Clam Bake 2014, O'Connell Wedding & More!

Last Saturday was our annual visit to Chris & Val's place for their Clam Bake, and it was another really neat time. C&V had a baby boy in the year since we'd seen them, so that was a cool surprise. And our kids get so excited about it, seeing the magnet reminders on the fridge (we save them over the years) and they remember the food being so good and unique that it's just one of those things that our family really looks forward to.
The week before that was Kelly & Mauricio's wedding in Cincinnati, so while Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug kept the kids, Jenn and I went to southern Ohio for a fun weekend w/ the Mullen side of the family.
In between the fun, we do lots of the routine stuff. For instance, I took the little ones to the Beaver Marsh for a morning walk.
We've also reached the stage in our kids' lives where one of them cut another's hair with the craft/safety scissors. Lincoln used the scissors. Lydia held still. And there was a decent amount removed.
While we purchased our Sienna on our anniversary, we insisted that the miniv... er... Swagger Wagon was not our anniversary present. A combo anniversary gift/birthday present from Jenn to me was a Canon 70D, a major upgrade from our RebelXT, the original digital SLR. It was delivered just after the O'Connell wedding, so the first big event to test it out will be our Disney trip. WHICH IS COMING IN 2 WEEKS!!!

A Thanksgiving Coda

Yesterday, after the glorious finish to a punished season, we all went down to the Riverfront to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree and the fireworks show. This was the twins first experience with fireworks. Henry loved them, Lydia... let's just say that she's reminded us at least a dozen dozen times that, "Fireworks too loud!"The Hopwoods were there, along with Grandpa Dave and Auntie Haley... it's just been a fun family long-weekend these past few days. Haley went back to school and Dave went back to Columbus this morning, and while they probably won't miss the madness here, we'll miss them. It was great to play catch-up after the past few years with them being so far away. It is our understanding that Grandma Laura is chomping at the bit to get some grandkid time.And here's a flashback to Thanksgiving the other day...At the end of a fun long weekend, Lydia and Henry are put to bed, and Jenn is reading to Lincoln, and it's not yet 7:00pm. Life has caught up to the little ones, and an early bedtime proved to be necessary. Just in time for the Christmas Season.