Thankful

The three of us spent the last three Thanksgivings together in Argentina…together is all that really matters. However, being on another continent and so far away from home is never easy. Argentina obviously doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but also didn't have many things that we cook this time of year. No turkeys, no pumpkins, no cranberries, no grocery aisles filled with familiar holiday items. Our turkey was imported from Brazil, and tasted like a salt lick and our poor house guests brought stuffing mix in their suitcase. No matter how hard you try, it's just not the same!

This year we are thankful for home, for conveniences and for familiarity. We're so grateful for the overwhelming amount of options at the supermarket and are thankful that we have the means to purchase those items. We're so thankful for the health of our loved ones and happy that we were able to see all of our family members over the course of this year! We are blessed.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without our annual Thanksgiving bloopers. If we were sharing dinner with our families, these would be passed around the dinner table.


So, in no particular order, I bring you the 2013 Three Little Baers Bloopers:

Miami has adorably ferocious ocean zombies!

This guy needs to rethink the peach-colored swim trunks!

"Laugh it up, fuzzball."

Jazz hands and surfing don't mix. 

Disney Daze

Another trip to the Big Mouse House for us. Living so close by makes it a prime destination when we have visitors. This trip had a pretty special twist. We visited over Veteran's weekend, and my dad, a Vietnam vet who spent 26 years in the Army, was selected as the Veteran of the Day. He participated in the ceremony on Main Street and got to lead the honor guard down procession down main street. It was really exciting to watch, and I'm glad that Teague was old enough to be present and understand.
Because Teague had that Friday off as well, we were able to explore Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom without the huge crowds.

The first time Teague has been able to see over the steering wheel!

Hey kids, there's Big Ben...

He's a serious drummer. Born To Be Wild over there is clearly jealous of his skills.

Watching his Grumps at the Veteran's Day ceremony.

Bring On the Heat

The Miami Heat organization is quite impressive. On Veteran's Day, they offered a free kid's basketball clinic at SOUTHCOM for the children of military members. Not only did they bring the cheerleaders and the mascot, one of the team members was there to interact with the kids, too. It was really touching that they were present at the start of a busy season.

Teague, having been in Argentina for a large portion of his non-toddler life, isn't well acquainted with basketball. Sean and I aren't aficionados  either; Sean's basketball claim to fame is a broken foot while playing Nerf basketball in his bedroom. Yeah. This clinic was really sort of an introduction to the sport for Teague, and it's safe to say that Mike Krzyzewski won't be making recruiting calls any time soon.

The event kicked off with some silly icebreaker-type games and then lead into a mini-workout and basketball drill stations. As they finished, each kid received a bag full of Miami Heat goodies. Teague promptly slingshotted the sweat band across the gym. Who is that kid's parents?

                                      Check out this athletic prowess.

Pat Riley, President of the Heat, and basketball legend Alonzo Mourning were also in attendance.

      This is Teague's officially licensed "Can we go now?" look.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

Teague's school didn't participate in Halloween per se, but they did allow the students to dress up as their favorite book character. Teague absolutely loves the Adventure of Captain Underpants series, so here he is, mid-"Tra-la-laaa"ing. I took a little bit of an artistic license with the costume, because sending him to school pants less and shirt less wasn't really an option. For me, anyway. He totally would have been fine with it.

Trick or Treating this year received top billing, because Teague hasn't had a real trick or treating experience yet. When he was two, we basically dressed him up, took a few pictures, and brought him next door to our neighbor's house. Then for the past 3 years, we were in Argentina, where they don't trick or treat, or even have pumpkins, for that matter. The Embassy did host a little shindig, but it's not quite the same going cubicle to cubicle.

Fortunately, our neighborhood here more than made up for it. Along with a Spooktacular Party they had on Saturday, they also hosted a huge block party on Halloween, complete with police road blocks, glow sticks and all kinds of candy. I have never seen so many organic lollipops.

                                Teague and his buddy trick or treating.