Thanksgiving Weekend

Oh, I do love a long weekend.  Corey had the whole time off, so we had lots of fun family time together.  Thanksgiving Day was busy.  First thing in the morning, we all headed over to Old Town area for the Turkey Trek.  Corey decidedly signed us all up this year.  One thing you should know is this.  I. Don't. Run. Period.  Ever since my very early 20's when my knee began to feel like it was being sawed in half after about a mile, I called it quits on jogs of any kind. Until this year.  And true to it's history, my knee started in about an eighth of a mile in, as well as some strange side-ach-ish pain, but my pride wouldn't let me stop, so I went ahead and ran the whole thing, albeit fairly slowly.  We had to start at the back of the group and had a huge double jogger, so that didn't help our time. Corey on the other hand, is a runner and always has been to some extent, so it was a sacrifice for him to submit to such a running time, but he said we'd do it as a family, so we did.  It was, however, a great way to start Thanksgiving, and despite the pain, I'd do it again. Maybe.  Ash and Beck ran their kids run and had a blast.  Asher takes it very seriously.  You'd think he was prepping for the Boston Marathon by the look on his face at the starting line.  Man, that boy loves to run:)

The main event this Turkey Day was at our house, and we were joined by Adam and Kayla.  The food was great, and we had a nice afternoon.  Kayla and Adam left us that evening headed for Walmart and all that is Black Friday, where they executed a well orchestrated plan and totally scored.  They're so brave.  My family loves Black Friday, and started making it more of a tradition around the time I got married, and somehow it's just never clicked for me.  Hoards of trytophan induced, sleep deprived shoppers thrusting all their greedy hands in for the last object of desisre.  It just plain scares me.  My dad was even shoved down last year, all in the name of dealio on some sheets.  Ridiculous.  I stick to the safety of online shopping, and then we venture out around 9 or so, when all the best deal are long gone and we can shop in safety. 

All in all, a fun and yummy Thanksgiving, until poor little Beck came down with a nasty virus that lasted a week.  We also were able to spend some time with my sister Jen and her family, which we always love.  We were able to finally meet her sweet, new baby, Ella. She's so happy!  Regrettably, there are almost no pictures to show any of our fun-ness, except for our run.



This Thanksgiving I am reminded, as always, how much I LOVE my family.  Love, love, love them so much.

Balloon Fiesta 2012

 

 

 

Does this balloon look close?  That's because it is.  And this is the view off of our deck every morning for about two months.  When it sounds like a fire-breathing dragon is flying over your house, and your dog starts barking, you know a colorful display is about to float overhead.  They are so close, you can wave, and the passengers will  wave back, and of course, they often land at any of the several parks within a couple of blocks from our house.  I still don't feel like we take them for granted, and I hope we never do!  I still run and grab the kids to see them, like a kid myself.  It's just fun.

We headed out to the Balloon Fiesta on a week day again this year, trying to avoid at least some of the crowds. The day we went there were loads of balloons going up for the Mass Ascension. There was also supposed to be a morning balloon glow(something new!), but we mostly missed it because of a mistake on my part. Corey was NOT thrilled with my miscommunication, and I felt awful about it. We usually buy tickets online, and this year it was up to me and I totally forgot, so bought them right when we were heading out the door. Of course, when you do things like this at the last second, the printer never works fast enough and your internet is going at turtle speed. So, we missed the glow:(

We all loved it, as usual. The favorites this year were the 'Lion King' balloon, and the Fireman, and Horton(upside down), but it's so hard to pick when there are SO many to behold! This was our first year without a stroller, which made maneuvering the crowds easier, yipee! The boys were cutie pies, and enjoyed all the craziness and fun balloons. Til next year!

 



Halloween!

Halloween this year was the real deal.  Our kids are both at ages where they totally understand and appreciate that the holiday is all about dressing up, having fun and getting candy.  On a side note, I was hoping with all my might that at least Beck might want to be a cutie-pie animal of some sort. It was not to be, and I was disappointed.  At Costco, Corey showed them the cool boy costumes and it was over.  Asher came out with a Fighter Pilot costume and my 3 year old ended up being a member of a SWAT team (I was actually pulling for the Astronaut, which seemed somehow sweeter). They were beyond excited about their costumes, trying them on several times before the big day.  Corey and I were no fun at all this year and didn't plan anything, although at the last second, Cor came up with a rock star costume(ooohhh, how I wish I'd taken a pic) for the trunk-or-treat, so I guess it's just me that wasn't any fun!

We carved up some cool pumpkins, and on a note of garden-pride, the headless horseman one came right out of our backyard!  It was pretty cool to watch it grow, and the kids practically considered it a pet.  I think they turned out great this year though! We did help the boys...a lot...but trusting them with knives just isn't going to happen yet.  They grew tired of it fairly quickly anyway:)

We went to our ward trunk-or-treat, where the boys left with more than enough loot from games and trick-or-treating.  Then, the following night they topped it off by trick-or-treating on our street.  Wowsers.  So much candy. The boys were thrilled with their hard earned booty though.  Asher's candy of choice this year was...everything, and he organized it all into piles, just like we used to when we were kids. Beck was drawn to the suckers, namely the dum-dums, and not just one at a time. 

Halloween night we had a fun dinner of chili and cornbread with Adam and Kayla and then headed out into the night.  They both were really into it this year. Asher was trying to be speedy and run from house to house, while Beckett had a comment for every house.  For example, at one house he asked the woman at the door why her house wasn't decorated?  At another house he told them they had LOTS of candy, after which the owners offered him some more.  And still at another, he told the people what a cute dog they had.  Seriously, at every house he had something to share.  So, so funny.
After they came back, Asher helped hand out candy, which I actually think he liked doing as much as he liked getting the candy! 

 

We had some good Halloween fun this year! I am secretly holding out a smidgen of hope that one of my kids will want to be a cute, snuggly creature next year instead of something with a gun or a sword.  The big boy costumes are just another reminder that they're growing up!