ThanksChristmasGiving 2013

We had another fun Kelley Family ThanksChristmasGiving.  This is when all of Craig's side of the family gets together (the parents, 5 Kelley kids, spouses, grandkids, and 1 great grandchild) for Thanksgiving.  We also celebrate Christmas at the same time since we go our separate ways in December.

For the second year, we hosted the family event.  It was relaxing, low key, and just a nice evening spent together.  And now, I will share LOTS of pictures.

 Our hot cocoa/coffee bar

 Plenty of appetizers!  By the way, I had some bags of candy corn with peanuts.  I put them in a bowl with freshly popped kettle corn.  Tasty low-cal snack...okay, I made that up.  Not sure how many calories in it, but it was tasty!

Then, the family started to arrive.  Here comes Tim, dropping gifts along the way.

Warren (aka The Other Guy) surprises his nephew, Preston.

Paul dressed for the occasion (photo by Kelsey)

The turkey is ready to carve.

 Major kudos to Craig for being Chef Extraordinaire! He made the ham AND the turkey.

Kim is mashing the potatoes.  LOTS of them!

There was so much food!!!  I didn't even get a picture of all the desserts.

Some of the men retired to the couch after filling their tummies.

But, it was time for a big surprise.  The head of the Kelley family is celebrating his 80th birthday in February.  However, since not everyone will be together to celebrate it, we decided to just throw it in with our other holidays.  Only the kids knew about this surprise.  It went perfectly.

Kim is explaining the surprise to her parents.

Grandad (as he is now called) listening to the surprise.

I thought he would be a little emotional and sentimental.  However, when Kim said he would be turning 80 in February so we're celebrating now, he replied "What if I don't make it that long?"  We all cracked up!!!

I had seen on Pinterest where a man was celebrating a milestone birthday, so he had the same number of memories written about him from people throughout his life.  We decided to do that as well.  We contacted lots and lots of people that knew Grandad throughout the years and asked them to send in memories.  We didn't quite get 80 memories, but we got 70!!!  Close enough!  Kim handled all of that and presented the letters to him.

Grandad cherishes those letters!

 Next, we all pitched in and purchased lots of gift cards.  Kim is presenting him with the gift card tree.

Such a great idea, Kim!!!

Granna was surprised too.  She didn't know about any of this.

The cake.  There are 80 candles on this cake!!! (photo by Kelsey)

I think Kim is sneaking a taste. LOL

Paul very carefully carried the cake.

Love this reaction!

Can you believe they all stayed lit?

Here is a pic from the other side of the same pic.  Kelsey and I were snapping simultaneously. (photo by Kelsey)

Time to blow out the candles...all 80 of them!

Where's the fire extinguisher?

Halfway done.

Amazing!  He blew them all out!!!

Finally, it was time to open all these gifts!!!  

The great-grandbaby got to open his gifts first.  Preston even gave him some of his old toys.

Kaitlyn got Hello Kitty outfits, Our Generation doll carrier, American Girl gift card, a DIY purse, origami kit, and this bracelet craft kit.

Preston got a Hot Wheels track, RC Helicopters, a baseball blanket, and this paper airplane kit.

Next, the adults got to open their gifts.  Since there are so many of us, we drew names.  It was so funny to see all the presents.  Everyone was very creative and didn't just give each other a generic gift card.  Some of the gifts included Longhorns Jenga, Oriental Painting Set (or something like that), RC Helicopter (just like Preston's), photo coasters, guitar shaped spatula and pancake mix, a hollow book (Kris took the time to cut out the middle of the pages of a book for Faynetta's gift), a homemade crocheted purse, crossbow set (not a real one), a blender, a belgian waffle maker, and more.

Warren received this paint can full of $1 bills. Notice Preston's blanket?  He carries it everywhere.  Thanks Aunt Kim!!!

Craig received this:  a giant inflatable shark that swims through the air.  Click here to see exactly what it does.  He has not blown it up yet.  I'm kind of afraid I will wake up to it hovering over me in the middle of the night.

Paul and Faynetta brought these placemats for everyone to color.

You know what they say, the family that colors together...

(photo by Kelsey)

Granna worked on a puzzle.

Kim tickled the ivories while Hayley sang along.  

We spent time hanging out...

...observing...

...posing...

 (photo by Kelsey)

(photo by Kelsey) 

...and being complete hams!

 Nice photobomb, Kim!!!

And to think this couple...

...became this family!

Not pictured:  Doug Ream and Tyler Ream

Happy/Merry ThanksChristmasGiving from all of the Kelley's!

Another Baseball Season Finished

Preston just finished his 5th season of baseball.  Definitely an interesting season.  He went from All-Stars to a rec team (he tried out for Elite, but did not make it).  It was a regression for him and we had to work hard to make sure he stayed on top of his game.  Since some of the kids had not been playing as long or it was their first time, Preston didn't always get the tough practices that he needed.  However, Craig and I made sure we would fit in time to work on his hitting, throwing, etc. 

This season, Preston was on the Red Sox.  He was really happy when the Red Sox ended up winning the World Series too.

He was always focused during each practice and warm up.

He played infield quite a bit, which he loved.  He especially loved when he got an opponent out.

Opponent out at 1st base

Caught a grounder...

...and opponent out at 2nd base!

There were a couple games where Craig had to step in as pitcher.  It was a fantastic moment to see father/son on the field during a game.  Preston LOVED it!!!

Preston's shining moment came when he hit his first home run!!!  We were so amazed and proud of him.  We could also see his self-esteem boosted.  He wasn't too happy on his team at first because he wanted to play harder.  He struggled with throwing the ball to a teammate because they weren't paying attention (even though we told him to throw it anyways).  But when he hit this home run, something changed and that spark came back.  It was amazing to see.

All too soon, it seemed as though the season was over.  We are such a baseball family and love every minute of it.  Even Kaitlyn got to where she would take her favorite outdoor chair and sit in her favorite spot.  

Preston had a blast at his end of season party.  They spent time driving the power wheels,

eating pizza, and baseball cookies.

The coach wanted to make sure each player went home with an award.  The recipient of the Home Run Hitter Award for hitting 4 home runs this season goes to...

...Preston Kelley!!!!

It ended up being a great season and we can't wait for the Spring.

Fall Happenings

Lots of fall activities for the Kelley family.  It was a week full of festivities, fun, and memories.

Saturday

Our church had a Trunk or Treat this year.  Craig had to work so the kids, aka Dorothy and Hulk,  and I volunteered as greeters.  Preston was all smiles.

Once our duties were finished, we walked around the event.  Preston takes any chance he can to get in a fire truck.

They played lots of games.

The hay ride is a must.

The Chick-Fil-A cow made an appearance.

Hulk found a friend.

We were at the Trunk or Treat for about 2 1/2 hours.  The kids loved it, saw lots of familiar faces and some new ones too.  But then, we had to rush home to attend our neighborhood's 1st Annual Fall Festival.

The kids wanted their faces painted with Preston's jersey number.  He had a game that night.

They played some more games.

It was a smaller event and was okay for the first time.  We rushed home again to eat dinner (I had stew in the crock pot-yum!) and get ready for Preston's baseball game.

We arrived 30 minutes before the game to warm up, but then were told to stay in our cars due to an approaching storm.  The officials were waiting to see if it was going to pass over us.  However, after about 45 minutes of waiting, the game was cancelled due to all the lightning.  On our drive home, it started to downpour, so it was a good call!

Tuesday

October flew by and before we knew it, we were running out of time to go to our favorite pumpkin patch.  :(  But, I found a little farm very close to my house that had a mini pumpkin patch.  That was just going to have to do.

There were lots of chickens...

...and some bunnies.

Kaitlyn and Preston always manage to find the wooden signs to pose with them.

This was so perfect!

We found a big pumpkin and some mini pumpkins, which happened to be 50% off, and headed home with our purchases.

Wednesday

Finally, time to carve our pumpkin.  We had looked at some templates, but opted for the free hand approach instead.

And done!  Just in time for Halloween.

Thursday-Halloween!!!

This year was the first time Kaitlyn and Preston went Trick or Treating...ever!  We usually attend our church's Fall Fest, but since it wasn't actually on Halloween this year, we were able to go door to door.  

I had to explain to the kids what to say, what to do, etc.  They simply didn't know!  However, I was so excited for them.  I think it's something every child should experience at least once.

We went to the first house with the porch light on (again, I had to explain the whole light thing), but nobody was home!  Kaitlyn and Preston didn't know what to do.

We went to the second house, again no answer.  We went to the third house and finally someone came to the door.  I guess some people just forgot to turn their porch light off.

Kaitlyn was a little apprehensive at first and Preston was eagerly running up to each door.  After a few houses giving out fistfuls of candy, Kaitlyn was running too.  We had so much fun trick or treating, running into neighbors and friends, checking out all the costumes.  Preston's costume even scared a couple little kids!  By the time we were done, their bags were full of candy and we were all wore out.  And we hadn't even had dinner yet!  But I know the kids are already looking forward to next year.  

Hope your Halloween was as fun and memorable as ours!!

A Quick Update

I realized it's been almost two months since my last post about our family.  Two months!!!  It's not because everything has been boring and nothing exciting has been happening.  It's because we've been going non-stop.  Our lives have been crazy.  I would say we're only busy during school months but that's not true at all.  We have full schedules all year long.

Preston and Kaitlyn brought home their first report card recently (actually, our school district has online report cards, so we just viewed them on the computer) and they both received straight A's in all of their subjects.  We are so proud of them!  They have great teachers and have been learning so much already.

Craig and I are staying super busy with our jobs.  Craig usually works 6 days a week, about 80 hours a week.  It's been tough for him.  I stay busy with my jobs and love that I get to teach Kindergarten music this year.  They are so much fun and I get to teach them so many more cool things about music.  I also still write for another blog, Thirty-One:10, and they always have great posts.

Our average week consists of church, work, school, art club, running club, baseball practice, and an after school music program for Kaitlyn.  With Craig working so much, my wife/parent duties have doubled. We all plop into bed exhausted at the end of the day, only to be waken up too soon by our alarm clocks the next morning.

Now with all that is going on, would I change anything?  Absolutely not (except Craig's work schedule).  We enjoy staying busy, albeit it's nice to have a vacation or even day off now and then.  However, we want our kids to feel free to try out new things with after school activities as long as it doesn't interfere with their grades or church.

So, to family and friends that keep up with our lives via this blog, please know we are well, just BUSY!!!  And with the holidays approaching, we will be even busier, but I'll try my best to blog all about it.  :)