We drove down to Great Falls on Thanksgiving Day, and managed to avoid too much traffic.  Also, no one got sick!  It was a big success.  To work up an appetite we spent some time outside and the kids were very excited to discover this deer skeleton.

For Thanksgiving dinner there were our four, Robin and Reeves, and Cam, Megan, and Marcella.  Robin prepared a delicious turkey and parsnip puree and salads, Andrew made the dressing and green beans, and Reeves made the gravy.  Megan made a pumpkin/pecan pie and a mango tart.  Blaine helped Robin make the traditional persimmon pudding.  Everything was delicious, hope I didn’t miss anything!  Before dinner, Blaine wanted to give another speech (like he did last year).

Sarah and Marcella put together this puzzle!

After dinner, Blaine helped Gram with the lighting of the persimmon pudding.

And then it was time for the much-anticipated smashing of the chocolate turkey!

The next day there was more cooking, as Blaine and Gram made yummy pancakes for breakfast.

We took a trip to the zoo so Sarah could see the giant pandas again!

We also saw the “maned wolf” which is unforgettable for the smell of its urine (smells like a skunk!).

And these cheetahs!

Back in Great Falls, the kids wanted to go back and check out the deer skeleton again with their new animal chompers they got at the zoo.

Thank you again to Gram and Grand-dad for hosting us for Thanksgiving again this year!  We had a wonderful time!

On Saturday, we packed up and drove to Charlottesville to visit Great Grandmommy in her new apartment at the Blake.  It’s a brand new building and so beautiful with lots of neat features like a putting green in the courtyard, an outdoor tv area with fireplace, and a piano lounge and bar.

We had a wonderful visit and were so happy to see Great Grandmommy, Aunt Jody and Uncle Dennis!

I started trying to get a decent Christmas card picture, without much success.  Here are the best of the bunch, may have to keep trying.

On 11/13 Chatsworth had a “Fun Run” fundraiser.  Here is a picture of the whole school assembled outside to watch the principal being slimed.

Rhodes piano at Groove!  Sarah is pretty into it; Blaine, not so much.  This session ends in December and I’m not sure Blaine will want to keep going after that.

I volunteered to help Sarah’s class for the Fall Art Appreciation activity.  This season the chosen artist is Yayoi Kusama, who will be featured at the Bronx Botanical Gardens in the Spring.  The project was very neat and season-appropriate, making paper pumpkins decorated with dots.  I probably won’t get to join the activity in Blaine’s class because all the leaders of the Art Appreciation program are parents in his class!

On 11/16 both kids were invited to a birthday party at the Rock Club in New Rochelle.  We’d been there before, two years ago for another birthday party.  At that time both kids were very reluctant to participate, so it was fun to see how much they have grown since then!  They both willingly got up there and gave it a shot, and they went higher with each climb.

On 11/17 the kids asked to go into the city, so we decided to check out the National Museum of Mathematics (aka MO Math).  We took the train in, then had lunch at Maison Kayser.  Then we walked past Madison Square Park over to the museum on 26th street.

It was a small space, just two floors, but the exhibits were really well done with the right amount of information for our kids.  It also wasn’t too crowded, so we didn’t have to wait long to try out any activity.  Here’s Sarah on the square-wheeled tricycles.

The kids really enjoyed driving these cars around a Mobius strip.  The car had a camera and there was a “starting gate” which really helped us visualize the fact that the car was traversing one continuous route that went on both sides.

Not sure what this one was — something about a platform rolling on these strangely shaped acorn-looking things.

Downstairs there were more exhibits, including this one which took Blaine’s image and made it into a branching tree.  Creepy!  We spent about two hours there and had a great time.

This week is “BetterTogether” week at Chatsworth, a parent-led program which aims to help our kids understand differences and think about what it is like to live with a disability.  The purpose is to encourage understanding, kindness, and inclusion.  I’ve been getting involved this year and helped to coordinate the 3rd grade program which is focused on physical impairments.  Blaine’s 2nd grade class did a program on hearing impairments that he really enjoyed.  And I also got to join Sarah’s classroom for the Kindergarten program, which does an introduction/overview and then activities around visual, hearing and physical impairments.  It’s a great program and so good to have these conversations with the children.

We took a day trip to PA on 11/9 to celebrate Josie’s 3rd birthday.  It was a very Daniel Tiger-iffic party!  We also enjoyed hanging out with family and seeing all Mom’s new furniture and the new bathroom on the 2nd floor.  The house looks great!  So fun to see everyone, can’t wait till Christmas!

Here we are on a nice weekend day back at Cranberry Lake.  We saw lots of dragonflies!

On 11/8 I got to join Sarah for the Kindergarten Square Dance at Chatsworth.  It was so much fun!  A retired Kindergarten teacher (Ms. Slade) is a square dance caller and she returns each year to lead this event.  There is also a square dance for the 5th graders when they are graduating, so we’ll get to do it again in a few years!  Sarah and I learned how to do-si-do and promenade and everything.