On Friday afternoon/evening, we braved the cool temperatures and wind to support Abby's elementary school. We had NO idea what to expect, but the Fall Festival was TONS of fun.
Above, Abby is laughing at Tyler ... who
wishes he was a Roberts Red Fox (just a couple more years dude!). But the joke's on her, because WHO opts for a snow cone in November!?! Surprisingly, lots of people. Guess it wasn't a bad booth for Abby's class to run after all. And this was like looking for a needle in a haystack ... only better, because they were digging for CANDY!
Abby had a great time on the bouncers/slides ...
And Tyler was all about the mini-train (or "his train" as he called it, because it was the same one that was at the Advent end-of-the-year carnival last May) ...
We even braved the LONG line to have the kids' faces painted. Abby chose a butterfly ...
And Tyler asked for a dinosaur, but ended up with a dragon (he was fine with that). The funniest part was that he SEEMED to be falling asleep while he was having his face painted. He didn't, but he stayed VERY still ...
The finished products!
Abby made a marble paint creation ...
And, we met up with Lucy, who had been transformed into a cute little cat ...
Abby was delighted to have her Daddy join us for the festival ...
And I was glad Dennis agreed to work our family's shift at the snowcone booth!
The festival got TWO THUMBS UP from Abby! We can't wait until next year!
Then, we made an authentic Native American table runner (Again, with paper left over from Abby's class vests! First a Thankful Tree and now this... what will be next?), decorated with "Indian drawings" like the ones they learned about in school. 
Tyler was SO eager to help, and Abby was actually very good about giving him space on the runner as well, even though he copied everything she made. It's a compliment, right? The kids added some of there own touches as well: marbles around the votives and seat assignments. I think the end result turned out great ... 
Just hope the meal tastes as good. Pretty sure it will, since we took a shortcut and ordered most of it from Fresh Market!
This morning, on the way back from SouthWood, the turkey breast (that Dennis and I are in charge of cooking ... uh oh!) stole my seat in the car. What a turkey (the driver AND the one in the passenger's seat)! 
Abby was VERY excited to have Grammy and Nanny there ... and I guess she was happy I was there as well! But, I was actually at the school already this morning, doing my regular volunteering stint in the classroom. It was nice to end the morning, hanging out at Abby's table with my gals though! 
And, although it was only 10:30 (you know we call it brunch!), none of us had a problem eating a full plate of food. Abby has actually become a lover of mashed potatoes. What do you know, I may not have to make an alternate dinner for the kids for Thanksgiving this year! Yippee!
However, it only made enough for Abby's classmates (17) and one bag for Tyler's teacher. Sorry Ty! The idea is really cute though. Click on the photo to enlarge it and read the ingredients and their meanings. 
I found the idea online last year, then rediscovered it in my idea folder last week. We made up these cute cards and Abby signed each one, then wrote her friends' names on the other side. 
Abby was so cute passing them out at today's Thanksgiving feast. But don't even ask about the meltdown she had when she realized there wasn't a bag for her to take home! Five year olds ... sheesh!
There are fourteen kids in Tyler's class, so they were spread out at two tables. And, while other classes get all "Pilgrimed up" for the festivities, Ms. Cindy thinks the 2- and 3-year olds prefer to wear just a necklace. Tyler has a hard enough time eating in general, so this was a good call. 
And, how cute are the placemats they made with their hands? I swear ... there are three dozen child-size handprints (and some cat ones too!) on my back sliding door and front storm door here ... which irks me beyond belief, but I just LOVE crafts that use their handprints! I know someday I'll miss the messy doors and long for small handprints that make the house looked lived in! 
As you can see, they get pretty wild and crazy in there, and Dennis is asking when it becomes inappropriate for kids of different sexes to bathe together ... any suggestions? I just like it because it's a change of scenery for them, they're contained (!) and they entertain themselves, WHILE getting clean! What could be better than that? 
Tyler's turkey feather (far right bottom) made its way to the classroom bulletin board, and joined the feathers created by his classmates. I must say, this turkey looks about ready for the big day! In case you're wondering, Tyler is wearing an Indian headdress. They made them as a craft on Friday morning, and surprisingly, Tyler wore his all day long.
And the back view:
But he was all about the "smarshmallows" (that's what he calls them) that topped the sweet potatoes. Incidentally, the sweet potatoes were the only thing Abby didn't like ... she even ate stuffing (!), but they agreed on one thing: Chocolate Milk was the best thing about Thanksgiving lunch. Doubt that was on the menu back in the old times! 
Today, half the kids in Abby's class were Pilgrims and half were Indians. Next week, they will switch, so Abby will get to show off her Native American vest then. Wow! Those are some nice vests ... wish I knew who cut them all out?! Oh ... it was me! :) That's how I got the brown paper scraps for our Thankful Tree.
(From left to right are: Finn, Ricky, Christopher, Leighton, and the lone Pilgrim in this picture, our little Abby)
Tyler stayed home with me today. In just a bit, we're going to Roberts to join Abby in the cafeteria for the school-wide turkey lunch, then we're going to hit storytime at the library. I'll surely take the camera and grab a shot or two of Tyler hanging with the kindergartners at the lunch table!