And another holiday...

We even have a family Hanukkah party Thanksgiving weekend, regardless of the date. More family time! Ellen's enjoying wearing a kippah and waiting for her dessert.

A family affair

Thanksgiving is a chance for us to pack in months' worth of family time. Ellen gets a little baking in with her mother and grandmother.

Quickfire challenge

My brother and I helped out with a lot of the cooking and prep for Thanksgiving this year, as my mother wasn't feeling well. We both fancy ourselves top chefs. Here's Scott putting the final touches on his pumpkin mousse dessert.

Er... is this supposed to be a kosher manger?

My home town in Chicagoland has a public Christmas display and a public Hanukkah display. You can guess what the demographics are.

Touching down

Passing through Minneapolis on the way to Chicago. Just a few minutes in the airport monorail is all I get for a visit to my old home.

That's not right

This is what Target is selling as "holiday milk." Remember, America has no obesity problem. We might have a vampire problem, though.

Black tie affair

Our elementary school has a formal charity auction. Quite an array of prizes, too. We bid for and won a "date night" package that included dinner, a movie, wine, and babysitting by a Rose Parade princess!

Cold cuts

Found this on the cutting board in the morning. WHAT did Rachel make for Ellen's lunch???

Check off that milestone

Ellen's first list! She wrote it herself after asking me what we were going to do during the day. Making lists is a family obsession. I'm proud to have passed this down to her.

Poseurs

We realized we didn't have any recent family photos. After the proofs came back, I realized I should have had my hair cut.

Hanging out

Ellen hanging out in the kitchen one afternoon. I don't know why I took this picture. The paper fish on the wall behind her was her costume for her big preschool play.

Fairies

Guest photo by Ellen. While I was checking us in to the doctor's office, Ellen took a picture of me, then glammed it up with her fairy app.