Updates to round out November

December is flying by and I wanted to get some updates done before the end of the year!  We left off just after Black Friday.  Since then, we've finished decorating....

We had a visit to BBY to see Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus!  It was a hectic but fun night!  Ella was able to chat for a few minutes with Santa and wrote him a note with her list of wishes

In typical Abbas fashion, we attempted to get a selfie with the reindeer but ended up with his butt instead of his face!  LOL!!!

We each decorated a sugar cookie to enjoy while we waited to visit with Santa.  I think we all know mine is the traditional white with red candy cane sprinkles....The other two were pretty creatively decorated!

It was a great way to start getting into the Holiday Spirit!

Some Pre and Post Thanksgiving Madness

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great time celebrating this year, but it was busy!  We stayed in the Cities and celebrated with the Abbas side of the family this year.  I made a delicious orange vanilla monkey bread courtesy of a recipe from The Pioneer Woman (you can find the recipe on a simple google search).  Here's mine:

YUM!

I also made delicious sweet potatoes and a yummy pumpkin dessert.

Thankful for these turkeys!

And some other updates on events....

Birthday Wrap-up:

I spent some of the afternoon working on a Christmas craft project and I also made a delicious no-bake dessert to enjoy!  I hope to finish the project today (need to add the lights!) and then we'll put it out front.  Here it is in the current state.  And yes, I realize that I can not follow a simple red-green-red-green pattern!  LOL!

We went to dinner at Chili's to celebrate!

 Too bad I didn't do my hair! Oh well - it's my birthday so I can do what I want, right?!

Ella and her besties participated in the Tiger Dance Team clinic last weekend. 

They had a great time!

Black Friday tradition continues!  Ella and I headed out to Ulta, but it was so quiet in the lots that we also went to Kohls and Target!  It was crazy how non-busy all the stores were - but, I'll take it!  We snagged a few great deals.

And then we fueled up with some deliciousness from Starbucks!

 And, lastly....

 Stay tuned for some epic Abbas selfies.  LOL!

Birthday Weekend

Hello!  It was my birthday weekend!  We didn't celebrate in the usual manner of Shakopee girls weekend with craft shows and shopping galore.  This year, I was here, they were there, and we just did our own things. I wasn't feeling awesome, so it was a bummer but so it goes! 

So to recap our weekend, there was a dance dress rehearsal on Saturday night for Ella's kick class.  Winter show is coming up!!

Ella and I got our crafting on Saturday afternoon.  We worked on some friendship bracelets and a cross stich.  Time out for a minute.  Do you remember how to make a friendship bracelet?  If you do, I applaud you.  I had to Google how to make one.  I couldn't figure it out.  Sad.  And then I wonder, what the heck did my mom do back in the day?  Did she remember all that stuff to teach us?  Jeez....

But, it came back quickly and it was so fun!

Sunday, Ella and I attended the high school musical Beauty and the Beast.  It was fantastic! 

The costumes were on point and the singing was amazing.

Obviously, we attempted a selfie. 

We are not looking at the correct spot....sigh

Our babysitter Sophie was a Fork in the musical!  She did awesome!  

The Be Our Guest scene was my favorite!!

This morning I woke to this on our bedroom door...

Ella was so excited to wish me happy birthday.  I love it!

Taking the day off (sort of) from work and hoping to bake something delicious!

So much for November....

Well, let's talk for a minute about the hastiness with which the retail industry has jumped into the Holiday season this year.  Here's what I drove by today:

So, I took this picture from my car, but do you see those white things on display in front of the Cub Foods store?  Snowmen.  LOADS of snowmen.  On November 3.  This is not okay people. Let's squeeze out a few more days of Fall and be thankful and eat turkey and stuffing.  Then, after that, say about 25 days from now, it's okay to put out the snowmen.  

To add to the insanity of the early Holiday sightings, I was looking for some music OnDemand today.  I really wanted to jam out to the new Taylor Swift song!  But, I found that there was a newly added channel called Holiday Hits. There are NINE Yule Log channels within the Holiday Hits.  I turned one on and sure enough, Jingle Bells in full swing on those channels.  I just think we should hold off a bit!!  

P.S. About 30 minutes after I tried out that Yule Log Holiday Hits channel, it started snowing in my backyard.  This was not Disney Magic.  This was real life.  I'm not ready for winter yet.  

Halloween Happenings!

Some memories of Halloween 2017....the year of the Emoji pumpkins!!

 Sara's pumpkin!

 Jay's pumpkin!

 And Ella's pumpkin!

 Hanging out on the front porch

Ella and I also carved a pumpkin this year.  This is the first time she's ever really done this activity since we usually just paint them.  She thought it was pretty cool :)

Ella's costume this year was a Shopkin - Poppy Popcorn to be exact!

Trick-or-treating was FREEZING this year.  I should have worn more layers and warmer mittens.  But, Ella wasn't cold at all and had a great time.  Hopefully next year we'll meet up with some friends so we can all hang out together!

Cheer Clinic 2017 plus early October happenings!

We're well into Fall already!  We've been to the apple orchard and picked the perfect pumpkins.  The trees are turning and filling the yard (and Ella's trampoline) with leaves!  MEA weekend is upon us, which is so crazy!  Last year we were at Disney World.  This year, we're just hanging at home.

Earlier this month, Ella and her BFFs attended the high school cheerleading clinic and then were able to perform at a high school football game a few weeks later.

In other news, Ella has gotten her first Vera Bradley purse.  And I kind of want the one she got! LOL!  It's small and perfect for her age-group, but it's also a perfect size to just store a cell phone and some cash or cards for a day of shopping. It's been added to my birthday/Christmas list!!  :)

Apple Orchard Selfies - HAHAHAHA

 Yep - nailed it

 This one will have to do!

We love to get the apple cider slushie and cider donuts and then go pose with the trees! 

LOL!

 I made a delicious apple crisp pie with our Haralson apples from the orchard

This pie is my all-time favorite pie!

We've been enjoying the great MN fall weather and have been taking fall walks to search out the spooky Halloween decorations and find cool leaves!

Ella loves to use the leaf blower. What a nerd!

Let's say it - Happy Fall Y'all!

And September's done!

Where did the time go?  Catching up on some happenings in September....

Just a bunch of randomness....

 This lovely note was left for my by Ella on a night that I had a meeting at school.  LOL!

We made the annual trek to Worthington for King Turkey Day weekend!  It was a fun time - the weather could have been better, but oh well!  Grandma Deb was in the parade this year, so we watched with Kaila, Lexi and aunt Pat.  These goofballs had a good time!

 Haircut!  Kaila was able to squeeze in a quick trim for Ms. Ella. 

Apparently her haircut was crooked. Bummer!

 Vikings Game Day!  Skol!

We had family pictures on the hottest day ever in September.  Jeez!  It was like 90 degrees with tons of humidity, but we were troopers and it was a fun time!  Pictures turned out great!