Thanksgiving in Omaha with the McGinnis Crew!

 

The whole McGinnis Crew met up in Omaha for Thanksgiving this year!  Vaughn arrived the next day with his girlfriend, Addy!  Sad we never got a pix with him and Grandma/Grandpa but it was wonderful to have the entire crew together - all 12 of us! 

So much to be grateful for . . .

Grandpa Pat in his favorite chair by the fire . . . 

Silly Cousins always playing fun games/shenanigans when together . . . 

Charlotte (almost 12), Patrick (almost 11), Kate (12)

Mike and I took the 3 girls to the Big East Volleyball 

Tournament on Friday - played at Creighton!  

We got to watch Creighton play (ranked 8th in the country) 

and it was SO fun!

Go Bluejays!

The girls were SO tall . . .

After the game we got to meet a player from Olathe 

that plays for Creighton. She and her family were so nice!

Saturday afternoon, I took the 3 girls to see Wicked!

BEST MOVIE EVER!

Slurpees for everyone!

Played lots of games . . .

Nebraska sunset . ..

Thanksgiving Prep . . .

 

The girls asked if we could have our own Thanksgiving Dinner the Monday night prior to our trip to Omaha for the actual Thanksgiving Day . . .so made a turkey breast and all the sides we love for the 4 of us Monday night and it was cozy and nice!

The house looked cozy with the fall decor out . . . 

I think my favorite time of year in our home is fall. 

Then, we decorated our Christmas tree so it would be up when we returned from traveling on Sunday, December 1st! Those gifts are Mike's birthday gifts ready for his big day on 12/8!

Mike made some delicious homemade pecan bars  . . .

I decorated the front entryway with fresh greens from Trader Joe's . . . 

Grateful.

Some friends offered us a free photo session this fall and we, begrudgingly took them up on it. Grateful for the offer, of course and to capture this moment in time. But, family pictures are never at the top of our "favorite things to do" list. ;) But, they turned out OK despite us getting ready quickly and running out the door on the day of the event. The girls are simply beautiful - inside and out - and I'm so happy that was captured!

So grateful for each of these awesome people that are mine!

November Days . . .

 

It's been the most beautiful long fall season in Kansas City. Leaves are still falling and many still in full beauty!

Bear likes to watch out the window while I work from my desk during the day . . .

Fall weather means some old comfort foods are back in rotation! Chicken Pot Pies, Steak Soup, White Chicken Chili, and all the pasta dishes!

Kate in P.E. this week - love that PE glow! Her favorite time of day - thanks to the BEST gym teacher ever Mrs. Buser - always creating new games and activities to do with them! She sent me this pix from class last week . . .

Molly got to witness the blessing of the new St. James tennis courts this week! 

SO excited they are finally here! Practices will all be held here next Fall - 

as well as ability to host several duals/matches!

A cozy Saturday morning in between volleyball and basketball seasons - 

so Kate made pancakes.

My dear friend Sarah Parrish got a new puppy this summer and we finally let the dogs meet - "Bear, this is Captain. Captain, this is Bear." They really liked each other!

Kate went to her friend Anna's birthday party . . . 

Bear got his "holiday groom" and is feeling very dapper.

Some might say he's downright giddy to show off his new trim.

I was asked to create the 6th grade student art project for the Cure' of Ars Auction -

Tiles decorated by the kids - made into serving trays . . . one for each homeroom classroom.

Before the epoxy finish! 

Lots of fall walks with friends this month . . .

St. James is in the football playoffs and we all went to the game Friday night against Blue Valley North - where they won BIG time!  Kate brought her friend Cece since Molly was sitting in the "student section" with all her friends . . .

It was COLD, but we lasted the entire game!

A beautiful rainy day rainbow . . .

School pictures!

Molly, 9th grade

Kate, 6th grade

Kate has been playing around on Mike's old guitar lately, when she's not on the piano . . . 

and I love seeing it around the house.

A Beautiful Day at Arrowhead!

Our Chiefs are on FIRE! After winning back to back Superbowls the last two years, and going into the game today they were 8-0, undefeated!  So, we bough tickets last minute to go see them play in person and cheer on our FAVORITE players!  It was a Noon game time and the weather was perfect! 60 degrees and sunny, with the wind blowing BBQ scents in the air!  

It was the perfect day to see our team play!

SO exciting! We arrived to our seats just as they were announcing the players!

We had lots of snacks, tried to find Taylor with our binoculars, and saw lots of great football - it was down to the final minutes of the game - and Denver was about to kick a field goal to win it - so we took a quick family pix for good luck! Maybe they will miss it?

The CHIEFS blocked the field goal and we WON!  Such an exciting ending to a great game!  The entire stadium was going NUTS and it was electric!

UNDEFEATED!  9-0!