Thanksgiving

 Hello, friends.  It's been awhile.  I would've updated last week, but we were enjoying our Thanksgiving break.  It was REALLY hard to get up to an alarm this morning.  But, let's rewind.  Before Thanksgiving break, we had snow.  This may be the cutest little snow bunny ever known to mankind:

Yep.  Cuuuuute.

We believe in Christmas around here.  And, that feel-good Christmas season doesn't last near long enough, so we set up the tree a week before Thanksgiving.  We are rebels.  The kids made their own tree (completely their idea, I was told to grab the camera):

 I love that Christmas tree from top to bottom, crazy hair, messy faces and all.

That Christmas tree is pretty good too.  It makes me happy.

Then there was a day that we played at the park for a bit:

And then, the Fall activity we all look forward to:  the kids and I went and raked and then played in, leaves.  Yep, pretty much in our pajamas.  We love our comfy clothes around here.

And THEN, it was Thanksgiving.  Can I give a hip hip hurray for my awesome family?  I just love being with them.  I feel completely at home, being my corky (corky: cute and dorky) little self.  We enjoyed family I haven't seen in a long while, family I see often, a brisk walk around the block (2 mile block, mind you), some games, and food of course, always lots of good food.  Nick got to check "afternoon nap" off of his to-do list.  Perfect day.

Having a big sis around is pretty great stuff.  Ellie got Daisy dressed and did her hair and everything.  She takes good care of baby girl.

And then, it snowed again.  There was a flurry of winter clothes and hot chocolate.

Suckers and sledding, not the perfect combo, but she's cute!

 I love it when there is a reason to go OUTSIDE to play.  My house is a disaster zone.

We were invited to join my brother's family in Bethlehem.  It was a great way to start the Christmas season right.  At the beginning, they bring you into a market with lots of different time period activities going on.  Mary and Joseph came in and were walking among us.  I walked past them and Mary asked if I knew of somewhere they could stay.  "Yes!  Come stay at our home!"  The baby Jesus wouldn't be born in a stable on my watch.  ;)  A bit later, they moved us into another big room where they told the story of Christ's birth. Christmas (the true, real meaning of Christmas) makes me cry, that is all there is to it.  I felt like I was there adoring the baby Jesus along with the shepherds, angels, and wise men.  And you know what?  Perhaps I was.

Oh come, let us adore Him.

I love this time of year.

Fried

 All that thinking fried my brain.  Seriously, this blog has been the last thing on my mind for the last week or so.  Why?  Because I just got called to be Primary President in my ward (this new thinking has replaced the old thinking of my previous post).  I know it'll settle down, but for now, my head is reeling with all that needs to be attended to.  Actually, I know this may sound weird, but I'm grateful for the challenge.  Bring it on.  It'll be a good time.

Normal life has been going on too.  You know, kids not doing homework and being asked a billion times to do something.  Running kids to and fro (Ellie just finished a really fun sewing class, now I just need to teach her how to use my machine and set her loose!).  Soaking up family time on the weekends.  Oh, and now that cold weather has set in, lots of kids chasing each other around the house, jumping on couches and lots of yelling and teasing and whining.  Ya know, normal life.

Nick and I did take advantage of the kindness of my brother and his wife (thank you, thank you!), left our kids and went on a little overnight trip to Park City for a late anniversary getaway.  It was perfect!  Lots of yummy food, relaxing in the hot tub and steam room, sleeping in and watching tv in bed, then shopping without kids.  I had great pity for all those suckers who were dragging their tired, ornery kids around the outlets.  Of course, by the afternoon, Nick was dragging tired, ornery me around.  I'm not a very good shopper.  However, I do love time with my Honey.

We ate at the Grub Steakhouse, and it was so good.  We'd consider just taking a day trip to visit again.  A terrible phone shot:

Our prime rib:

 Yum.  We had to be rolled out the door.

And, this is what happens when your kid sits in the shower and plugs the drain:

You can't see it well, but that is mold along the baseboard.  This happened twice before we figured out what was going on.  "Mom, it got REALLY high!"  We need new carpet, but we'll be waiting a little longer until kids are old enough to get puke and poop in the toilet 99% of the time.  And stop making a water mess in the bathrooms, apparently.  We may be waiting for awhile.  For now, my extremely handy husband cleaned it up and stretched the carpet back out.

This was a fun project for FHE:

 It isn't my best crafting, but I sure love my turkeys!  Those hands won't be tiny for long!

Too Much Thinkin'

 There have been lots of thoughts running through my head lately.  My head is not the best place for me to hang out, by the way.  Life is much better when I can get out of my head and focus on the people around me.  I'll spare you the details of what has been going on in my head, maybe someday I'll write a very long post and put it all out there.  For now, I'll keep it in my head, and keep on movin' on.  If any of you are bored, give me a call, we can discuss the things inside my head, and yours too.  But be aware, I don't always answer the phone.  ;)

Well, I guess that little introduction was unnecessary.  Now you can all be extremely curious about what it is that keeps my brain waves alive and well.  Don't worry.  It's nothing too earth shattering.  

Anyway.  

I put together this little banner to fill the empty space below my mantle.  I love it.  It reminds me daily that I have lots to give thanks about.

This little darling is one of those blessings:

 I particularly love the messy macaroni face and long socks.

There are moments where all the kids are in close proximity to one another and there is no fighting.  See, proof:

 See the dirty breakfast dishes (photo taken at 5:30pm) also on the table?  Well, that's just real life, folks.

And, lastly, Lu finished ALL of her dinner tonight.  See!  It's such a rare occurrence, I just had to take a photo.  I swear, that girl survives on chocolate milk, cinnamon toast and nutella.  It's a diet perhaps I should consider?  It seems to work ok for her.

Halloween

 With Halloween on a Saturday I felt like we celebrated all week long.  The kids went to a Halloween carnival provided by the youth in our ward, to a Halloween party hosted by our friends, plus the school parade, and don't forget the actual trick or treating part.  Party all the time!

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins on Halloween afternoon.  The kids were so excited to attack those things.  They did a great job too, doing most of the grunt work themselves!

My ghouls:

 Maren was a Monster High something or other, Ellie was a vampire, Lainey was Cinderella, Everett was a bat, and Daisy was a princess.  Doesn't Daisy look just so big in that photo?  It's killing me.

 Crazy, silly girls.

 Everett didn't really want to pose for photos, the monkey.  His is the only costume I "made" this year.  He was so pleased with it, he's been running around in it for weeks.

Halloween was a blast.  Now, I can't wait for them to consume all that candy so my house is free of it.  They came downstairs this morning all ready to make a countdown chain for Christmas.  Always something to look forward to!

And one more unrelated photo (except for the chocolate on her face).  My Daisy baby loves to set up picnics. I love that little diaper bum running around our home.

Hoopla

 I love moments like these:

I took my newly-turned four year old to get some photos.  They turned out pretty nice if you ask me!  It does help to have an adorable subject:

 Love that girl!

You all know that Nick and I celebrated our anniversary.  We partied all weekend long, starting with a date to the theater.  We had a "fancy" dinner with the kids on our actual anniversary.  We were smart this year and ordered take out from a favorite restaurant for Nick and I, while the kids were pleased as punch to have ramen noodles with a little bubbly.  Win, win!  Notice that most of the kids are dressed up:

We got "dressed up" too:

 A crown, jewelry and high heels for me.  Tie and church shoes for Nick.  Silly somethings that make it special.  I should wear high heels more often.  You tall girls have no idea how good you have it.  :)

We also have made a fun tradition of watching our wedding videos (thank you, thank you, Jeremy and Cynthia!) on our anniversary with the kids.  It's always lots of fun and is a reminder of just how fast time flies.

We don't really do anniversary gifts, but we do try to spoil each other a bit.  This was a nice surprise from my thoughtful man:

Unrelated from anniversary hoopla; for FHE, we made our traditional orange popcorn balls, an October family favorite:

 Ya know, just to get the sugar juices flowing in preparation for Halloween.  :)

11 Years

Nick and I are celebrating us today.

11 Years of Selfies:

We were doing it before it was "cool".  :)

Marriage to this guy has been the sweetest part of life.  Happy Anniversary, my love!

A Little Adventure

I'm not very good at planning things way in advance.  Sometimes I surprise myself and do, but mostly, I'm a spontaneous kind of gal.  I knew Fall Break was coming up for my kids and I real bad wanted to get out of town.  It is the thing to do, after all (busiest weekend at the Salt Lake airport we've been told).  We looked into a few different locations, but always seem to end up in our favorite little getaway, St. George!  Maybe we'd have more places to explore if I actually booked in advance?  I'm thinking so.

Anyway, our hotel was booked.  Nick had a 4 day conference in Michigan just previous to Fall Break, and I was seriously considering ditching Nick with the kids on his return and hijacking a friend or two and enjoying a weekend thinking only of myself.  My kids are lucky little rascals and got to come along after all.  I didn't have the heart to break theirs, especially Everett who was counting down the days.  Thankfully, it was a mostly relaxing sort of vacation.

Pool time is a must:

 We tried out the Fractured Prune.  If you like warm cake donuts (and who doesn't?), you will like this place.  Highly recommend.

Keeping the Sabbath day holy can be a bit tricky while on vacation, but we did our best to make it special.  We went to church and then took a walk around the temple and enjoyed the visitor's center.

Maren and Lu walking down the temple steps like princesses:

Aw, best of friends:

I'm thinking Daisy has the silly face thing down:

 And my Everett looks so suave in that photo!  What a handsome little dude!

It was cloudy the entire time and rained on us just a bit.  Thank goodness umbrellas make for an adventure all on their own!  An umbrella with feet:

We also visited Brigham's home:

We will be growing out of 'normal' hotel rooms before too long, I fear.  But for now, we squeeze them all in.

We traveled home through Zion's and Bryce Canyon, thanks to Ellie, our resident Fourth Grader (free National Park pass for Fourth Graders, in case you didn't know).  I do believe we live in the most beautiful state.

Checkerboard Mesa in Zions:

I wanted to go to Bryce as I haven't been there in years.  It was chilly, rainy and foggy with poor visibility and wet shoes and all, but it was enjoyed anyway!

 Do you see the rainbow?

Me and my Honey, who has been my adventure buddy for nearly 11 years now!

 Let's do it some more, k?

My girls with their 'sad/mad' faces.  Sometimes it's real.  This time it was not.

A glad pic too, to even things out:

Ellie wanted to go hike in those hoodoos.  Next time.  Cause we are going back.  My kids, at this time, have short memories, so I figure we have to take them back to these places about every two years or so.  They won't complain about them already doing and seeing it all cause they won't remember it, and I get to enjoy it over and over again.  :)  

Here's to spontaneous little adventures!