Christmas is coming.

Obviously. But it seems more real once all the parties and visits with Santa start happening. Our neighborhood grocery store was giving free pictures with Santa a few days ago, so we braved the crowds so the kids could meet the big man. Although, we tell them he's actually one of the real Santa's helpers because the real Santa is too busy up in the North Pole making his list and checking it twice. What do you tell your kids about all the Santas all over town?
This Santa was at our church Christmas brunch on Saturday, which we almost didn't make. Madeleine had a winter ballet recital at the same time as the ward party so of course we went to the dance recital. Well, I forgot my camera, but if I had brought it I would have gotten pictures of her on the stage with her class, not dancing. It was a rough morning. Our car had been broken into and tagged the night before and the one thing they managed to get away with was not the ipod or any Cd's, but Madeleine's ballet bag with her dance shoes inside. She was distraught and even though her teacher had shoes for her to wear, she didn't get over it enough to dance. If she decides to stay in ballet maybe we'll have better luck at the Spring recital. Anyway, luckily my dad was willing to chauffeur us around all day so the kids could sit on Santa's lap after the recital. Now I'm hoping they'll both be on their very best behavior so they can get actual presents instead of lumps of coal.

Thanksgiving 2008

The morning of Thanksgiving, my sister, Olivia, and I ran the Mesa Turkey Trot. It was a 10k and we ran it pretty well. Olivia totally left me in the dust, but I didn't mind. It was really a great way to start the day since I was planning to pig out (which I did end up doing, of course).
This is everyone we had at our house for the big day. All my brothers and sisters and their families, plus my grandma on my dad's side. Quite a crew, right? It was pretty crazy to have so many people in one place, but it was also a ton of fun! I know I always had such a fabulous time getting together with my cousins when I was a kid and I know my kids love it too! We've been able to get many of the Koernigs together for Thanksgiving for the past 3 years, but this was the first time in over 8 years that everyone has been together. For Black Friday, we skipped the shopping and did family pictures instead. We just had to get some nice photos to commemorate having all of us in one place.
Here's one of my faves of our little family.
And here's the Koernig kids. Brothers L-R: Andy, Ted, AJ, Bob. Sisters L-R: Rachel, Angela, Olivia, Maggie, Erika.

I'm still holding out hope that one day we can all live on the same block so we hang out whenever we want to. That would be the best!