McEowen Thanksgiving

These cousins have been having so much fun together!  They have been having dance parties in the basement several times a day.  They plug turn off the lights and turn up the music and our 3 have been teaching the young 3 all the choreographed dance songs like the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha-Cha Slide, etcetera.  Our girls both say their legs are now sore, but it was worth it!

Travis and Erin hosted the extended McEowen family for Thanksgiving lunch today in their home on the family farm.  When they sent the invitation, Travis wrote about how Grandma and Grandpa were constructing this house 60 years ago, then hosted many years of family gatherings there.  Grandma passed away 10 years ago, and many of the younger great grandkids don't have any memories of her in this house. But it was so sweet for some of us older ones to gather there today.  

Thank you, Travis and Erin!

McEowen Christmas

The girls spent the morning making big paper snowflakes.

Uncle Jeremy modeled one while the girls decided how and where to hang them.

Yesterday, Aunt Erin FaceTimed the girls while she was at her parents' church in Indy.  Someone had donated more than 1200 Carrie Underwood coats to the church, and Erin showed them to the girls so they could each pick one out.  Look at these cute cousins in their new coats! 

There was Christmas cookie baking and decorating today!

And playing with SnapChat filters...

Gram was in the kitchen!

And more dancing!

Gram made us a wonderful meal of pork roast, salad, red potatoes, green beans, and homemade pies!

Caeden had been pining for some of Gram's infamous triple berry pie yesterday, and she'd promised to make him one next summer if he helped pick the berries.  She didn't tell him she already had one made for today until it was time to serve it!  He was so happy!

Getting ready to take a grandkid picture, and this is how the twins decided to pose...

Love this crew!!!

Santa's helper, Gram, distributed presents.

In about 7 minutes flat, the gifts were all opened, and the room looked like it exploded.

Wrigley wanted a present too, I guess.  He is a good boy.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for always hosting us and blessing us!  This is my favorite day of the Thanksgiving weekend.  Love my family.

Thanksgiving

We left home just after 10am yesterday on the drive to Indiana.  This was about 2 hours in.

Always our trusty driver, heading through Wabash...

When we arrived, Sylvia baked about 4 dozen of her awesome mini pumpkin pies!  She has made them 4 times in the last month now.

Caeden and Annah plunking around on the piano and singing

Today, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Lopshire's for Thanksgiving lunch!

Grandma went all out with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken and noodles, homemade rolls, sweet potatoes, homemade dressing, and four pies!

It was so good!  And we were so stuffed!

But not too full for pie!

We played a few rounds of UNO.

It was just so good to be together!

From there, we carried on our Thanksgiving Evening tradition of desserts and games at Uncle Eric and Aunt Marti's house!

For the past few years, we have shared funny videos.  A couple years ago it was the Neature Walk videos. Last year it was Pronouncing Things Incorrectly videos.  This year: Scott Sterling.

We learned how to play Mexican Train Dominoes.

It was a lovely and happy Thanksgiving!  We are grateful for our family!

BNYS Concert

 As the wrestling meet was ending, I bolted out and drove over to IWU to watch Sylvia in her Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony concert!  Annah and Ryan had dropped her off for rehearsal, and Annah was prepared to record the concert for us if I didn't make it there.  But, I arrived just before it started.

Sylvia looks so beautiful with her cello.

The cello section warming up

One of the pieces, Adagio in Sol Minor, featured an organ soloist on the beautiful pipe organ of Presser Hall. The soloist rehearsed with the orchestra last week, then immediately was hospitalized and unable to play.  Mrs. Bryant called a friend who is the organist at her church, who happened to be an alumnus of IWU and had given her senior recital on the organ in Presser Hall, and she stepped in at the last minute to be the featured soloist!  She did a fabulous job, and it was such a beautiful piece!

VIDEO playlist:

1) March Militaire Francaise by Saint Saens (I didn't catch the beginning!)

2) Adagio in Sol Minor by Tomaso Albinoni

3) Slavonic Dance #8 by Antonin Dvorak

4) Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna by Franz von Suppe

5) "Les Toreadors" from Carmen Suite #1 by Georges Bizet

6) American Suite by Glenn Gould

Mrs. Bryant congratulating our girl

Sylvia's friend Isabella and her mom and sister came to see the concert!  It meant SO much to Sylvia to have them there supporting her!