Wow-Has it been two weeks already? The Holiday season is fast upon us!  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We started out our Turkey day with a mini Turkey Trot in our neighborhood. Allison was up in front running with most of the high school boys track team that live in our neighborhood. Scott and I walked behind with Cookie. It was just such a nice day and a great way to start the holiday weekend. Especially since our neighborhood collected food for the local homeless shelter. And we did not have to prepare the big meal as our neighbors once again invited us to their house. Tom did cook an extra turkey on the grill which came in handy for leftover Seitz casserole that weekend. We even made an extra pan for the neighbors. So we did do a little bit of cooking! After our turkey dinner, we enjoyed the football game and called it a day. Both Allison and I had to work on Friday. Tom got brave and ventured out to the early shopping hours, starting at midnight at Best Buy. I don't think he found anything too interesting.  He also went out early Friday morning. He did manage to get us a very nice artificial tree though. We decided to opt out of the live tree this year since we are going to spend Christmas in Michigan. So we are slowly putting away the Turkey decorations and putting up the Christmas decorations. I also managed to get out and do a little shopping on my own-birthday returns and Christmas shopping.

Meanwhile, Scott couldn't wait to celebrate his birthday so he could get started on the new video games he had on his wish list.  So Friday night when Allison and I got home from work we took him out to dinner and then he opened up his gifts. Minus the cake. We decided to save that for his actual Birthday on Tuesday. He and Tom then spent the weekend putting up Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Tom skipped the lights on the roof line since we were not going to be home as much to enjoy them. A random neighbor stopped Allison in the driveway to report that she brings her family by our house every Christmas to enjoy our lights and she wanted to know what was going on. Why did we only have half the lights up this year! Tom said he would be happy to hand her the ladder! I told Tom he needs to keep up with the neighbor's expectations when it comes to decorating.

Allison and I got into the Christmas spirit early by singing with the GS choir at the Festival of the Christmas Trees-a hospital fund raiser for kids. We enjoy that performance especially since  we were on the smaller stage and just had fun singing Holiday songs for an hour. Afterwards Allison and I walked around looking at all the decorated trees and wreaths as well as the gingerbread houses. We also did some shopping at the booths. We had to get Allison to work though that evening, so it was a quick visit.

We also tried to catch some of the new movies that were released over Thanksgiving weekend. Allison and I enjoyed the Twilight movie, and I took Tom and Scott and our neighbors to the Lincoln movie. I wanted the family to see it before we attend a special event in December(more later). Allison had to work though, so she missed it. Tom did not want to see the movie, but ended up enjoying it in spite of himself. He also wanted to catch Skyfall-still on our To Do list. But 2 out of 3 of the top selling movies for the weekend isn't bad!

When Scott's actual Birthday rolled around, we celebrated with awesome cupcakes from Sam's Club. Tom is not a huge dessert guy, but he absolutely fell in love with these cupcakes. So did the rest of the family. I guess because they were more cake than frosting, like these new designer cupcakes are from the bakeries. And the price was good. About a buck a cupcake. They were so good, I picked up two more dozen to take in to work for our volunteer's birthday and for a fellow co worker. Work people loved them too. I actually had staff members following me around campus begging for cupcakes.

Good thing I was able to get to the gym on Friday after all these birthday and holiday desserts! I also survived my yearly physical, although they sent me for a CAT scan since I am still having problems with this sinus stuff.

On Friday night I joined Allison for her End of the Season Field Hockey party. Allison already earned her Varsity letter last year, but we were amazed to hear that the coach picked Allison as The Player of the Year. She chose Allison for her improvement in her goalie skills as well as her dedication to the team and hard work. So she got a nice trophy and I think the news blew the other girls away! The goalie coach wants Allison to try out for a college Field Hockey team, but that certainly is a big commitment.

This weekend the Holiday festivities continued as Allison and I participated in a Christmas Parade with the GS choir on Saturday. On Sunday we sang for an hour at the B and O RAilroad museum. Allison and I then enjoyed our train ride with Santa. I also had to squeeze in our family Christmas photo on Sunday morning. 

On Saturday Allison and I stopped off to pick up a gift card at a chinese restaurant for one of my coworkers. We decided to have lunch and afterwards we walked out to a radio station promotion for the RAvens. WE met McPhee, one of the players and got free autographs, Raven tshirts, lottery scratch off tickets and gift cards just for saying Hi!

The kids of course have also been busy with school. Allison just finished her first semester and is off running on the second semester. Scott's school runs a little later and he finished his first semester at Thanksgiving.  So lots of papers and tests to study for, and Allison had to give a power point presentation on her research project to a class at another high school. We also sent off another college application over Thanksgiving weekend.

Scott's school choir entertained the families at BArnes and Noble on Monday evening with a holiday concert. The school has a fund raiser event at the bookstore every year as well as a restaurant fund raiser so we all ate out at Pizzeria Uno afterwards. Even less cooking for me!

So Happy Birthday to Scott-he turned the big 13!  And a Special Happy Birthday to Sheila Bozyk too! (she is not 13).

Included are photos from the Christmas tree festival where Allison and I sang with the GS choir. I put in my favorite trees, including the Zombie tree and the Everything Balmore tree from my workplace, like Big Hair Hon, Natty Boh beer and Crabs, (that tree won a ribbon), gingerbread row houses in Baltimore with our Domino Sugar factory in the harbor, the Baltimore and Ohio RAilroad museum where Allison and I sang,  as well as Allison's Field Hockey award given to her by the coach and end of the season party. And Turkey Trot with Cookie in her pumpkin costume(not just for Halloween!). And you never know who or what is going to be in our Christmas parade! This year it was a Santa Tortoise!