Happy Thanksgiving

A few days before Thanksgiving, Uncle Carly broke his pelvis and his arm and moved into a Medical Care Facility.  I had to work Thanksgiving day and wouldn't be around to "host".  Solution to the problem was a no-brainer: we'd have our Thanksgiving at the nursing home!  If Carly couldn't come to us like he normally did, we'd come to him.  The nursing home was great - set up a private conference room for us, supplied plates, silverware.  We brought the food. Fifteen of us Ahos gave thanks for our blessings.   Afterwards the boys gave an impromptu concert to the residents as they were getting ready for their own dinner.  The lighting in nursing homes is not the greatest, and I can't say that the pictures turned out (at all!) but day itself was really, really nice. 

Marine Corps Ball

Since I know my parents oh so well, I am positive that these pictures will never be printed out, never be put in a photo album, and will languish for all eternity on my dad's SD card in his camera.  That's just how they roll.  I will not let such a travesty to occur, because I think they look FABULOUS, and the world ought to know it.  I will take it upon my self to document here their fabulousity for posterity.

Mom and Dad attended the Marine Corps Ball last night with Col. and Mrs. Bartch, and reportedly had a stunning time, staying up to the unheard of hour of 11 pm.  Way to go, Cinderella and Prince Charming!! 

 

They Were Supposed To Be Sleeping

I put them in their own beds, and when I went to check on them, this is what I found.  I told them I didn't care where they slept, as long as they didn't bug me.  When Quinn asked me to zip his all the way up, I had to balk, though.  He thought I was being thoroughly unreasonable, refusing to zip him in. 

Secretly glad that they are still small enough to sleep in luggage.

The Rest of Grandma's Visit

Having Grandma around is always a treat.  Life is just funner when she's here!!  After a day of shopping in the bustling metropolis that is Houghton, MI (read Walmart and a few consignment shops), Grandma surprised the kids with an evening at a local motel.  We swam, ate pizza, and watched movies to our heart's content - a mini vacation, despite the fact that the kids still had to get up and go to school in the morning.  Grandma's special treat to Mommy was doing FIFTEEN LOADS OF LAUNDRY before she left.  I can't say we're completely "caught up", because laundry is in a constant state of generation in these parts, and "caught up" is a scientific impossibility, but I no longer have a mountain in my basement and that feels GOOD.  Thank you so much!!  I am anxiously awaiting Grandma and Grandpa's retirement, so we can have them here for more the 4 days at a time....

Belated Osh Kosh Entry

Remember way back in July, when Dad and Reagan made a special Father/Daughter trip to Airventure in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin?  Well, apparently, Reagan made the national media there.  Her picture was posted on the Rans (airplane company) website as a "young pilot-to-be" ;).  I don't doubt it, given how often she talks about airplanes. 

Here she is.... our future pilot.

Princess and the Pea Pajama Tea Party

 

Her Royal Highness Reagan Anne turned 4.  We've been doing alot of mock royalty around these parts - are we sure we're AMERICANS???  Maybe we should be doing "Madame President" parties instead???  But a 3-piece suit just isn't as cute as a tutu and lace crown.  We'll stick with monarchies, I guess.  Don't overthink it.

 

 

The cake.  With pink and green candles.  We went through 6 different candles by party time, because every time I covered the cake, the candles snapped.  I could have taken the candles out to cover the cake.  I realized that about 10 minutes before party time.  DUH.

 

The biggest and best surprise for this birthday... GRANDMA BETTY!  She flew in and arrived in the middle of the night.  When the kids woke up, there she was, sleeping in the guest bed.  Quinn did a double take and said "What the heck?  That's not right!"  It is  right, Mr. Quinn.  Very right, indeed!! 

Grandma and Dad made this princess doll bed for Reagan.  Isn't it cute?  Dad made the hardware, Grandma made the software.

 I found an awesome deal on  teddy bears, so each place setting had a bear, a tutu, and a starched lace  crown just waiting for a princess-to-be.

 

Reagan has been begging, for approximately the last 6 months, to get  pink flowers for her birthday party.  So, FINALLY, here they are.

 

The Shrine of St. Reagan.  I had no idea I had this many photobooks of the girl until I set them all up side by side.  She's well-documented.

 

The food table was Reagan's bed, stacked with 5 mattresses.  A tad precarious, but it held!!  The menu included Canopy Canapes, Slumbering Sandwiches, Mattress Macarons, Four-Poster Pirouettes, Fairy-Tale Fruit, Sweet Pea Cake Pops, and Candy Peas.  If anyone left with low blood sugar, it was their own fault.

 

A friend of mine made these macaroons.  THEY WERE AWESOME.  Not only do they look adorable, they taste amazing!  Their texture is unlike anything I've had before; crunchy, chewy, airy.  Very cool. Very cool.

 

 

We put many "Peas" in the cake, so the princess was SURE not to miss them.

 

 The princesses at tea.

 

Grandma and Reagan sharing a quiet moment reading her new "Pinkalicious" book.

 

 

 

Reagan and the Queen Mums

 

Reading the story

 

Tea Time!

 

 

Making a Wish

 

Prepatory Inhale with Tongue Protrusion

 

And... we have a blow out!

 







Celebrating the Birthday At School

Since the boys have a summer birthday, we don't get the opportunity to celebrate at school (at least, nowhere NEAR their actual birthday).  This was Reagan's first school celebration, and she was pretty dang excited about it.    Four years old, here we come!

Rob and the Dignitary

Rob gave a tour of a potential work site to Carl Levin, one of Michigan's senators.  Carl posted a picture of the event on his website!  Does this mean Rob's a Democrat now?  Hmmmmm.....

"Carl tours the site of a mitigation project at the Stamp Sands proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the sands f rom eroding down the shoreline and impacting fish habitat along a significant fishery. Pictured with Carl are Rob Aho of Natural Resources Conservation Service and Dave Bowman of the Army Corps. October 2012. Photo courtesy of Gina Nicholas."