Thanksgiving Kids

We went up to South Bend for Thanksgiving with our families, and unfortunately we only have kid pictures to show for it. They're cute pictures, but please don't be upset if you were planning to see Jill and I's smiling faces. I know you're disappointed. Get over it.

Here's Madelyn and her cousin RJ at my Mom and Dad's house in Elkhart. They were getting ready to go outside and play.
Here's Maddie saying goodbye to cousin Caitlyn, Uncle Randy, and Aunt Meredithe.
Maddie and cousin Rachel, hamming it up at Mammaw's house.

Downtown Indy on Friday Night

Every year the city puts Christmas lights on the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in the circle, creating the "World's Largest Christmas Tree". Every year we have to go check it out. The best part about that is that there is the happiest place in Indianapolis, on Market Street just outside the circle - Giorgio's Pizza.

Madelyn normally is a big fan of the sausage pizza, but tonight she was more interested in the cheese pizza. She enjoyed this piece. I love this place, but every time we go I have to laugh that our favorite New York style pizza is in Indianapolis, but in the Big Apple we went to a Sbarro. Go figure, right?

After the pizza we went over to the circle to check out the decorations. Maddie was excited to see all the horses with the carriages. I think my girls would like a carriage ride...
Jill and Madelyn playing at the monument.
At the South Bend Chocolate Company. South Bend Chocolate in Indianapolis. We toured their factory last winter up north. Yum. Maddie likes the whipped cream.

Halloween, Weddings, and Other Stuff

Back in September we were up in Granger visiting our peeps, and Maddie had the chance to ride in a real Cadillac with her cousin Kayla. It was hoodie weather. I like the look on their faces in this picture. Maddie is thinking "Help!", and Kayla is thinking "Did anyone see me back into Mom's truck?"

Alright, take it easy. She got in there on her own. This is no way reflects our parenting skills (or lack thereof). Chase is a social butterfly, he just was having company at his house. Now when we say "Get in your crate" we have to make sure the kid doesn't beat him to the punch.
Jill and Madelyn on Halloween, with our friend Lisa and her nephew Brayden (and Toby the Dog). It's a bit hard to tell, but Maddie was a ladybug. One lady actually thought she was Brayden's "little brother". Is there really a poor boy somewhere whose parents put him in a ladybug costume? I guess there are boy ladybugs, but c'mon... Two Saturdays ago we went up to South Bend for Brian and Sara's wedding. This picture is not from that one, because our camera died after 10 minutes, so it will have to live on in our memories :). Last weekend we went over to St. Louis (Troy, MO actually) for Jay and Kendra's wedding. I was a groomsman, so we took Friday off and stayed over there for the weekend. We had a good time, but I think Maddie had the most fun dancing it up on the floor. Don't ask about the pink vest and tie.