Well it's been nearly a month since I've posted so I thought I'd write a summary of what we have been up to.

1. November 17th - 21st - I was on jury duty. It was long and painful and boring and interesting and educational all at the same time. I am glad its over and I would definitely have rather been at work. There was a lot of waiting around and then sitting and listening intently to all of the evidence. So being at work with the kids, planning guidance lessons, meeting with small groups, talking with my teacher friends, and checking my email during the day would definitely have been alot more fun! But my civic duty is done and now I don't have to worry about this for another 2 years!

2. November 20th was our 4th anniversary. It seems like we've been together forever, yet it doesn't seem possible that it's been 4 years. Cary planned a fun night for us to go out downtown on Friday night while Carter had a sleepover at my parents. Well since I was on jury duty and didn't start deliberating until 3:30 on Friday afternoon, our plans were shifted back a few hours. Despite the late start, we had a great time! Carter played at Grandma and Grandpas and was surely spoiled, while Cary and I went to The Continental for a drink, then to the Grand Piano Bar and Bistro for dinner and Tonic for a night cap. Even without a baby to come home to, we were in bed by 11:00. Yep...we're getting old!

3. Davis turned 2 on November 18th and his party was Saturday the 22nd. He just seems so old and was incredibly cute as he waited to blow out his candles. He's saying so many words now and seems like a boy, rather than a toddler. His party was lots of fun and Tony and Kelly did a great job with the dinosaur theme.

4. On Sunday the 23rd we had our first annual Friends Thanksgiving. The Augusts, Donnenwerth's, and Murphy's came over and we had a big Thanksgiving meal. Mike and Amy made the turkey and it was wonderful! Our table was packed with food, the kids were all good, and it was really a fun afternoon. It definitely made me feel all grown up that the eight of us (former college students who drank cheap beer and frequented Third Base) could actually pull off a nice meal like that. I think I like the grown up versions of us a little better! (Although we have a "flash back to 2 years ago" night planned for this Friday!!! More to come on that later...) 5. Thanksgiving weekend was great! It was relaxing and full of food and the 4 1/2 days off were much needed. We visited Cary's grandma in Mt. Ayr for Thanksgiving day lunch. It was a small group of us but it was nice to see grandma. Carter had actually never been to her house, and I think he had a good time. His favorite part of the day was probably throwing turkey and his sippy on the ground every 2 seconds during his meal.

6. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, Cary, Carter and I battled Sears and Target....and I'd say that we won! Although Sears was packed, we came away with all that we hoped to buy...and more! Cary picked out an early Christmas present from his parents - a new grill. He spent many hours during the remainder of the weekend assembling the grill and messing around on his new work bench (a birthday gift from my parents).

7. On that same Friday, the Coppola family all went to a tree farm near Polk City. Although Cary and I didn't get a real tree this year, we went for the experience. Carter got to meet Santa (see picture!), we rode in a horse-drawn wagon, and Carter tasted hot chocolate for the first time (yep...we're bad parents). I think maybe next year we'll actually leave there with a tree!

8. Saturday we went to Guthrie to spend the rest of the weekend with my family. We stopped at Andy and Julie's on the way out so that Carter and Katelyn could play for a little bit. When we got to my parents, my cousin's boys, Jake and Zach, were there, so Carter played with them too. Mom and Dad took all three boys to a soup supper downtown (where they saw Santa) while Cary and I had a "date dinner" at Prime Time. It was nice to eat without constantly cutting up pieces of food and trying to appease a restless child!

9. Sunday morning was another first for Carter - sledding! It snowed quite a bit overnight and so there was a lot of fresh snow on the ground. We all bundled up and sledded down my parents' hill. Carter actually didn't like it at all...he cried most of the time. But we were happy that we tried!!
10. We had the Sorensen Thanksgiving at noon on Sunday. Carter didn't eat well, screamed during dinner, kept throwing his sippy on the ground (notice a trend?), and then only wanted to eat Cary's pumpkin pie. He and Kate played for awhile, and once it was nap time, we headed back to Des Moines.
11. Last night the Coppola's head to Boone for the Polar Express train ride. Basically we board a real train, go for an hour and fifteen minute ride while we hear the Polar Express story, eat cookies, drink hot chocolate, and meet Santa. There were 14 of us (Kyle brought his new girlfriend, Liana, who was a very nice girl) and we took up alot of space on the train. I think the general consensus was that this might be an every-other year event. Carter became extremely crabby about 45 minutes into the ride and I think it might be better when he's a little older. The experience was fun and different than the usual Christmas stuff - and I think that's what we were all looking for!

In summary, since I lost posted, we have had 3 Thanksgivings, 1 birthday, 1 anniversary, 3 encounters with Santa, and lots of cousin-time! Oh - and somewhere in there we put up our Christmas tree!!! It's been a fun few weeks!