A Hartley Thanksgiving

Since we didn't have guests in from LA and we weren't in LA this year, we got to take a roadtrip south to Papa Tom's and Grandma Sara's for the Hartley Thanksgiving, which was bitter-sweet this year. This was the first holiday as a family that we would be celebrating without my Uncle Scott. It had only been about 5 months since he tragically passed & the pain was still so raw for all of us, especially my Aunt Kelly & my cousins, Kailey and Ryann. I beyond thankful that Kelly and Kailey were there with us and that we could all surround them with love. 

& I say bitter sweet because we finally got to meet the newest family member, my great nephew, Bennett Thomas Siebert. Little Bennett was just about three weeks old & let me tell you, he was the sweetest baby & he smelled like heaven. 

We were pretty protective about who would get to hold him because there were so many there at one point but as people started to leave, Ashlyn asked if Logan wanted to hold him and you know he was jumping at the chance. He flew to the kitchen to wash his hands and quickly climbed up into Papa Tom's chair. I look at this picture and just think about what an amazing big brother he would have been & it kind of makes me sad we didn't give him that chance. Then again, he wouldn't have been the baby of the family and he certainly loves that role. 

& this year since mom and dad had the shed & we were all back, they invited the Earl side of the family too. Kaden and Logan were so stoked that they would get to see their Cruisin' Cousins again---Drew, Dane, Luke and Lily. Logan might have took a nice shot to the stomach from the oldest in a game of baseball but that didn't stop the fun. 

We tried to stay as long as possible but it was a quick day trip for us as we had special plans the following day to kick of the Christmas holiday season---Thanksgiving was soooo late this year. One thing still remains true, we are beyond lucky to have my mom and dad, they do so much for each one of us kids and so much in ensuring our extended families are able to get together. I grew up down the road from my cousins and although Kaden and Logan have that relationship with Colton and Madison, Brett, Leah and Blake---I want them to know their extended family too. It's becoming more and more of priority as I get older, because I am that next generation now. 

November Extras

Basketball started for Logan and I am assisting this year.

Career Day at school. Kaden a football/baseball player & Logan a baseball player.

Date night at Rockhill Road

One final raking at Grammy's before she sells the house.

Mizzou basketball at the Sprint Center

Frozen 2 with our friends

Happy 2 Year Adoption, Gus

Thanksgiving Twenty Nineteen

Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays and in the past few years it's even become more special as we are almost always with our dear framily, the Garretts. Last year we visited them in LA but sadly, things just didn't work out for our families this year. So we did the next best and only thing to do---we celebrated with our families who we don't always get to celebrate with. 

The boys started the day out with a cookie decorating kit--one of our neighbors puts these amazing kits together and they were so easy and fun to do.  & then we made Grandma Dorothy's Chocolate Brownie dessert--it's the best! 

It was finally time for the rest of the family to arrive and honestly, we just kept it simple--just like we like it. But this time with a new furry family member.

 And then the boys took turns decorating the Thanksgiving Gingerbread Turkey that we have had for maybe three or four yeas. Oops. But hey, it still did the job! 

I found cute little thankful place mats at Target again this year and gobbled them up. I love that Kaden put going to school. School hasn't always been something he enjoys but he's really starting to find his groove. & the "bed stuff" well, I asked about that, he means his bed, covers and his house because not everyone is so fortunate. He's so right.

As for Logan, pets of course made the list. He's our animal lover but so did the boat. But not in a braggy way, he said he loves being at the lake and on the water with his family and before we got the boat we weren't able to do that as much. Right, he is.

A Day with Friends

It had been a little while since the boys had been able to have some time with friends so I told them they could each invite a friend and we would take off and see a movie. They both agreed that they wanted to see Playing with Fire---the only problem, their friends weren't available at the same time SO we adjusted our plans. I would go with Logan and his buddy, Caden on Friday night and then I would take Kaden and his buddy, Cole on Saturday morning.

So first up was Logan and his buddy, Caden. They chose to eat dinner at Freddy's and then proceeded to laugh their heads off at the movie. & as we were leaving Freddy's we ran into Cole and his family. See you tomorrow, Cole.

Thankfully the movie was pretty cute and funny so seeing it twice wasn't the worst thing. On Saturday we picked up Kaden's buddy, Cole and headed back to the movies. We were seeing it in the Dine In theater so they each ordered MONSTROUS burgers & shakes but both eat pretty much everything. & the shakes, well, those were just delicious, I was lucky enough to sneak a few drinks of Kaden's while he was watching the movie. 

& while we were watching the movie, Becky and Colton texted and asked if we wanted to take Nellie to BarK with Finn. Kaden was all about it which surprised me as he isn't always keen on being around dogs he doesn't know but he LOVED running around there just as much as Nellie did.

& of course, Nellie, was the cutest pup there. She posed when asked and just walked around trying to figure everything out. She did much better in the "small" dog area than in the big dog area but girl will have to get used to it because once she hits over 25 pounds she has to say goodbye to her small dog friends. 

After a couple hours of playing and snacking on some yummy food we headed home. By the time we got home Caden had been dropped back off for a sleepover and Colton decided he wanted to stay too. It was in bed by 9:30 for them all---Caden had early basketball that next morning---and they were all up about 6:30 and back downstairs playing xBox.

Introducing Bennett Thomas Siebert

Our world just got a whole lot sweet. 

Bennett Thomas Siebert was born on November 6th, 2019

Baby Bennet gave me a new title, Great-Aunt -- yup, that's right, my nephew had a baby. Well, his wife, Ashlyn, had a baby. Making my sister a GRANDMA, my parents GREAT-GRAND Parents and my Papa Richard & Grandma Earl, GREAT, GREAT-Grand Parents. EEK.

And as old as this little guy makes me feel, he sure makes up for it in cuteness.

& Logan was super stoked because he was born on his HALF birthday & Logan stated that we will NEVER forget how old he is! True, True.

Eight & A Half

So he went ahead and turned eight and a half against my better wishes. 

& typically a half birthday would result in some sort of "half" birthday cake or cupcake or something but since I was traveling for work, Justin let him have his pick of dinner. He chose McDonald's..YUCK and so I am partly thankful that I wasn't there. 

& no candles this time around & no mom posed picture but Justin had it all covered. 8.5 french fries stuck in a vanilla cone and a smile that can't easily be forgotten. 

Happy {HALF} Birthday, Logan Beckett. 

That's a WRAP on Flag Football

Flag football was a first for the South family this fall. We figured that even though the boys were playing fall ball they could each give flag football a try since they were now showing interest in it. I don't think any of us knew we would love it as much as we did.

Did we win all of our games--no but they sure enjoyed learning a new sport & I see much more flag football in our future!