Thanksgiving in Russellville

The whole Brown family collected in Russellville this year for Thanksgiving.  Elizabeth was an angel for the entire ten-hour car ride on Wednesday.  She watched at least eight movies during the course of the trip.  The DVD player in my car is worth its weight in gold.

We had a delicious meal on Thursday.  On Friday, John and I went to Fayetteville for the LSU/Arkansas game.  Hugh and Sarah showed us around the campus on what turned out to be a very chilly, windy day.  I knew I couldn't make it through the game without gloves but my options were limited to the bookstore's selection.

Elizabeth had a great time playing with her cousins and spending the night at G. Jill and P.C.'s house. She also enjoyed dressing up like a banana and an alien/skeleton (thanks to Uncle Mike for the dress up clothes) and performing "Call Me Maybe" for the whole group with her microphone (no pictures or video of that - too bad!).

Celebrating Martha and John's birthdays

Sweet cousins

Silly cousins

Riding with Uncle Hugh

Elizabeth's Trick

One morning last week, as we were getting ready to head out the door for school/work, Elizabeth said, "Wait!  Do you want to see my trick?"  We thought she was stalling, but then she proceeded with this:

She loves to show everyone her trick. We're assuming she learned this at school, but she will not reveal her source.

Although John's actual birthday is Tuesday, we celebrated today since we will be busy on Tuesday getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving.  We opened presents, went out to lunch, and Elizabeth and I baked a cake.  Then we went over to Atlantic Station to do a little Christmas shopping.  John and Elizabeth visited Santa #2 and rode the train while I shopped.  Nice little Sunday!

Christmas in November

In Atlanta, if you want your child to see Santa at Phipps Plaza (generally regarded as the "best" Santa), you need to make an appointment.  Actually, you have to register to receive an email that will let you make an appointment.  If this thought does not occur to you in, say, August, you will be stuck with an appointment on election night.  In the end, the experience was worth all of the logistical hassles.  The mall and photographer have the process down to a science.  Elizabeth was so excited to see Santa and patiently waited in line for her turn.  While she was in line, she worked on her wish list to give to Santa (John acted as scribe).  She did a great job sitting on Santa's lap, reading her wish list with him, and smiling for the photo.  The photographer only had to take one photo, and it is adorable!  Keep an eye on your mailboxes in December for the final product.

Today Elizabeth and I decided to attempt to make cake pops.  I went to the craft store and had all of the supplies ready.  As with most of my baking projects, we had some problems (the candy coating was too thick) and threw out a batch.  The second round turned out better.  Elizabeth was the official Sprinkle Pourer.

Trick-or-Treat!

Elizabeth was most excited for Halloween this year.  We had a beautiful fall night for trick-or-treating.  Elizabeth joined a group of older kids from our neighborhood and worked hard to keep up with them as they went door-to-door in the neighborhood.  She was usually running one house behind them, which was kind of hilarious to watch.  We had some high intensity trick-or-treating for about 45 minutes, at which point Elizabeth announced that she was finished and wanted to go home to look at all of her treats.  I actually think she had the most fun at home passing out candy to the kids who came to our door.  She was very stingy with the candy and would only allow one piece per person.