The giving of the thanks ...

Hey, gang. It's been Thanksgiving week this whole week and I've spent a lot of time preparing for the big day. (More about that later.)

Since Halloween I've had something on my bucket list ... offering help to the garbage man as he came down the street. Monday morning Mom and I were up and at em early to catch him. I got into my costume and waited for the right moment. (Unfortunately, his union contract and certain liability issues kept me from hopping aboard, but I got a smile and a wave and that was good enough for a cold Monday morning.)

Wednesday was our Thanksgiving lunch at school. All the parents came, including mine, and everyone had a good time. The teachers worked really hard and I was once again reminded of how thankful Iwas for Boulevard.

Thursday dawned bright and full of promise. I was able to watch some of the parade as Mom and Dad prepped for the big meal and we all waited for our guests.

Where are they?! Where are they?!

Finally!

(Dad didn't think this photo should go into the blog but before we got into the section of food prep I thought it was important to remind folks about microwave safety. Specifically, butter + the microwave ='s EXPLOSION!)

Anyway, once Grandma Kathy, Papa, Uncle Eric and Grandma Maggy arrived, Mom got going on our wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Garlic potatoes? Yum!

The grandmas gave Mom her space and seemed to be duly impressed with her efforts.

Papa kept Mom distracted as she stressed about the turkey. (The little red button doesn't pop if you keep opening the oven and letting the heat out.)

Perfection! (But it has to sit for 15 minutes.)

While the bird cooled Papa and I compared notes about the farm equipment we'd like to buy.

Mom, Grandma Kathy and Eric got into a friendly debate about which Palzkill 24 hour salad recipe is best.

And Grandma Maggy stepped in to top off one of the best Miller traditions ever ... green bean casserole!

Here is a pic of the 24 hour salad. I'll be honest, Dad and I just can't get into it but the Palzkills and Houstons dig it! It isn't an official holiday without it.

Let's eat!

And, to top things off we had lots of pie! (Grandma Maggy even made me my own mini pumpkin pie!) Thanks to Uncle Eric for the yummy apple pie.

After lunch and some napping everyone's attention turned to games. My favorite game? Chutes and Ladders.

Late that night Mom, Grandma Kathy and Uncle Eric went shopping. Papa, Dad and I slept.

Friday was kind of a lazy day. Everyone slept. Ate. Watched football. Hung out. In the afternoon Grandma Maggy came over and everyone headed down to the Blank Children's Hospital Festival of Trees. Santa was there and he was quite the dude. It's like he knew me ...

... Mom and Dad! What a great guy!

(Dad was having too much fun to get off his lap and spent a bit too much time taking Santa's attention away from me.)

After Santa we headed in to see the trees. There were lots of cool ones ...

... but the one from IPTV was my favorite and got my vote.

Afterwards everyone stopped for a snack. Yum.

I also got a prize for turning in my scavenger hunt slip. Cool!

Other than Santa I have to admit that the train ride was my favorite part of the Festival of Trees.

Once around in the caboose and I switched to the engine. Choo! Choo!

From there we headed home to celebrate Mom's birthday. I got to help her blow out her candle and open her gifts.

The cupcakes were good!

And I love opening envelopes.

Saturday was busy. Uncle Eric, Papa and Dad moved some furniture then I got to watch videos when they got back.

Everyone scratched their lottery tickets from the night before but only the birthday girl won. Drat. (That's okay, I do better on the horses anyway. Hopefully Howie and I can hit the track soon.)Everyone left after lunch and the entire Miller house collapsed into a family nap. This morning Mom had to teach Sunday School so the clan hit the 11 o'clock service once she was done. More long naps then focus turned to Christmas preparations.

I hung my stocking by our chimney with care ...

... and Dad and I opened the new tree Mom bought early Friday morning.

Somewhere between the Rockefeller Plaza and a Charlie Brown Christmas ... I shall call our tree Jim.

I made sure my ornaments were front and center so look for them in future editions of Life 'O Pierce!

Have a great week, everyone! One more thing ... Thursday was not only Thanksgiving, it was Grandma Kathy and Papa's wedding anniversary - 38 years! Wow.

Until next time ...

Pierce

I'm just saving room for turkey.

This week seemed to go by quickly. I started out by showing Dad how I could make fangs out of two pieces of pizza crust.

Dad was so proud.

Attack!

I helped Mom make dinner ...

... then tried on all of my winter clothes. They were certainly warm enough! Wow ... sweaty me!

It's a good day when the new Little Tykes catalog comes in. I want this. I want this. I want this. I want this. I want this. Etc., etc., etc.

July, 2010. This tractor is awesome!

November, 2011. Either I'm getting bigger or Papa Jack's 4020 is getting smaller.

After some time in the tractor we headed over to the house. Great Grandma Margaret and Papa Jack were great! What a fun visit! (She can drive a mean combine, folks.)

Ah ... better than just about anything ... a great grandma hug. Awesome!

Nice to see you again, Papa Jack. Thanks for the cookie and the nice visit. Love ya!

Our evening was fun. The Dillons came over for dinner and I got quite a kick out of Maguire's newest trick. He's a cool guy!

This afternoon we headed to Westminster for a massive bell choir performance. Grandma Maggy was in a handful of numbers and really had her hands full ... of bells!

Well done, Grandma Maggy! (Soon after this photo was taken Grandma joined us for dinner at the house. It was a nice, quite way to relax as I prepared myself mentally for the epic battle I knew was to come between Mom, Dad and I over whether or not to clip my toenails. Suffice it to say that my toenails are still long and the parents are defeated.)

And a programming note for all of my faithful viewers. Make sure to tune into the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, 9 a.m. - noon CST on NBC Thursday, Nov. 24 ... I'll be debuting my balloon! (Uncle Chris marched in it several years ago while touring with Up With People and recommended that I invest as part of my ongoing brand development campaign.)

Love to all ...

Pierce

A man can love many things ...

Hey, gang. Once again I'm slow to post a blog entry and yes, once again my Google Analytics show how fickle you all are. (I'm not sure who is my follower in Taiwan but would it kill you to tell a friend or two? I have business deals I'm trying to pursue in your neck of the woods.)

The past couple of weeks have been hectic. I've been on the road so much I felt like Bon Jovi in the glory days (talk about loving a many things!!).

Missing as much class as I have means lots of homework. With Thanksgiving coming up I had to get my turkey done so I had a place on my classroom bulletin board. So, here is proof that I care about my education and am working towards a good future. (The rest of this blog is basically me screwing around and having fun. As mentioned earlier, I'm trying to close a deal in Taiwan so I'm trying to show how well rounded I am.)


Friday, Nov. 4 the family got up bright and early to head to Champaign, IL for a wedding. Grandma's sister's daughter was tying the knot and nearly every Palzkill from both coasts and in between was going to be there. I love hanging out with that side of the family!

Sometimes in life having to pee leads to amazing discoveries. On our way I really needed to go and Mom found the closest exit. Guess what was there?! Five Guys! None of us had been before but you can bet your sweet Tonka that we'll be back. We loved it!

Dad was so happy he just about blacked out. (I had to put on my really, really cute face to get him to share a fry.)

Finally, after a long drive we arrived at the hotel. After taking Uncle Eric up on his nice offer to help with luggage and greeting everyone I changed and headed to the pool with Grandma Kathy. Look at the cool life jacket she got me!

I was nervous but she was very patient with me and had lots of toys for me to play with. What's not to love?

Drat. Time to get out of the pool. Next on the agenda? The rehearsal dinner. Mom really struggled with my outfit and said more than once that she'd love it if I had a waist.

The dinner was at a wonderful old theater in downtown Champaign. How cool!

I loved that we got a tour backstage and I could see how everything worked.

It was wonderful of Aunt Jeanne to invite the Millers to this fun evening. (That's her, next to her blurry husband, the coolest guy I know in Illinois.)

I loved hanging out with Howie and he had lots of fun stories to share. (He was sitting next to Jeanne, his blurry wife, the woman on his right.) I loved the fact that he volunteered to teach me all about horses when I got a bit older.

I also loved the cake I got!

Sam and Vicki from Massachusetts were there and it was good to catch up.

After calling it a night everyone headed back to the hotel. Dad and I slept while everyone else hung out in the lobby and played cards. The next day was a blur of trips to Rural King, eating out for lunch, napping and getting ready for the wedding.

Mom and Dad said that I was old enough to start submitting photos for Life 'O Pierce so gave me the camera. Look how nice they looked at Melissa and Matt's reception! I love my parents!

Uncle Eric was an usher at the ceremony and enjoyed himself at the reception.

Papa and Mom hung out while Grandma Kathy helped with the cake. I love seeing these two laugh together.

Here's a photo of Dad later in the evening.

The next day we headed over to Jeanne and Howie's to say goodbye before driving home. They were nice enough to put out the toys for me and I got to practice building on the nicest workbench I'd ever seen.

On the way home it was like a parade. Grandma and Papa's van followed by Mom, Dad and I then Uncle Eric brought up the rear. Everyone headed to Denmark except Dad who headed home in a quiet car to a quiet house and a quiet few days. Uncle Tim stopped by and I really enjoyed farming with him. I love Uncle Tim!

During my time at Grandma and Papa's house I also got to visit my buddy Clayton. We shared a lot of laughs.

Did you know that the grocery store in Ft. Madison had school bus carts?! Awesome!

Cuddling with Grandma Kathy reading a book?! Love it!

Also, there is nothing better than cooking pancakes with Grandma Kathy! Yum!

Grandma and I had some banking to do and while we were at the bank in Denmark I got to watch the guys work on the building. (Awhile back a customer tried to add their own drive thru lane. Oops.)

This is Papa and Uncle Tim's new cherry picker. I love it. Nobody else seems to know what they are going to do with it. All I know is that I'd love a ride!

Before we left, Uncle Tim said he needed more weight on his tractor. I volunteered my 31.5 pounds, but apparently, my approach to attaching it wasn't practical.

It was good to finally be home and to see Grandma Maggy again. I love my grandmas!

To cap off the week I got a much needed haircut at Becky's. She actually fell for it when I threw out the "turnabout is fair play" line and let me work on her hair for a bit! (I suspect she may have fixed it after I left.)

That's it for this week, folks.

I'm off to join the Occupy Pierce's Pillow protest.

Night, night!