book at home because I thought that it didn't have a CD player. The kids stuffed their backpacks with books. Amelie brought her piano book and math homework down, then ended up not practicing piano or working on her homework either. Here she is playing with some of her cousin's toys:

I think I've mentioned before that James is really into games right now. He played The Game some (and even let cousin Levi play). Aunt Patti and James and Amelie played a rousing game of Sorry! and then Nana Lana gave games a present of a "kind of gross" game called "What's in Ned's Head?" that Uncle Jeff played with the kids and lost every round.

The kids liked sleeping on the air mattress all together and watching movies. They watched so many movies! Mrs. Doubtfire, Transformers, Home Alone, live-action Beauty and the Beast, and Despicable Me 2 over the long weekend.

Here's Uncle Jeff and the kids. As you can see, Leah was not particularly cooperative:

So then I said we could just try for a picture of her on her own (should have done this idea first!)

A more accurate representation of their interests:

Leah had a little trouble getting along with her cousin Levi this time, but James said that it was the first time they actually played together, too. (Aunt Lana texted me all of these pics!)

They are exactly one month apart. Uncle Darrin said Levi was just a little heavier.

Holly roped me into helping with Thanksgiving and I made my first-ever custard pie. I also made the broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole and then proceeded to eat on it for six straight meals -- since I love it but Sam does not.

James went Black Friday shopping with us at Farmhand Supply with $2 to spend. He went to buy a candy bar and the worker offered to give it to him for Christmas and he was so disappointed because he wanted to spend his money that the worker let him buy it. Ha!

Everyone also commented on James's (lack of) hair. Nana Jana said that Grandpa Leroy probably would have paid him $5 for it. He sang, with backup vocals from Leah, every song that he knew. Well, at least some of the songs that he knows plus several new ones he's learned from Aladdin. Leah told us that the throw pillows were "guitars."

We ate at a Chinese buffet on the way home and there was a 12-year-old girl there working and her 3-year-old baby sister gave us our fortune cookies and the bill at the end of the meal. Amelie said, "This is either a family-owned business or it's bring-your-daughter-to-work day."

I was going to have the kids write out their Christmas lists and I forgot! Here's Amelie with Grandma Doris:

And a three generations picture with her Great-Grandma Doris and Nana Jana:

Leah looks like she's telling her great-grandma something very important!

We got home and Spark was completely overjoyed to see us. Holly took several pictures of Leah with Sadie, and she had her inaugural dog bite from Oliver, so we did get our dose of dog time in. When we were looking back through these pictures together, Leah pointed at this one and said, "That dog nice. The brother dog bites."

Leah convinced everyone to read to her the whole trip long. I don't know why she looks so grumpy! This is a regular trend in many of these (and other!) photographs - I say sometimes that she has a mean mug.