m.i.a. - mostly the a.

(tyler -TL,DR)

Okay - so my apologies for the stale blog.
I have been busy.

Or at least crazy.
While building a house (me & Rob the Builder) and opening a school (G) and helping at elementary school in classrooms (me) and teaching sunday schools (G & me) and not cooking (me) and shopping (G) and picking out paint colors (me & G) and watching some great reality TV and Office and 30 Rock and trying to make our Blockbuster.com membership pay for itself (me & G) and photography-ing (me) and servicing debt clients (G) and not packing for our move in 2 weeks (me) and folding mountains of laundry (me) and trying to get Christmas shopping done like this week (me) and doing the financial aid for his school (G) and rolling his ankle (G) and then trying to cram enough sleep into 5 hours to be able to function for another day (G) we have been crazy busy.

But we took a little break and went to Island Park for Thanksgiving.
It was wonderful. It was the first time all the Brunt family has spent more than 24 hours together in 4 years! And it was the first time the kids and I have seen Ryan since he's been home.

The Ras's were there. And a small percentage of the Kenitzers. And there were mountains of food. Good food. Like really good food. The Harman sisters can COOK. Ask anybody.

And SIGNS until 2:00 am.
Lots of BANG by the boys.
The CAPTION GAME until I was crying so hard I couldn't talk. Ask Ryan if he likes large women with flexible arms.
Reading. Eating. Freezing cold 4 wheeler rides. Kayaking on the partly frozen lake. A death defying Hummer ride...

And family pictures.

Did I mention that is was like 30 degrees for these pictures? No joke. The kids were troopers.

(**disclaimer -I hate how uploading images to picasa strips away SO MUCH COLOR! - disclaimer**)

We had a great Thanksgiving. So much fun to see all the family. I am so grateful for such a beautiful place to all get together summer or now, winter!

Love you guys. Thanks for a wonderful, relaxing, fun weekend.

********
Tonight for Mercer's family prayer:
"Please bless that we will never die.
And please bless that the bad guys will die.
And please bless that we won't get runned over by a train.
And I love all my family."

I mentioned before how when I have disciplined Mercer, or told him NO about something, he goes and gets this picture -

that I have framed by his bed, and brings it to me and asks "See this???? Treat others how you want to be treated." or "Remember when you used to love me?"

This weekend, George told Mercer he couldn't do something and he said crying,
"Dad, NEVER RAT ON YOUR FRIENDS."

Ah. Mercer quoting me & G, quoting Kissing A Fool, quoting the Godfather (or Goodfellas - can't remember).

love that mo.