Family

We are so thankful for our family and the time we get to spend with them. We don't get nearly as much time as we would like, so we are thankful for the moments together.

Owen hanging out with Uncle Brett.

Maisie being a little turkey!
Madison being silly...love those curls girl!

Logan with Pudge the Puppy. Now he wants a dog!

Two little turkeys...Connor and Logan.

Precious moments with Grandma.

Ethan thought he could escape my camera...he was wrong!

Emma and Uncle Nathan in a friendly game of Wii.

The next generation of McElwains.

Nothing Much Going On

There hasn't been too much going on this past week. I can't believe we have two more days of school and then it is Thanksgiving break! I am looking so forward to it!

This was a big week for the kids and awards. All three of them passed swimming lessons and moved on to the next level. That was exciting. Owen and Emma both received awards at school for perfect attendance...no playing hookey with mommy in school! Emma also received an award for academic achievement (equivalent to honor roll), so we were very proud of her. I was able to sneak out of my classroom and get a few shots at Emma's ceremony. Unfortunately I was on stage during Owen's, so I didn't get any good shots of him...only his back.

Owen had his monthly pack meeting and received his first belt loop and patches. He's really getting into it. I think it will be a great thing for him. He seems to be enjoying it, and it's such a family event.

Other than that, nothing much else is going on. We are looking forward to time with family and friends this week. We have so much to be thankful for and we hope that you have a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

The kids worked on a turkey craft today.
This seems to be Logan's mood most of the time...what a stinker!

Fun at Scouts!

Emma's Awards Ceremony

Friends and Fun

We had a nice weekend at home. Daddy and Logan installed a new mailbox. I don't know how Jonathan ever managed without Logan's help. The kid loves to take things apart and put them back together. Emma had a friend over Friday night. The boys went to a police station with Boy Scouts and girls went and played basket bingo. Of course, Emma won a Longeberger basket...the kid is so lucky! I am trying to make a trade with her. Jonathan thinks it is wrong, but I don't think she really wants the basket...a lip gloss kit sounds much more interesting to her. In return, I spend 15 dollars on something she wants and I get a beautiful basket. Sounds good to me! Anyways, Owen had his first sleepoever last night. His friend Jack came over yesterday afternoon. I swear, boys are so much easier. They didn't need (or want) any entertaining. They were happy playing the Wii and legoes the entire time. There was no bickering or fighting and they had a great time. So, it was a nice weekend. Hope you had a good one too!

They made a mess, but they had fun!

I'm not sure why boys insist on standing on the couch while playing the Wii, but it seems to be a universal thing.

Good Friends, Good Times!

Tooth Fairy Returns!

Owen finally lost his first tooth today. We were sure he would never lose any. Emma had lost her first one before Kindergarten. He has been so protective of that tooth. He wouldn't let me near it. So this morning, he was being a smartmouth and talking back. So me...mother of the year...smacked his mouth (not hard!!!) and his tooth fell out. What a way to lose his first tooth - his mother knocked it out! Of course, he was excited. The worst part was when he said he got to write in the tooth book at school. There the kids get to write down how they lost their tooth. I had to go to his teacher and swear that it wasn't child abuse! What a mom! He'll be thanking me in the morning when the tooth fairy leaves him some cold hard cash!

And so starts the long journey of missing and crooked snaggle teeth!

A Nice Day Off

We all enjoyed a wonderful day off today. Thank you Veterans! We appreciate all that you do and have done for this beautiful country.
We finally got to play outside a bit today and I got to take a few pictures of the kids in the leaves. They were not too excited about my photo session, but they did allow me to take a few cute ones. I always love those fall pictures.
Tonight, the kids had swimming lessons. Logan is a guppy, Owen in in level 1 and Emma is in level 3. They are all enjoying it so much. Logan refused to get in the pool the first time, but ever since then, he has gone willingly and I think you can tell by the look on his face...he's having fun. Owen...or Skeletor as we like to call him is getting a bit braver each time. We do feed the child...I swear!
Well, I have lesson plans to do. It's back to work tomorrow. Until next time!

Skeletor jumping into the pool! Check out those ribs!Logan loves swimming...what a sweet little boy he is!

Emma is becoming quite a swimmer now.

Politics...Phooey!

Okay...I have to talk politics one more time, and then I promise, I will be done.

Let me start by saying, our household is very pleased with the results. We have been Obama fans for a long time. I can remember watching the Democratic convention 4 years ago and Jonathan commenting (when Obama was speaking) that he would be our next president. Now, here we are.

To say that my family and I don't see eye to eye on politics in an understatement!!! The only thing that we can agree on is to disagree. A lot of people think that we (Obama supporters) voted for him, just because he is black. I don't care if he is purple, green, white, or polka dotted - my support for him has nothing to do with color. I am so glad that I live in a place and time that myself, and especially my children do not see "color". Growing up in a small town in rural PA - that was not always the case, and is currently not always the case. Living in a multicultural area, and being a teacher has opened my eyes to see the best in all people. I am so proud that my children don't care what color skin their friends have. I see my students in school as unique individuals and I love them all equally. I supported Obama because of the issues. Yes..I want change. Needless to say, I haven't been happy with the way things have been going these past 8 years. I won't even get into that. But, I truly support Obama and believe that he will do good things for this country.

I'm sorry if you didn't vote for him and you are upset that your candidate didn't win. I know how you feel - I've been feeling like that for the past 8 years. But, as my friend Liz said, even though she didn't vote for him, we have to get past that and respect the American choice. He is our president elect and it's time to stop whining.

Owen has especially been interested in the election. He would watch him on TV and of course he listened to us...but he really showed an interest. He asked if we could put a sign in our front yard - he always counted the political signs in the neighborhood. So, when we happened upon an Obama campaign office, we proudly took a yard sign to display. Owen was so proud to have that sign in our yard - Did he really understand the signifigance of it? Of course not, but we had some really great conversations over the course of the past few weeks. I had to restrain him the other morning when he opened the front door and saw that the people across the street had proudly displayed their McCain/Pallin sign. But, it allowed us to have another conversation about respecting others beliefs and political views. Well, imagine our disappointment when we woke up on election morning and somebody had stolen our sign! Another hard lesson in life - he was so upset and once again we had to talk about respecting others views and differences - even thought we weren't treated with that respect. They may have stolen our sign, but they didn't steal our vote.

Sorry to ramble, but I am excited that Obama is our president elect. Even though he won the election, I feel like, being a supporter, I'm in the minority with my family, friends, and coworkers. So, now that I can get that off my chest, I promise to control myself and not discuss politics anymore. I can't promise the same for my future politician son!

Pictures

We took the kids to get their pictures taken this weekend. I used to take them every few months, but I have been slacking of late. Here are the photos we got from Portrait Innovations. They did a great job. Enjoy!