Thanksgiving

The kids helped out breaking the bread for the stuffing this year.  They loved that.

We spent a quiet Thanksgiving at home with just the 5 of us.  We started out the day going to the Turkey Trot. I would love this to become a new family tradition, and when I'm not pregnant, I'd love to participate.  We came home, and got the turkey in the oven, and made some other last minute preps.  I kept the meal pretty simple this year, and tired to stick to things I knew the kid would enjoy eating.  I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again.  I hate cooking turkey.  I'm not sure why I talked myself in to it again this year, but I don't think we'll do it again next year.  Ham or even a roasted chicken are so much easier (and more delicious in my opinion.)  As usual, with my kids, dinner lasted all of 10 minutes.  We did talk about several things we were thankful for - it was fun to see Harrison so serious and thoughtful about his list.  Next year I'll have to be better about making a record of those types of things. 

I opted for very simple veggies this year - just a relish tray, which the kids gobbled up.  

 

I also opted for disposable dinnerware.  Made cleanup so much easier after all that cooking. And really, it was a lot more festive than the dishes that I own.

And then we spent the rest of the day putting up Christmas decorations. 

Halloween

This year Halloween was great! We started out by carving several different pumpkins on Sunday night. The kids picked out the designs and shared in the carving as much as they wanted (or could safely do).  Harrison and Noah did a bit more this year than last and that was fun. I have learned that you should not carve until the last possible moment.  Unless it is really cold outside, the pumpkin will rot in only a few days.

Here's two pumpkins, a 'trick-or-treat' and an Angry Bird.

Olivia with her Hello Kitty rendition

Our ward (church congregation) decided to have the 'trunk-or-treat' party on Halloween night this year.  Gratefully they also decided that it should be short so that kids could go trick-or-treating in their own neighborhoods. We met at the church around dinner time, and participated in the chili cook-off/trunk-or-treat. A trunk-or-treat is where people decorate their car trunk (or truck bed) and hand out candy. This is the fastest possible way of getting candy that I can imagine, because there is essentially no walking in between. As it started to get dark, things wrapped up and we rushed back to our house, worried that some people might already be coming.

The kids were all satisfied picking out a dress up to wear for Halloween this year.  Everyone was happy, and the Halloween season was stress free.

It was the perfect temperature to let the kids go around all night, a little chilly, but warm if you've got a good costume. Since Mollie is in her first trimester of pregnancy, she was not feeling well enough to go walking around the neighborhood. I took the kids out while she stayed home and handed out candy. Harrison and Noah were ecstatic as we started around the neighborhood, but Olivia was pretty cautious.  I think that the decorations and smoke machines scared her a little bit.  Then there was her newly emerging apprehension of dogs.  At each house, she would first see if there were scary decorations, and it that felt safe, she would ask me if they had a dog.  Regardless of the answer, I ended up carrying her to most doors. After maybe two streets, we happened to run into our friends the Jakemans.  Rebecca mentioned that she and the younger girls were done for the night, but that Calan and David (currently home handing out candy) would love to come out with me and the boys.  So, as she and David made the shift change, I took Olivia home.  Then, with just the kids that had the excitement (and fortunately the stamina) for more trick-or-treating, we walked a few more blocks and had a great time.  All in all, we got nearly half of the neighborhood; there was plenty of candy in the bags.

I think that Harrison and Noah really got the feeling of Halloween trick or treating this year.  Which is a good thing, because with Harrison in the 3rd grade now, there are not many more years left for him before it become a bit unfashionable to go.  They did get pretty excited when they found out their pediatric dentist would pay them for their candy.  They each picked out about 15 pieces, and the rest went to the dentist.  I think we got around $10 for the candy, which the kids thought was pretty cool.  And that way, we (Mollie and I) don't end up eating a ton of it either.

Pumpkin Patch

Every year at our Elementary school, the Kindergarteners take a field trip in the fall to the pumpkin patch.  Harrison's class did this, but I was not able to chaperone, as they didn't have room for any parents on the trip.  With our new school, any parents (or siblings) that want to come are welcome.  You just have to get there yourself.  So Olivia and I took advantage, and came along. It was a great time for everyone.  If we had come on the weekend, it would have cost our family of 5 over $30 to do what we did on the field trip for $6.  And that wouldn't have included a pumpkin, and the field trip did. 


There was a hay ride

out to a pumpkin patch.

Noah had to get a picture with his best friend Dallin.

These two are like 2 peas in a pod.  The are in the same class a church, but different classes at school, but that doesn't stop them from playing with each other at recess every single day.  

Next came the huge hay bale climbing tower.  This made me a bit nervous.  It was really, really tall.  But the kids LOVED it.

 And then there was the hay bale maze.

Olivia definitely felt right at home with all the Kindergarteners.  She would even line up with then when their teacher asked them to line up:

I got a group shot of his whole class.  It's a lot bigger than Harrison's class. I think Harrison's was close to 20, and Noah's is almost 30.

There was also a petting zoo, complete with bunny rabbits, pigs, goats and a reindeer!

Noah could read the signs that were posted stating that the animals may bite.  So he kept his distance. 

Everyone had a great time, and we enjoyed fabulous weather.  I can't wait to go with Olivia's class in a couple years! 

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. I've felt like Halloween would never come, because I started making preparations for the Kindergarten Halloween party in September, since we were going to be out of town in the middle of October, so I'm kind of relieved that it's all over now. We had a great time. I did a couple batches of cookies this year with a recipe and some great instructions I got from my new favorite cooking blog - Our Best Bites (check it out - everything I've made from here has been amazing!)


And here's a shot from Harrison's Halloween party at school. I was in charge of decorations, and had some fun being a little crafty. I found instructions for the decorations at Martha Stewart, and was able to put them together with stuff I had around the house. I also made some bat clothespins, and Halloween garlands that I hung around the classroom. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

This is Harrison and me at his Kindergaten Party. It was fun to be able to see him interact with all his school buddies.



After Harrison party, we had the ward party/chili cookoff. I made a new recipe (another Our Best Bites) but it turned out to be pretty hot. Next time I'll lay off the chipotle sauce.


Harrison was a knight again this year -but that's what he wanted. A couple days before Halloween Sam mentioned being a detective, which he was pretty excited about, but we decided to save it for next year. So now we have a whole year to get that costume figured out.



Noah was a Ninja. It was another costume we had on hand, and he was happy to wear it. I think as long as candy is involved, he's not too picky.



Olivia was a little butterfly - I picked up this and the ninja costume last year at Old Navy a couple days before Halloween. I think more people have caught on to the cute costumes they have at Old Navy, because they didn't have any left by the time they went on sale this year.




Sam and I got in on the costume act this year. This was the first time in our married life that we dressed up. I figured I needed a costume for the kindergarten party, and so I made a red riding hood cape for myself. When the boys saw it, they immediately asked Sam, "Dad, where's your costume?" So last Saturday I came up with a wolf costume for him (thanks again, Martha!). I was thinking that we should have had the kids be the three little pigs, but I'm not sure Harrison and Noah would have been excited about wearing pink sweats.

We didn't' get around to doing the pumpkins until Halloween day, but it made for a fun activity while the kids watiting for trick or treating to start. The toothy jack-o-lantern was Harrisons (the only one I helped with) and Sam was the artist on the witch (Noah's choice) and the Cat (Olivia's pumpkin.) My photos didn't do them justice - I was trying to get the glow effect by turning the flash off, but they all turned out a little blurry. But they looked great. Sam did an amazing job.

We started a few new traditions this year. Sam was helping the scouts do a fund raiser (no, that's not one of our new traditions, at least I hope it's not...) and so I started "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" for the boys while I made dinner. They seemed to really enjoy it, and it didn't frighten them at all. After dinner we turned on "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." We don't have a TV (and haven't since the great move), but recently we acquired a movie projector, which turns our living room into a movie theater. I thought it was a great way to spend the evening.

Here's everyone (in the rain) on Halloween night. Luckily the rains stopped right about 7 when the boys went out.

Here's the boys on their way to go trick or treating. I stayed home with sleeping Olivia to open the door, but we only got 4 knocks all night long. The boys had a great time, and got a great haul. They spent this morning counting up the candy and comparing what they got.

The Pumpkin Patch

Our mommy and me preschool did a little field trip out to a pumpkin patch on Friday. It was so much fun, we didn't want to leave to go pick up Harrison from school! It was a half day of school for him, and I considered taking him with us to the pumpkin patch, as that would have simplified my life that day. When I proposed this to him, he promptly asked if there was school that day. When I replied yes, he said he would much rather go to school, and began to sing his school song. I guess he likes kindergarten.

Noah didn't want me taking pictures of him, so I let him take some pictures of Olivia and me. Then he was happy to let me take some of him.

Here's Noah with some of his preschool buddies. The littlest guy is a sibling, but the other three are in his class.

Here's Noah on the hayride. You wouldn't know from this picture, but Noah was terrified of going on the hayride. When he heard the tractor start up, he ran from the loading area screaming, "I'm not going on that!" It took a lot of convincing, and me eventually picking him up screaming and crying to go on it. You had to take the hayride to the patch, so I couldn't let him skip this. He cried for at least the first half, and then made a 180. He decided it was pretty fun, and was actually excited to get back on for the return trip. That's when I shot this picture.

The farm also had a great hayloft barn, filled with soft loose hay. We spent a lot of time here, and Noah loved leaping off the bales into the soft straw. Olivia loved crawling, sitting, trying to walk, and throwing the straw.

Just some things...

I wanted to remember. Yesterday, after hearing Olivia cheerfully awake in her bed since 6 AM, I entered her room around 6:45. When I walked in I found her sitting in the corner of her crib with her blanket over her head like a ghost. When she heard me she scrambled to pull it off to see who had come to visit, and greeted me with a giggle and a smile. Then, she stood, in the same corner, which happens to be next to a book case. There were some books sitting on top of the book case, and she reached each arm through a different slat opening in her crib, and picked up a book, and began flipping through the pages as she pressed her face against a 3 opening. I wanted to get a photo of this hilarious little act, but I knew if I left the room she would drop the book and cry for me. So I just stood there and enjoyed the moment. She is a silly little girl. Her favorite past times lately are sitting, rocking and pushing. She loves climbing into chairs, the kids sized chair in her room in particular, but anything she can scale. Also sitting in anything she can fit into, like laundry baskets and toy boxes. We have a little wooden rocking horse which she gets up on and rocks all on her own now.

She also likes to rock in our Ikea chair, and the rocking chair in her room. She has some great push toys which she likes to toddle around with, but she also loves pushing her brothers. That's a habit we'll need to brake before nursery starts.. She's still crawling to get around, but seems to dare to take a few more steps everyday. Today I think she took about 10, and was grinning from ear to ear when she got to where she was going.

Now, to change the subject, we are not so excited about our latest house guest. When we first moved in our new place there were ants. Kind of annoying, but with one treatment they seem to be gone. Our newest "friend" is the stink bug. We started noticing them on the screens, and on our front door, sometimes making it inside. Well, the other day I came down stairs to go out the door and found at least 20 of them all around the door frame (on the INSIDE of the door...). I left, and came back, and there were hundreds on the outside of the front door. I quickly bolted in side (as quickly as you can with 3 kids and huge flying insects attacking you) to find the number in the house had at least quadrupled since we left. So I got out the vacuum and sucked them all up. Luckily it's been raining, which seems to keep them away. I found a not so helpful article which pretty much says "deal with it." Maybe it will just rain all fall....

Monach Fiesta Day

On the 5th, we took a break from our labors at home and checked out the Monarch Fiesta Day at a nearby park. It was a celebration of the Monarch butterfly, and we had a great time.

They really did a great job of having activities for all ages. Olivia loved the little tube she could crawl through. The boys also enjoyed it.

They had some captive butterflies that you could go look at up close. They also had lots of caterpillars and cacoons, and every stage in between.

They were tagging and releasing butterflies every 10 minutes, so there were lots of opportunities to see butterflies up close. They look amazing - almost artificial.

They also had some dramatics for the kids to participate in. Harrison loved it. Noah was content coloring a picture with Dad.

The day ended with a catipillar race - they tied up the kids hands and feet and they had to wiggle their way to the finish line. Harrison won! It helped that he was the oldest in the 3-5 year old race, but he worked hard to win. His prize was a field guide for flowers, which he is really excited about.
It was beautiful weather, and such a great way to spend an afternoon. We'll definitely be going back to Black Hill Regional Park and Nature Center to visit again soon.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Our feast turned out to be a very happy Thanksgiving. It was a great day we spent all together enjoying food and each others company. Harrison had helped me on Wednesday to get everything prepped and the pies made, so Thanksgiving morning was amazingly un-hectic. I just threw the turkey in the oven first thing in the morning, took a cycling class at the gym, came home, took the turkey out, and heated everything through. We ate at 11:30 AM - I know, kinda of crazy. But Harrison and Noah are usually much better company at lunch than they are at dinner, and since we didn't have any guests to please, we did what works best for our family. Sam and the boys made name place cards while I finished the meal - yes that's what those brown hands are on the plates. And no, they don't actually have a name written on them, but the boys had a great time making them. The boys were really good about trying everything. Harrison even had mashed potatoes (which for some unknown reason, he detests) because he had helped make them. The pies were by far the boys favorite. We had pie around 3 when Noah woke up, and the boys literally licked their plates clean. We made a list of things we were Thankful for this year, so here it is:

• Mommy & Daddy (ahhhhh)
• Heavenly Father
• Soda
• Turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• peas
• chocolate pie
• Mollie
• Noah & Harrison
• Scriptures
• Friends
• praying
• Heavenly Father's Son (Jesus)
• Scoop (Bob the builder's helpful excavator, who helped shovel food into Noah's mouth during dinner)
• Talking to Grandma
• Chocolate