Tammy's Feast, PC Lighting Ceremony, Decorating, Mizzou, and a Missing Tooth

It is Sunday night here in the McGinness household.  Kim and the kid's Thanksgiving Break is over with.  The time flew right by!  I have quite a few pictures to share with you.  The first few are of Tammy's feast last Wednesday afternoon.  Each Thanksgiving Tammy has everyone bring their favorite munchy.  Cade, Kim, and Cali all attended this event.  They all had a blast.  They said Cali was so excited the entire time.

                            

The night before Thanksgiving Platte City held its annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony.  The bank always opens up our doors and offers hot chocolate, coffee, and cookies to the people in attendance.  We were able to walk around more this year.  Cali was infatuated with Frosty the Snowman so we had to snap a pic.  We also saw Santa Claus, a live reindeer, ate cotton candy and a lot of other goodies, the kids completed the treasure hunt, etc.  It was a night full of fun. 

On Friday I worked at the bank while Kim and the kids went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to help them decorate for Christmas.  This year Cade drove the tractor by himself.  He was very proud of himself!  So was Grandpa!  Here are a few pics..........

On Saturday we attended the MU-KU "Border War" game at Arrowhead.  We had a group of friends that all attended together.  The day could not have been more perfect!  It was in the mid 60's and sunny for most of the day.  On top of that, the game was amazing.  Missouri had to fight from behind but in the end we came out on top with a game winning field goal being kicked with 4 seconds left in the game!  I was very proud to be a Tiger fan after that one!

When we picked Cade and Cali up after the game, we found out that Cade had lost a tooth while eating some popcorn.  The tooth fairy visited him overnight and left him a nice sum of $$!  He still has one more loose one almost ready to come out.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope this blog post finds everyone in wonderful Thanksgiving Spirit!  We are all settled in for the night after a wonderful day.  Our day started with lunch over at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We then headed over to Boca and Pop's for an afternoon meal and dessert.  It is always so good to see everyone.  We are very fortunate that both sides live right here in this area.  Cali never did take a nap so she is crashed out on the couch right now and Cade is in his fort watching a movie.  Kim and I are watching the Plaza Lighting Ceremony.  The Christmas Season has officially kicked off! 


This is definitely a day to give thanks.  I know that I will leave some things out, but here are a few things that I am thankful for:

• My loving wife and best friend Kim
• The calmness of Cade and the craziness of Cali
• Our family and friends
• Our continued health
• Both of our dogs (Breck and Kodi) and our wild black cat Lily
• The coziness of our home
• Christmas lights
• Cranberries on Thanksgiving day (canned are the only way to go)
• My job at the bank and Kim's job at school
• Chips and Salsa
• Pizza of any kind
• Breckenridge Colorado
• A cool, rainy day when we can just hang out inside and do nothing
• The speed of Missouri Tiger basketball
• Watching and listening to Mizzou Football games
• Friday night high school football here in Platte City
• Road trips in the good ol' family van
• Popcorn and chocolate covered raisins while watching a movie
• A good book
• Watching college football on a Saturday night
• Watching NFL games on a lazy Sunday (yes, I even enjoy watching the Chiefs)
• China Adoption
• Watching Cade play baseball and soccer
• Watching Cali Liu during gymnastics
• Mowing the yard on our riding mower while listening to my iPod
• Walks with the family and pups
• Playing catch with Cade in the back yard
• Silver Dollar City
• Quiktrip
• Coffee, coffee and more coffee
• Google (what would I do with out Google?)
• Cookie dough and warm Chocolate Chip cookies
• Playing Doctor with Cali
• Playing PS2 with Cade
• Sitting on the couch and sipping on some wine with Kim once the kiddos go to bed
• March Madness
• DVR controls on our cable system (man this saves me some major time)
• Watching Christmas Vacation, Elf, and the Polar Express leading up to Christmas

As I said, I know I left some things out, but the items listed above popped into my head as I sat here and typed this out.  Good night everyone, check back soon. 

VANCE AND KELLY'S WEDDING WEEKEND

Wow, what a crazy 3 days!  We took off on Friday morning for my cousin Vance and his fiance Kelly's wedding in St. Louis.  Cali was one of the flower girls so we had to be down there for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  The entire weekend could not have gone any better.  We had a great time at all of the activities on Friday evening.  On Saturday the kids were able to swim for a while before the big wedding.  Of course they love the whole "hotel atmosphere".  Cali and cousin Taylor looked like little princesses!  They both did their jobs well!  Cali danced and danced at the reception.  We could not entice Cade to get out on that dance floor though!  This morning we visited the famous Arch before heading home.  We all really enjoyed spending time under the Arch at the museum, etc.  It was a very nice drive home.  Now we are all tired and ready for bed.  Here are some pictures from the big weekend.  As I get some more from Boca and Pop, Marcie and Kyle, etc. I will post them.  Keep checking in!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!

Are we a bit excited for Christmas............I would say YES!  It is November 15th and we are pretty much done with our Christmas decorating.  I still have to hit the outside, but that can wait until after Thanksgiving.  I know that some people feel it is wrong to decorate for Christmas so early.  Many people feel that Thanksgiving is overlooked due to all of the Christmas "hype".  I don't know about everyone else out there, but our reason for decorating so early is pretty simple............the holiday season flies by way too quickly.  Once Thanksgiving does hit, Christmas is here and gone in the blink of an eye.  So why not put up our decorations now and have a month and a half to actually sit back and soak it all in?  We thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving.  It is one of the most meaningful holidays of the year for us.  But, it is pretty obvious, people just don't decorate for Thanksgiving like they do for Christmas.  You have to admit, the lights on the trees, and all of the colorful decorations are beautiful.  The kids have been so excited to decorate.  It is so much fun to watch them as they decorate the tree, pull their stockings out of the storage containers, find their favorite ornaments, etc.  The joy of Christmas fills their little eyes and hearts.  Here are some pics of our decorations...........enjoy: