An invitation to the Governor's Mansion

One of the perks of working for the Governor's Office is the annual invitation to the Christmas reception at the Governor's Mansion.

This year, we had no soccer practice, work conflicts, or any other issue keeping us away, so we decided to get all gussied up and go to the party. It was about 40 degrees, so we bundled up and headed out. We made it just in time for the tree lighting ceremony and to meet Santa Claus. Some light hors d'oeuvres one bowl of gumbo later, we were ready for a real dinner. So we took some pics next to the Christmas tree and headed out to Bonefish Grill.

It was a very nice night.

The Best Field Trip Ever!

Megan's school has been following a program called "We the People," and this week, the fifth grade participated in a field trip to the Capitol. The first stop for Megan was the Cabinet meeting room where the students presented prepared questions and answers before a panel.

Megan did very well, and was composed and calm. The pic was taken from the back of the room, but it's the best I could do. Next stop was the Old Capitol where the students participated in a video vote on a topic of their choice.

They then took a quick tour of the Old Capitol before heading back up to the new Capitol to eat on the 22nd floor. This floor is very special to me and George because it is where we got married, and Megan was excited to see Tallahassee from that high. After lunch, we went to the House chambers and the kids participated in a mock legislative session day, proposing bills, amendments, and arguing their opinions on the various ideas.

Megan even got to meet Representative Alan Williams from Tallahassee.

After one more trip into the Old Capitol for gift buying, we were done for the day. Megan said it was the "best day ever," and I will have to admit that it was one of the best field trips I've been on with her.

Cafeteria Thanksgiving Lunch...MMmmmmmmm.

Yesterday, George and I took turns eating at the kids' school for their annual Thanksgiving lunch. George ate with Danny, and sent me the picture below:

You can tell Daddy helped him pick out his lunch - it is suspiciously free of vegetables.
I then ate with Megan, whose lunch was not free of vegetables (I'm a mom, what can I say?). She smiled just long enough for me to get this shot to send to George:

Actually, the smile was caused by Pumpkin Pie happiness, not me or the camera. We had a good time, but I definitely do not miss elementary school. Not even a little. At all. 

After school, Gran-ma and Papa Creamer took the kids to Steak 'N' Shake while I volunteered at TPD. I didn't get these pics until afterwards when we were almost home.

I wondered why they were so wired. I'm sure the slight blurriness was caused by their sugar-induced vibrations, and not any fault of the camera operator (Gran-ma).  It was a good night.

This weekend

Finally, I think I'm catching up. Yesterday, Danny had a great basketball game. He tried so hard, and when he made his first game basket, everyone was cheering for him. We were so excited that George completely forgot to take a picture at that special moment. He did get some other good shots, though.

After the game, we went to the Old Florida Capitol -

we were feeling guilty about not having toured it since we had just gone all the way to Texas and visited theirs. This one is in our own town. Of course, we've been in the new Capitol (we got married on the top floor, and I work for the Governor's Office, so I've been there many times), but never toured the historic one. All housed in one building, the Old Capitol contains the Supreme Court Chambers,

the Governor's Suite,

the House of Representatives,

and the Senate.

The kids had a scavenger hunt to complete, and we saw some very interesting collections.
After our educational experience, we went to the fair! I had taken the kids on Thursday night to ride some rides, but we went back on Saturday so George could join us and so we could get some food and see the animals and exhibits. Danny is obsessed with corn dogs, George and Megan are obsessed with funnel cakes, and I love caramel apples. We all had a great time.

Halloween weekend, part 2

Halloween started with a trip to church, and then an afternoon of relaxation until it was time to get ready. Danny was Ironman,

and Megan was a Candy Corn Witch (complete with candy corn packets for her to give out).

We went over to Megan's best friend Olivia's house for a great dinner (I'm still waiting for the taco soup recipe, Susan!) and then trick-or-treating around her neighborhood.

Megan even got a hug from one of the adults because of her giving nature. Once the kids were tired, we came back to our neighborhood for a trip to the few houses surrounding us. We then called it a night at a somewhat reasonable time - it was a school night, after all.