Thanksgiving Pictures!

We went to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving this year and it was (by far) the best Thanksgiving EVER.  I wish everybody could have the experience of going to my Aunt and Uncle's farm. There are cute kids everywhere. Good food. Lots of games. Lots of laughter...we even had a bonfire and took family photos this year!  Here are some highlights (although, my favorite moments involve sitting around in our pajamas playing cards - which nobody wants to see). 

My mom and her sister, Kay...who make each other cry, they laugh so hard:

My uncle, Cary...who makes furniture out of cedar, including this ENORMOUS table (perfect for cards and Catan). Here he is installing a lazy susan: 

Getting help from Bobby and Troy:

Here we all are (we take up two rooms)!!  At the very back of the room, (starting at 12:00), it's me, Brandon, Sarah, Ryan (we have two of them!), Troy, Whitney and Delaney. Then at the table in the front (starting at 12:00) is my cousin Ryan, my grandma, Aunt Kay, Uncle Cary, Aunt Deb (Cary's sister), Uncle Tom (married to Deb), my mom, my dad, and Bobby (Shannon was taking the picture). Not Pictured are the rest of the kids, (Grant, Emily, Roy, Dale, and Anneliese) who must have been sitting on barstools in the kitchen (or taking naps): 

We played a lot of "beauty shop" over the weekend:

Emily in braids (possibly for the first time?):

Delaney in Heidi buns (not her first time): 

Delaney, focused really hard on a football game:

Anneliese, chillin' by the couch:

Aunt Becky and Emily:

A cute little moment for me and my hubby:

Delaney was insisting on hugging and kissing Anneliese (who was sort of in to it for the first 20 kisses, then she felt a little bit smothered and started to cry):

Big helper, Dale (dressed as a pirate) - getting the chairs ready for the family pictures:

Pirate Dale, posing so Shannon could check her sunlight:

The Lockwood Family (Shannon, Bobby, Grant, Emily and Anneliese - who decided she might not want Emily in the picture after all?):
Cute, cute, cute...

Here are all of Kay's grandchildren...Roy (barely peeking through the crowd), Anneliese, Grant (being a big brother), Emily, and Dale:

Not all sisters are best friends:

Here are all of the "great-grandchildren" (plus Cheeto, the cat):

Cuteness in pig-tails, sitting patiently:

Sarah and Delaney (who was trying to "wipe" everyone with this kleenex):

My cousin Ryan, his wife Becky, and their two boys, Roy and Dale (who was not in the mood for family photos):

Apparently, if you ask a boy to show you his muscles, you get a significant mood change:

Troy, practicing his signature pose:

Troy, Whitney (my sister) and Delaney (who is very ticklish):

The Claycamp Family:

The Westhoffs:

Brandon and Sarah (who are getting married in May - check out the ring!): 

Emily (who declared "I'm a bird" and proceeded to build herself a nest):

Bobby and Anneliese (killing time between pictures):

Bobby and Anneliese + Cary and Ryan in the background:

Time for one, big, group photo (we're not quite ready):

Here we are (I finally counted and there are 21 of us!): 

The Lucas Family:

The Grant Family:

Ryan and Cary - who spontaneously wrestle sometimes:

Four generations of Lallier women:

I told Delaney that if she was really still for her pictures, she could get some lipstick! (this was not Troy's favorite idea, but that's what Aunts are for, right?):

Grandma, Mom, Whitney, and Delaney (four generations):

The hands:

Who could resist this little face?:

Getting ready for the bonfire: 

The little ones were in charge of the little logs:

"cheeeeeeeeeese":

Dale:

Brandon, helping Dale cook his dinner:

Roy:

Cary and Anneliese:

Delaney, covered in Dorito cheese (another Aunt Ashley indulgence):

Gorgeous sunset: 
Perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Actually, the perfect ending was KU beating MU in the Border Showdown!!  Best game EVER!!!  Ryan and I drove home (with the dogs) on Saturday night. I woke up on Sunday morning to the smell of fresh coffee, a fire in the fireplace, and falling snow!  It was perfect!  I spent the day, putting up our Christmas tree and enjoying all of the blessings in my life. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

National Championship Banner!!!

Ryan and I went to the KU game last Tuesday for the unveiling of the 2008 National Championship Banner. The video was amazing. I'm still trying to find it on YouTube because I didn't get the whole thing. Nothing gets me more ramped up than loud music, clips of your team winning the National Championship and 10,000 screaming fans. Seriously...I get chills watching stuff like that. Here are the still photos I took (and finally, a YouTube video that loaded correctly!):


















This isn't my video, but it's the best one I could find. If you search YouTube for "KU National Championship Banner" it will bring up a couple of options. Some close up, some far away, some super-shakey, some really loud, some not loud enough...I've been watching them all morning. I even cried a little. CHILLS, I tell you! CHILLS!!!! (or is that my drafty office?)

The Nelson-Atkins Museum

I can't believe how behind I am on this blog...it's almost like my life has been really busy, except that it hasn't and I don't have any excuses.

My group staff went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum last Friday where we had lunch at Rozelle Court, toured the contemporary art exhibit, saw the new Bloch Building (which is gorgeous) and had a guided tour of a new exhibit (only showing in two cities) called "Art in the Age of Steam". It's about trains and the way they changed our world...kind of like the internet - everybody was suddenly connected. The exhibit had four galleries. The first focused on architecture and the conscious decision to design bridges and train tunnels to mimic classic architecture (so they would blend in). The second was about the social impact of trains and train stations - first class passengers interacting with third class passengers; families saying good-bye in public train stations, never to see their loved ones again). The third gallery was about the landscape and the way farms, mountain ranges, and cities began to change - trains connected cities but also split them in half. The fourth gallery was a mixture of photography, modern art and surrealism around trains and tunnels. A lot of abstract art and sexual references. The exhibit was really cool, but I wasn't allowed to take any pictures.

Here are the pictures I did take:

Sunday, November 9

Not the way I'd typically start a family brunch, but Ryan and I went in for an IUI this morning. It just happened to fall on the same weekend as his birthday celebration, so most of our family and friends knew we were going in. We got up at 7:30 and we were back before anybody was really awake. It went really well. We'll find out on Nov. 24th if it worked.

Bev, Wayne, Stu and Roady all stayed the weekend at our house. It was so much fun. Like a whole weekend of Christmas mornings. At 9:30, my mom came over with an arsenal of egg casseroles, coffee, banana bread and sticky buns. It was awesome. We invited my whole family and Ryan's whole family, plus a bunch of Ryan's friends. It was a good way to spend some more time together before I had to take everybody to the airport. Shannon took pictures (which I should mention, she took ALL of the pictures of Saturday night's party as well. It's awesome because she takes awesome pictures, but it sucks because she's never in them. But I swear she was there! Both times!) and the entire family played Wii. It was great. We even convinced Papa to do some bowling! It was like a Wii commercial...every generation was playing the same game.

At 3:30, I drove Stu and Ryan's parents to the airport so Ryan could stay home and play Mario Kart with his buddies. (technically, it was still Ryan's birthday weekend so Ryan was getting whatever Ryan wanted - besides, the Prius wouldn't hold all 5 of us, plus luggage.) I nearly fell asleep on the way home. I had lost my voice and I was hitting a wall. I could tell I was going to crash the minute I got home. I fell asleep in a chair while the guys played Mario Kart and watched the Chiefs lose (again). It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend.