DATE!

Greg and I got to go on a fun date this last week. Because Greg's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, it was "Part 2" of the celebration. We went to see "Harry Potter" in the theater. It was especially fun because Harry Potter has been part of our relationship from the beginning. When we were dating, Greg would read the books out loud to me...with all the voices. Mostly just nice to get a little time away together!

A Daughter in the Kitchen

 

Today I was trying to get some food preparation done for tomorrow.  Elizabeth was everywhere!  Wanting to be held and in every way slowing the process down!  In the middle of trying to "shoo" her away, I realized that my most fond memories of Thanksgiving are not the feast itself, but being in the kitchen with my mom.

For me, Thanksgiving is all about mothers and daughters in the kitchen. 

I realized that really this is the first of what I hope and pray are many years of sharing the kitchen with a daughter of my own.  I'm so grateful for happy memories with my mom and grateful for a daughter that's already a "helper" and friend to share the holiday with.  

My Welcome to the Day

I had snuck downstairs early one morning to start the day...and the next thing I knew I'd been hit by a hatchet! 

Nathan narrates:  "The evil, Zader, was ruling the universe with his side-kick, Army-Chomper."     

 

Beautiful Nieces

Sarah

Joanna

My niece, Katherine (pictured at the bottom) is a budding photographer.  She created this cute backdrop and used some fun accessories to give her sisters Sarah and Joanna a fun "vintage" look. 

Isn't Katherine a beautiful, talented girl!  (Not to mention her two cute "subjects"!)

 (When I saw the pictures in my email this morning, I couldn't help but try out a few of my photo-editing actions.  Kind of fun!)

Christmas Projecting Begins!

It's hard to fully believe that the holidays are on their way when we're still enjoying 50 degree weather most days...and we've had no snow!  But, we're trying not to let that slow us down from making some early progress.  =)

Someone to Look Up to...

Two of our boys' favorite boys in the world...Ben and Jacob!  Joshua watches Ben pass the sacrament every Sunday, carefully keeping track of his every move.  Mostly he's waiting for Ben to sit back down in the "family pew"when it's over so he can reverently dash over to sit by him.  Joshua is a pretty rascally boy, but when he sits by Ben and Jacob he can spend an hour very contentedly playing tic-tac-toe.  We're grateful for a bit of peace in sacrament meeting, but even more grateful for two awesome young men that our boys want to grow up to be like!  (And we hope they do too!)

Happy Birthday Greg!

Greg spent the end of last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico recruiting at a Native American Conference.  We were so glad to get him home just in time for his birthday on Sunday!  Didn't get as many pictures as we should have of the day's events.  But, had a great breakfast and gift opening and later had some good friends for dinner and games.  (See a later post.)  These are some cute pictures from Monday night when Elizabeth "helped" Greg grill our dinner.  Couldn't ask for a better husband and father!  Love you Greg!

Another Fun Ride

This time a "clown car".  The Fiat 500.

If You Think I'm the Creative One...Think Again!

School Project turkey created by Nathan and Greg...
named LIGHTNING VOLT...
 (purposely giving "bolt" a little twist) by Nathan

Leaves + feathers + pipe cleaner + gold embossing from my old stamp set =
One Pretty Sweet Looking Turkey

Out of the Mouth of Joshua

After having to work very hard to settle the children down for the dinner...Joshua was asked to say the prayer.  After saying a few other things he said,

"Please bless that Jesus can come again soon...
and that we can be happy until we see Him."

It's pretty amazing the moments when we really get a glimpse into this little guy's spirit!

A Hard Worker!

 

Earlier this week Nathan went outside after school and started raking leaves with a vengeance!  We live in a condo where the leaves are usually taken care of by someone else.  But, quite a bit had accumulated.  After a while Nathan came in to propose that we pay him for each bag he raked.  Greg and I weren't so sure about that, so we told him we'd think about it and sent him back outside.  I little while later I went out to see how he was doing.  I asked him casually if he was going to jump into the big pile he was raking.  He said, "No, Mom!  I'm just waiting for Dad to say yes."  

Trip to Frankenmuth

Greg has Election Day off of work each year.  Usually our tradition is to go to "Big Boy" for breakfast after we vote.  But, this decided to take a little morning trip over to Frankenmuth.  Greg can remember going there as a little boy...being bored at the "World's Largest Christmas Store" and eating friend chicken at an authentic Bavarian Inn.  We made sure to re-create both of those memories for him.  =)  The Christmas store is amazing!  And, the rest of the town is small and fun and quaint. 

Things we'll remember:

• Greg got to bring home a Chrysler 300 for the week.  A really fun idea to take it on the trip in theory...but when all three children can reach out and touch each other...the drive is a bit more lively than one could have hoped!
• The waitresses at the Inn!  Greg estimates the average age of waitresses employed there to be about 50.  The average being significantly effected by our waitress, Bonita, (at least 80) and "Mrs. Claus" at a nearby table. 
• Scoring a second helping of "free dessert" after Joshua accidentally dumped his first round on the floor.
• Watching the big clock strike 12 noon...and then put on an unending performance of the "Pied Piper"!  We'd waited so long just to see it...that we didn't last through the performance!  =)
• Shopping Main Street--my favorite kinds of touristy shops--and because it's so our style...spending exactly 60 cents total.  (On old-fashioned candy sticks so Nathan could try a treat I can remember getting on an outing like this as a child.  Sucking lemon juice using the candy stick as a straw.)

Days like these have plenty of "realities"...but I think I, more than any of us feel so much freedom from a little getaway!  It was a fun place to go coming up on the holidays, but before the real "rush" hits.

Last Days of Fall

A walk on the trail near our home.

Joshua trying to catch the leaves as they fall.

Half-tucked in shirt and Elizabeth's "lovely" necklace she wears 24/7.  Isn't it the quirks that make children most lovable?!

Our Most Honest Gauge

Sometimes I feel like the most honest gauge we have of how our day is really going...is Elizabeth's hair!  I'd worked so hard to get it looking cute for church, but as we fed her dinner after church was over and I took a good look at her...I realized her hair looked exactly how I felt!  Best intentions gone awry!

Cider Mill Magic

This year we set a goal to visit four cider mills (each within 15 or so minutes of our home) and "taste test" their cider and donuts.  We would then give them stars based on our "ratings" and give a little blog report at the end of the season.  We haven't made it to all four, but we've had a great time trying!  We went to this cider mill with few expectations...but with a pasture out back that we could just let ourselves in through a little gate...it felt like we'd stepped back in time! 

Hercule Poirot

A Play-Doh tribute to one of our favorite TV characters...by Nathan.