Christmas this year

I don't know what I anticiapated for Christmas this year, but whatever it was, this isn't it! I can't complain too much, but I haven't done ANYTHING Christmasy yet. Nate is constantly gone. And I am soooo busy with three boys, preschool, my calling, that I just haven't done anything. I've watched my neighbors kids a few times so that they could go and do some holiday things (I'm sure it's nice to be a doctor). I sure hope I have fun in Utah, I love Christmas, I feel like singing that song from the Grinch "Where are you Christmas?" It probably doesn't help that it is raining right now. If anyone can give me some holiday cheer I could sure use it, RIGHT NOW!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Since we were away from our family this was the first year that I had to plan and prepare it all! It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. We shared this year's Thanksgiving with our next-wall neighbors; Naomi, Josh, and their two children: Levi & Claire. It worked out great because the kids could play between the two houses and so could the men. We split the meal into four courses and had appetizers and dessert at Naomi's house and soup and salad as well as our entree portion of the meal over at our home. The kids made the turkey candle center pieces as well as the Lego name card holders. We had a book called "If" that just posted tons of scenarios, such as "if you could live the life of any fictional character in a movie who would it be?" It was a blast! The guys did the final clean-up and after we put the kids to bed we played a rousing game of Scrabble, I said it reminded me of being at my Grandma's, and that was nice. I am thankful for all that I have and am Thankful for yet another wonderful Thanksgiving.

I made the turkey for the first time ever! I was so stressed, but I shouldn't have been because it was pretty simple. I would like to thank my friends and family who gave me lots of encouragement and advice, Alton Brown and his "how to" video on the Food Network, and last but not least, Reynolds oven bags. Thank you.

For soup and salad we had a spicy sweet potato soup as well as a roasted pear and Gorgonzola salad. Yummy!

Look what my little turkeys made! I love the glowing background from the turkey candles as well. Years from now these pictures will remind me of the joys of being in this phase of life. I usually am just trying to push through to the future, I need to remember to stop, relish, enjoy, and show gratitude.

Our Thanksgiving Home

So here are some thanksgiving pictures of our home. I know that a lot of my family has been interested in knowing what it looks like, and since I am sure we won't live here long it will be good for us to have the memories as well. We love our house! We love our neighbors, I live next door to the Vegan version of Martha Stewart- it is wonderful!

Mac-n-cheese Please

So Hayden and Owen have both been making food. Owen loves to help pour the cheese powder into the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and then stir it up. Hayden had to make dinner as a Cub Scout requirement and of course he chose Mac n Cheese. I did have him make it from scratch though, he did a really good job and I was surprised at how responsible he was in the kitchen.

Happy Birthday Hayden

So Hayden is 8! He had a very happy birthday. I think his favorite part was spending his birhtday cash that he got sent from his Aunts, Uncles, Grandmas & Grandpas. Hayden is such an awesome boy and I am so glad he is a part of our family. He has such a sweet heart and loves all of his younger cousins. He is often thinking of others and people often comment to me on sweet compliments he gives them. Right now his favorite things to do are: building Legos (a very expensive hobbie), going to Scouts, and reading Harry Potter (for sure!). I can believe Hayden is eight, I have been fortunate to have spent lots of time with him and enjoy him at every age, and I am excited to enjoy him at this very exciting time in his life. Happy Birthday Bud! Have a great year.

Happy Halloween

So here is an update on what we did for Halloween. We had a lot of fun, I missed my nieces and nephews tremendously! I can't believe how hard it is to be away from them this time of year, I wanted to see their costumes and share in their Halloween fun as we have in years past. The boys liked the Halloween and the days leading up to it. It was fun to go trick-or-treating in Spokane there is a street here that has two one way streets heading in opposite directions with a large center srip running down the middle with trees. We were told that this was the place to go trick-or-treating, and it didn't dissappoint. It was hard to find a place to park along the road because there were so many people, it was like a huge block party. The neighborhood defenitely seemed preapred for the masses of children that came to their homes, and really got into it. It was interesting to spend our first Halloween outside of Utah, it was a little bit a culture shock, but funny!

You've been Boo'd

So we didn't think we would get boo'd this year, since we're pretty new to the ward and to the area. But alas that Phantom Ghost found us. The kids were excited and knew the routine. Nate made caramel brownies and then I added a bunch of other random Halloween treats. We all dressed up in camo and off we were. Our neighbor's little boy came with us, he had a blast. After we were done (we did 4 houses, cause who can stop at 2) we asked him if he would want to do it again next year, to which he replied, "Yeah, I want to do it every night." I love how seriously the kids take this fun Holiday tradition. Ah, Ah, Ah.

So I am not the best at Blogging still! The pictures below are:
1) Jaycin & Owen when our friends came to visit
2) My kids eating pears at a pick-your-own-farm, the owners said anything you picked off the ground and ate was free. The boys ate a lot of free fruit!
3) Hayden with a tiny pumpkin. We went to a collections of farms known as Green Bluffs, we had a scavnger hunt for things like: a pair of pairs, Charlie Brown, the biggest pumpkin, etc, the kids loved it. And we loved the huckleberry ice cream.
4)Owen & Snoopy
5) 3 giraffes in the store. Darndest thing I ever saw.

Alrighgty, so we have been very busy! I have a wonderful new calling in Scouts (I am the assistant Wolf Leader) & I was asked to be in charge of an Enrichment Night (i mean Relief Society Meeting), my co-op preschool is under way and our awesome friends came to visit us over conference.

This blog is brought to you by Gavin

Owen took this picture at the restaurant, as you can see I'm scrunching over to make sure he got the shot he wanted.

A day at Cour D' Alene

Yesterday I went on a bike ride with my neighbor, Naohmi, whe mentioned that her family was going to spend the day at Couer d' Alene, well one thing led to another (as it often does) and we ended up tagging along with them; we had a wonderful, fun-filled day. Couer d' Alene (for those who don't know) is a touristy city in Northern Idaho, with a beautiful lake and lots of fun things to see and do. We went to the beach and enjoyed the last of the summer heat, we enjoyed jumping off the pier into the refreshingly cold lake. The army had something going on (we weren't exactly sure) but they had bouncy houses set up along with a rock climbling wall, dunking tanks and gun displays, and because of where we are there weren't any crowds. The kids had a blast. We ended the day with eating at an awesome yummy local restaurant, it was like we were on vacation. You can come visit! Right now there are great rates at Hotel Carroll...free-ninety-free with a complimentary breakfast served.

These are a few things I like about Spokane & the reasons why everyone should come & visit me.
#1) The parks here are AMAZING! We live 7 minutes from a 90 acre park that is separated by terraces and into plant varieties. Here are just a few snap shots.

#2) Frank's Diner which is in an old railway car built in 1909. It is soooo cool inside.

THE CITY OF SPOKANE IS NOW SAFE!

Owen wears his batman costume almost everyday to and from picking Hayden and Gavin up from school (that's a crazy 3 times a day b/c Gavin is in 1/2 day kindergarten). Owen loves the attention he gets someone asked him what his real name is, he looked confused so they restated, "What's your other name, other than Batman?" he said, "Spiderman." He seems to be suffering from an identity crisis, but who cares? He's happy & we're safe.

Well I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. We sure did. Sometimes when the kids are naughty, I think "why did I have kids?" But then a holiday comes around and I remember, "That's why!" It is so much fun to play and make believe with your kids and relive your childhood through theirs. You may notice that Hayden has a cast. Yep, you guessed it. He broke his arm. He climbed on top of the swing set (it's one of those heavy duty steel ones, and is quite tall) and fell off. The doctor said that with 3 boys he was sure to see me again, and probably again, and again (you get the picture).
Sorry to be such a chatter bug, but another exciting thing; I just drove Nate to the airport for the last time this year! (knock on wood) He will finish his first year of law school at the end of next month and then no matter what happens, if he transfers to the U or goes back to Gonzaga we will be together! Yay!

Happy Easter Everyone! This is me holding the magnetic writing pad my Mom gave me for Easter. Every holiday I get a new one of these from my Mom. I love them! It's the simple things that keep me happy and ORGANIZED! Thanks Mom.

So here are the kiddos at my Mother-in-laws' house where they dyed eggs and had lots of fun with their cousins.

Above: Gavin, Hayden and Porter!
Below: The boys before church, super cute!

Well hello to all my friends. My life is not very exciting to follow on a blog, but since February I was able to take a trip with Owen out to Washington to visit Nate. I got meet many of his new friends and visit some old, Rob and Melanie Gillespie. It was a wonderful break and awesome to meet so many wonderful people who are part of Nate's life.

Now I am back in Utah and it is cold! Nate is home right now for spring break which has been mostly nice. I say "mostly" because when your significant other is gone for months at a time and then returns to be home 24/7 there are bound to be disruptions in your routine. But I don't care (at least right now anyways) it is wonderful to have him home and the count down is on until we are together always.

The Draper Temple open house was awesome! It was a little bright outside, but I'm sure that's how it is whenever a new temple is built.

This is the hill we sled on it is crazy fun!