BETTER LATE THAN NEVER~

Papa Joe, Uncle Timmy, Nana and G&D

Aunt Patty & D man

I am well aware that Thanksgiving was a week ago and I am just now getting to my Turkey day post.  I could just skip it, but it was so wonderful that I need to share at least a few pictures.

Grace and Denny were rock stars this year.  When I say that they helped Bob and I prepare the food, I mean it.  They really did help out with almost all of the dishes this year.  And I will take full advantage of this age where they want to help out.   Because I know in a few years, they will want nothing to do with helping, or with me for that matter.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of some of our other guests, including Grandpa Keeler, Aunt Beckie and Uncle Pete.   They arrived later into the evening, and by that time I was knee deep into a bottle of Pinot.  I was less concerned about taking pictures and more concerned about blaring music and bowling on the wii.

Hope you all had a good one.  Now the countdown to Christmas begins!

HOW I MET YOUR FATHER~

Me & Bob at a friends wedding in '97

It was 13 years ago this night that Bob and I re-met. 

We were both home from college, me OSU and Bobby RIT.  The night before Thanksgiving is the best party night for college kids and 20-somethings, as everyone is home from school and it's like a huge reunion wherever you go.

Back in 1995, the Flats in Cleveland was a hot spot.  I was at Oconner's Irish Pub (underage, but my friends Mom owned the bar.)  I still remember what I was wearing...black pants and a white belly shirt.  I had just done a shot of Jager and in typical Amanda style, I spilled half of the shot on my shirt.  So there I was, in a white shirt with a dark liquor spilled all over the front of it.

I saw Bob as I was walking back from the ladies room.  I had not seen him since I was in high school, so it had been a few years.  I was now 19 and he was 22.  

He walked over to me with his big, gorgeous smile and said "Hey, remember me?"

I acted like I didn't because I was playin' the game.  After he "reminded" me how I knew him, we spent the rest of the night catching up.

As I was leaving, he walked me outside and gave me a kiss.  My heart melted.

For the rest of the Holiday break, we hung out as much as possible.  I was falling hard and fast and I knew it.  But I never knew we would make it through the years of separate colleges in different states, Army life and deployments, and lots of stupid mistakes in between it all.  We did a lot of growing up together.

Now here we are 13 years later.  We have eight years of marriage under our belts and two kids.  It is still hard to believe it all.  

So now that I am a 30-something wife and momma, this night is still one of my favorites.  Thankfully I don't hit the bars anymore.  Instead, I spend it with my hubby and kids, prepping everything for Thanksgiving, drinking some wine, listening to music and being truly thankful for what we have.  

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  

Our 1st New Years together...we went to Times Square

THANKSGIVING THANKS

We wish you all a Happy thanksgiving.
We are spending the day at home; cooking, watching movies, welcoming whoever walks through our door. Candles are lit, the house smells delicious, snow is falling outside.
Besides the screaming kids, it feels pretty peaceful around here today.
I am thankful for so much, not just today but everyday.

Turkey Day Photos

We had a fun filled thanksgiving here at the Keeler's. Bob and I woke early on Thursday to start cooking. 4 hours in the kitchen, and everything was ready. It's a lot of work, but I love it. Bob and I have a good system going. And G&D were helping us out, as you will see in some of the pictures.

So we definitely believe that Denny has found his favorite holiday. He literally ate more than I did, and would have continued to eat until his belly exploded if we let him.

Bob's mom came over, my brother John, Bob's brother Tim and his girlfriend Kelly and her son Joey. So it was a small group, which is good because that's all we have room for.

After dinner Grace, Denny and Joey played for hours. Grace was stalking Joey, making him hold her hand and dance with her. It was so flippin' cute. I think he is her first crush.
I noticed tonight as I was uploading the pictures that I have no pictures of the adults. I really need to start taking pictures of other family members over the age of 5.

Today we did the insane and went shopping. Our original plan was to wake up at 5am and hit the stores. That didn't work out, but we did get out around 10 this morning. We made it to 3 stores, all which were crazy crowded. The best was Toys R Us. Man, I love having kids. It is so fun to shop for them. We bought Grace the Arial kitchen, a lap-top learning computer, a karaoke machine (which I will get a lot of use out of,) a Snow White doll & a Belle doll.

For Denny we (Santa) got some cool dinosaur toy, a little tykes work bench, and then I ordered online a Bob the Builder Lego set (that was free with all my Pampers points.) We still have some shopping to do for Denny, but we are about done with Grace.

So we hope you all had a happy thanksgiving and have a great weekend.