RENE'S BRACES
On November 9th, Rene got BRACES! She only has 4 brackets, all on the top. The bead that blocks her tongue is still in there too. First rubber band colors: pink and glowing green.

RENE's NINTH BIRTHDAY

Our camera was broken so there are no pictures. Rene had her 9th birthday at Lunar Golf, which is a glow in the dark indoor mini golf. Her whole class came and they had a blast. Rene's birthday was the day before Thanksgiving, so we left immediately after the party to head to Baltimore.

Rene got a lot of gifts, including several Bratz and Barbie dolls, kids's scrapbooking kit, bed canopy craft kit, Rush Hour strategy game, two dressy outfits from Gramma & Grampa, Barbie Fashion Show computer game, and the book Matilda. We let her pick out a new comforter - leopard print with a kitty. SHe finally outgrew the quilt I made her when she was a baby with cute little Peter Rabbit-like bunnies on it. sniff sniff.

THANKSGIVING 2006

Joe and Val invited us to Baltimore for Thanksgiving and we had a GREAT time. The kids were AWESOME on the drive over. It was more fun to be with family than doing nothing at home, and the kids loved playing with their cousins Olivia (3) and Brian (1). I think Valerie and I both enjoyed getting to split the Thanksgiving kitchen duties! The weather was fairly nice, so Joe set up their inflatable bouncy tent, and we went to a really cool playground. The last picture is a group picture with Harvey.