Never Loses Entertainment Value

Occasionally Joel will give the favorite stuffed animals a crazy ride.  The kids never tire of this game. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Always fascinated.

 

 

 

 

 And entertained.

 

 

 

 

 With fits of giggles.

 

 

 

 

 And then they all beg to do it again.

Thanksgiving

It's about time I write about our Thanksgiving, seeing as Christmas is only ten days away!  If I don't do it now, I never will.

 

We had a very nice, very relaxing holiday together.  We actually did have the opportunity to celebrate with some local friends, but in the end, we decided to have a quiet weekend to ourselves.  It's a good thing we did, because I'm not sure our friends could have fit another family, especially us with our crazy kids, in their house!  

 

We started a new tradition this year.  I knew the kids would want to be snacking all morning, and I also knew this would drive me crazy.  I thought a veggie tray would be a good solution.  Thanks to pinterest, I found an idea for a fun one and we went to town on it.  Delicious!

 



 

It's a turkey.  Can you tell?  I will have to refine my design over the years, but the turkey will definitely stay.

 

I don't think the veggies lasted too long, with all my little nibblers floating around. except for the broccoli.  For some reason the it was the most bitter broccoli I have ever had.  Thanks a lot, Walmart.

 

 

 

We had to take a picture to commemorate the meal.  Since it was Joel and me with regular appetites, and three small children with, well, small appetites, I had to forgo some of the regular dishes.  No sweet potatoes, no green bean casserole (although I can't say I've ever had it), no greens aside from our festive veggie tray.  Our must-haves were what I made, and they were:  ROLLS, turkey, gravy (from the drippings, of course), mashed potatoes, stuffing, cran-raspberry jello with mandarin oranges, and cranberry sauce with orange zest.

 

We still had enough food to last us for a few days.  After we polished off the turkey, I made a ham and we continued eating leftovers until we were sick of them.

 

 The best part of the meal by far was the PIE! I love to have good pie on Thanksgiving. Growing up this way for 19 years precludes me from changing my preference any time soon! And, I have to say, narrowing it down to three was tough. Apple, Raspberry, Peppermint Icebox, Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream, Pumpkin, Cheesecake, Coconut. . .well, there is no way we would have been able to eat that much.

 

 

(I didn't arrange these very artfully because it wasn't a planned photo, but you get the gist of it.)

 

Joel helped me make pies.  Yep, he had a hand in the pie crust and basically completed the entire pumpkin pie on his own.  And it was the best pumpkin pie I have had in a very long time, if not ever.  The others are raspberry cream (half the pie had bananas instead of berries) and coconut cream.  The coconut cream was a bit of a disappointment, although I've had great luck with that recipe in the past.  Nothing tasted awful, so we will count that as a success!

 

 

 

 I can always tell when the pies are good, because they disappear gradually in the fridge when I'm not looking.  It looks like a little mouse has been nibbling at it.  No, it is never the kids.  Joel takes a fork to it now and then and we are left with the raggedy edges.  I'm glad he enjoyed them.

 

 

James was especially thrilled with the unusual deluge of delicious foods and the abundance of people home to share with him.

I think we all had a great holiday.  Even though we really missed out on a lot of fun with our families in Utah, I'm glad we like each other enough to enjoy a long weekend all together. 

Old Carpet

Ashley and I have a lot of fun together when the little boys are asleep and Everett is at kindergarten.  We especially had fun the day before we had new carpet installed in our living room!

 

I helped the kids make a fort by moving the couches in a v shape, framing the window.  We put a fitted sheet on top, and voila!  Instant fort.  The couches were still in that layout when Ashley and I decided to have a hot chocolate party on our old carpet. 

 

"And if we spill, who cares???!!!" I said. 

 Ashley's eyes lit up.  "We should make crowns!"  She exclaimed, "So we can be queens!  We have to be queens because they are the ones who are in charge."

 

 

 

 

That was a good enough reason for me. So we made our hot cocoa, we made our crowns, and we crawled between the couches (without the fort top) and enjoyed our little party. No, we did not spill (fortunately? unfortunately?  I am not sure).

 

 

 

 

"Clink!" we have to say a handful of times.  It is not a tea (or cocoa) party without a few clinks.

 

 

 

 

And then, Queen Ashley gave me a demonstration on how to beat monsters and wild beasts.

 

"Swing it like this,"  Ashley would clarify.

I'm not sure, but I don't think most monster killers are so giggly.  But I'm very glad that mine is.

Everett's Birthday with our Family

I think Everett had a good birthday.  He wanted raspberry muffins for breakfast, so I was happy because they are so quick and easy!   He got to bring a treat to share with his class, so we made bags of popcorn, marshmallows, and M&Ms for his class.  I knew I would be making him two birthday cakes that week (one for us, and one for his party a few days after) and I really did not feel like making and frosting 25 cupcakes.  Fortunately Everett did not mind.

 

The best part of his day might have been when Joel picked Everett up from school and took him to Dairy Queen for lunch.  Lunch with Joel could very well be my kids' favorite birthday tradition from now on. 

 

He also requested pizza for dinner.  I had all of the ingredients for that, so we were set!

 

Everett was a good sport and waited all day to have cake and open presents. 

He wanted an ice cream cake, so I made one in my springform pan.  It actually worked out ok.

Everett refused to tell me what he wished for so it would still come true.  I wanted to point out that if there is something he wants, I am his best chance at getting it, but I don't think that would have swayed him.

We topped the cake with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and cherries.  It was a lot of fun.

Everett had some fun presents to open.  A friend of his stopped by with an awesome lego jet, and Everett really enjoyed putting that together.  It helped hold him over until he could open the rest of the presents after dinner.  We bought him more legos as well as a lego idea book.  One set of grandparents gave him a stomp rocket set and a squeaky foam pogo stick.  They were both hits with everyone.  One high point of the night was when some good friends brought over a big tub of legos they were no longer using.  All in all, it was a lego birthday extravaganza!  And I don't think Everett would have had it any other way.  We are grateful for everyone's generosity.

And now, for the thank-you notes.  This kindergartener of ours has quite a few to get done.  We'd better get cracking!

Birthday Party

I promised Everett five months ago that he could have a birthday party when he turned 6.  As his birthday got closer, we knew we had to buckle down and figure out our plans.  Joel wanted to keep it small, and suggested that Everett pick one friend to go see a movie with.  Everett did not like that idea.  "I can't do that, Papa!" Everett insisted.  "If I pick {friend A}, then {friend B} will feel left out.  And if I pick {friend B}, then {friend A} will feel left out.  I don't want to make anybody feel bad."

 

I thought that was really sweet of Everett, so I promised (again) that we could plan an actual party for him.  BUT, I did want to keep it small.  So we only invited the boys from Everett's primary class.  That meant there were four six year olds total, which was the perfect number.  Get this particular group of boys together, and their energy compounds until it feels like a circus has arrived.

 

I love it.  They are a lot of fun.

 

Everett wanted to have a superhero party.  He has been keen on the idea of a party because he knew people would bring him lots of presents.  I had to sit down with Everett and explain that you don't have a party to get presents; you have a party so you can celebrate a special day with people you like.  I suggested that instead of his friends bringing Everett a present, they could all bring an old toy to donate to the local domestic abuse shelter. 

 

I was surprised at how quickly Everett became excited about this idea.  He immediately lit up and began thinking of toys he could collect.  I was feeling so fond of that little boy at that moment that I probably would have given him the moon if he had asked.  I didn't want to push the idea on him because the donation wouldn't have meant anything to him if he wasn't willing to go through with it.

 

Everett was all for it, so he and I came up with an invitation.  We printed it on gold cardstock and put  a "Top Secret" notation on the outside.  Everett also wanted me to make masks for everyone, so I whipped some up and we delivered them with the invites the next day.

 

 

(Invite fail: no day or date!  Fortunately I had already told all the Moms when this was happening.)

 

We invited the guests to wear superhero costumes.  I was happy to see that they all did.

 

I had a difficult time getting pictures of everyone.  They were all pumped to be able to be superheroes for the evening.

I wish I had pictures of the toy part of the party, but I didn't take any (smacking forehead).  I had been hoping we could take the toys and donate them somewhere in person, because it would mean more to the boys that way, but the domestic abuse shelter's location is understandably kept secret and the main office wasn't open during the party hours.  Fortunately the kind soul I spoke with on the phone volunteered to come over to my house during the party, talk to the boys about the shelter, and collect the toys herself.

It worked out great!  The boys got to meet her and tell her all about the toys they chose and the memories they had.  She explained that the children who come to the shelter have to leave their homes very suddenly and are not able to bring much with them.  They all miss having toys.  She also explained that there were currently a lot of little boys at the shelter and that they would really appreciate being able to have a toy to play with.

We had a nice little pile of toys.  The day before the party, Everett couldn't stop collecting things to give, and I didn't want to squelch his little fire, so I let him choose what he wanted.  I was amazed at his attitude.  He wanted to give the best of everything he had.  I even let him choose some of his old legos to give away, since good friends of ours gifted him with a new (to him) box full.  Everett chose the coolest pieces and the best building components.  "Some little boy will really like to play with this one," and "I've GOT to put this one in.  It's awesome!" Everett repeated to himself.

 

This is a wonderful group of boys.  They all get along.  And none of them seemed to feel the sacrifice was too great.  I really appreciated their mothers who were kind enough to help them contribute. (You can actually see some of the toys we donated in the left corner of this photo.)

 

 

 

 

 

I knew I would need to get these four out of the house and doing something active.  Where to go on a cold, dark, November night?  That's right.  McDonald's! 

 

 

 

 

Apparently the whole city had the same idea because it was packed. But we got our food (happy meals) and our drinks (sprite and orange soda), and the boys got plenty of energy out in the Playplace. Are 6-year-olds too old to enjoy the playplace? I wondered. No. No they are not, especially when dressed as superheroes. The cherry on top of the whole deal was that the happy meal toy was a little skateboard. (Tragically, one of the boys left his at McDonald's.)

 

 

 After I bribed the boys to leave with an ice cream cone (which was much more appealing than crawling in the tunnels after them), we piled in the car and went home for some cake.

 

Everett saw a picture of a batman-shaped cake online.  It had five layers, each a different color of the rainbow.  I had three cake pans and one cake mix (I prefer cakes from scratch, but I was not going to all that effort for boys who would eat a french fry off the floor), so I told Everett to choose three colors.  He picked green, orange, and blue, and I threw the cake together.  It doesn't look the best, but at least Everett liked it.

 

After cake, we made lightsabers out of pool noodles and tape.  It was a big hit!  Fortunately I had just enough for Ashley and William to make one, too.

 

 

 

 

(Ashley had a nice evening eating candy and watching Brave with Joel, hence the bow she is holding).  I love that Ashley is so very right at home with boys.  I won't love it so much ten years from now.

 

I think everyone had a fun night, especially Joel, who allowed himself to get whacked more times than any sane man should.

Ashley really got into it!  William did as well, but I didn't get any pictures of him fighting.

 

 

At the end of the day, all he really wanted was to play cars with someone, anyone!

 

 

I hope Everett had a good birthday party.  It was the first one for both of us.  I loved the "true hero" component of the party.  Serving on your birthday is like giving the world a great big hug for taking such good care of you.  We will have to make it a tradition!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. The kids got to wear their costumes at least twice: once at our ward's Trunk or Treat, and once a few days later on Halloween night. Lucky Ashley got to wear her costume to preschool one day as well. I tell you what, it was a little difficult keeping all the pieces together for all four costumes for multiple events. But we managed somehow! 

 

We began the evening with mini pumpkin shaped pizzas. The kids didn't eat more than a few bites because they were too excited to get out and trick-or-treat.

 

 

 

Easiest Halloween costumes ever! 90% of this was borrowed. But they all looked pretty cute. Ashley and I had fun hot gluing flowers all around the top of her hat, and Everett had fun designing his shield with me. And that was about all the fun I was ready for this year.

William was not too keen on wearing a costume, but I persuaded him with the promise of candy. He held firm in his belief that he was not wearing a costume. On our way to trick-or-treat with friends, we saw some kids on our street. I commented on how cute they looked and told William that he has a nice costume, too.

"NO. This not a costume," he corrected, shaking his head. "Jayleigh (a friend of his we saw) is wearing a costume. I not wearing a costume."

He could not be swayed for the rest of the night, though he was happy to collect some good loot.

 

 

James looked so cute I almost couldn't bear to stop looking at him.  He was not so fond of the headpiece but after a few minutes our good little sport forgot to be bothered by it.

 

 

 

 

 

A good friend of mine made this costume down to the last stitch for her first child.  I was thrilled that she offered to let us use it.  And now I have pictures of my youngest child wearing a type of ensemble I may never be able to convince him to wear again!

 

 

 

Everett had a great time trick-or-treating.  He had been anticipating this night for quite some time.  His costume was also borrowed.  A sweet friend of mine crocheted the hat for Everett, and he has been happy to wear it since.

 

 

I thought we might be able to stay together as a group this year, but Everett was too fast for the younger two.  Joel and James went ahead and I stayed back with the slowpokes.

 

In an effort to be original, Everett decided to wish everyone a Happy Halloween instead of the usual "trick or treat."  I think everyone was a good sport about it.

 

 

 

Ashley had a wonderful evening at her own pace.  It was extremely difficult and tiring for her to walk up to so many strange adults and have to speak in front of them not once, but twice at every single stop.  Sometimes I could tell she needed a little break and so I tried to not push her to speak when I saw she was completely overwhelmed.  Fortunately people were understanding about her as well.  I was so grateful because I really wanted Ashley to enjoy every bit of the holiday.

 

 

 

 

And she did.  She got tired of walking in her cowboy boots, which were a little big, so I let her walk around in her fleece socks.  After we put the boots away, Ashley moved much faster, but she stopped every so often to hug, stroke, and nuzzle her horse friend.  She was extremely disappointed when we had to return her little buddy to our friends.

 

 

 

William was a man on a mission.  He clomped purposefully up the steps at every house, no matter how tall or steep, after which he'd yell, "TICK OR TEAT!"  and then "DANK YOU!" at the top of his lungs.  More than one adult cringed as they watched him go back down their darkened steps (with good reason), but he was intent on doing it all himself.

 

 

 

The kids were all thrilled with their spoils.  We had plenty of candy.  I was thinking of turning it in to our dentist for two dollars a pound, but the kids woke up early the next morning and polished most of it off.  I was disgusted, but I was also secretly relieved.  Being asked constantly for just one more piece of candy really drives me crazy.

 

 

 

James was intrigued by all the candy.  He is smart enough now to immediately determine whether we are holding food.  And so he resorted to constant whimpering and begging, just like a little puppy.  Seeing as he has now discovered toilets (gag) and unraveling the toilet paper, knaws and drools on anything he can, loves to fetch balls, and learned a few months ago to crawl onto my lap whenever I'm sitting, I'd say "puppy" is a pretty good description of our little buddy.

 

It was a great holiday.  The kids are already looking forward to next Halloween.  The Johnson family had a great party all together, and I really wish we could have joined them.  Maybe some day!