Thanksgiving

Our good friends the Rowley’s invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at their house this year.  RJ made a beautiful (and delicious) pecan pie with decorative leaves on top and a green bean casserole.  I made some rolls, chocolate truffle pie, stuffing and drinks.  Cheryl did everything else and it was yummy!

We kicked the morning off with a fun game of one hand touch football.  I haven’t played in a long time but RJ organized it and invited families.  There were mostly men, a couple deacons, Hunter and me.  I remember being in Hunter’s shoes, running up and down the field waiting for someone to notice me.  Thankfully RJ was QB most of the time and I was guarding Hunter.  RJ made sure to give him some passes and I made sure to not intercept it.

We spent the rest of the day at the Rowley’s snacking, watching football, eating our Thanksgiving feast, playing bingo, doing word searches, laughing and playing games.  We are grateful for good friends, family, and the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Trying It On For Size

Our family home evenings this year have been geared toward helping Hunter prepare for baptism.  After our lesson on the mechanics of baptism, I told McKenna I still had the dress my mom made for my baptism day.  She wanted to see then of course try it on.  At the rate she is going, I don’t think it will fit her in 3 years!

Suessical the Musical!

Some of the kids from church were in the middle school musical Suessical.  I heard that it was really cute so I decided to take Hunter on a much needed date.  Since he’s back in school and plays with his friend Josh directly thereafter, I don’t see him much anymore.

A new fast food place was build near our house called “White Castle.”  We had both heard reviews of people loving or hating it.  We decided to find out for ourselves.  We liked the food but Hunter was disappointed in the size of the portions.

Bonus- Hunter ate free!

We swung by McDonalds for an ice cream to top us off.

The play was a lot of fun.  I was really amazed by some of these young kids.  The Cat in the Hat was especially impressive.  That kid had talent!

Wisconsin Dells

Our friends have a time share in Wisconsin and had to use it quickly before the year was up.  They invited us to join them and we jumped at the chance.  We shared a two bedroom condo the first night which was a challenge when it came time to put the kids down.

RJ listening to Hunter read to the kids (Charlotte and Barrett).

We went to three different water parks and boy did we have fun.  Here’s everyone waiting for one of the pools to open.  (Lisa, Jane, Tim, Barrett, Charlotte, Hunter, RJ, McKenna and Reagan)  This pool was perfect because the deepest part was 4 foot (lazy river).  Everything else was 0-2 feet.  There were some fun rides too.  Hunter and I went on the two man and four man rides.  I was proud of him for pushing through his fear on the Hurricane.

Every morning we came to the pool for the duck races in the lazy river.  The first three ducks in three heats won duck whistles.  The fourth race winner got the grand prize of a whistle, T-shirt and fun pass.  Charlotte won a whistle each day and the grand prize the third day!  Barrett and Jane also won prizes.  My poor kids hung around until they simply gave every kid a whistle because the masses had finally left (we stayed Sun-Wed).

On the second day, we went to a 10 and under pool followed by the wave pool.  McKenna was tall enough for a fast ride in a tube so I took her three times and so did RJ. 

We loved our Condo.  We ate lunch and dinner in our room each day and let the little ones nap or watch TV for a short time before heading back out to play.  We also enjoyed the jacuzzi tub (so did the kids) and games with friends.  It was a great break and well worth hauling Hunter out of school for three days.  We hope to start a tradition of fun family vacations that the kids will remember.

Halloween

RJ decided to work from home on Wednesday (Halloween), so McKenna and I went to see Hunter in his school parade.

He wanted to be a ninja this year.  I put something together with stuff that we already had (plus some swords and nun chucks for $5).  He didn’t want to wear his black long johns to school because he once heard me tell McKenna that she couldn’t go outside in her underwear (when she tried sneaking in her pink ones).  He forgot some of his costume.

McKenna got this cat costume for Christmas last year.  I put some make-up on her and she was good to go.

I put some black piping around a headband to make antennae for Reagan.  She wore part of McKenna’s old costume (Latin Dancer) and I pinned black dots to complete her lady bug look.

The kids were so excited about trick-or-treating with their neighborhood friends.  I told RJ that one of us should stay home to hand out candy this year.  He told me to take the kids and create a happy memory.  He wanted me to have a turn being the “fun one.”  Reagan and I made some good memories (that she won’t remember) since the kids took off with their friends and a couple parents.

McKenna’s candy lasted four days this year and I made her pull some out for school lunch treats and a trip we are taking next week.

Hunter actually asked me to hide his candy so that he wouldn’t over eat.  He’s not the one I am worried about!

What a fun holiday!