We welcomed November with the first snowfall.  Harrison hated it last year, but I realize that it was probably  because I didn't explain that snow=snacks.  He loves to eat as much snow as possible while the big kids play, then proceeds to eat it off his mittens like corn on a cob when we come in.


Harrison is definitely a little goofball and a bit of an instigator, so there are lots of every day shenanigans, including poking Daddy in the eye during shoulder rides and pinching Daddy's toes to wake him up.  I can only laugh, which totally eggs him on.




We decorated for Christmas early so that we could come home from our Thanksgiving trip to most of it being done.  Connor was so excited for the beginning of the Christmas season, he couldn't even sleep without his Santa hat on.


Connor and Alaina still love to make stuff out of the recycling bin, which drives me bonkers, but at least they're being creative!


No need to recap our Thanksgiving trip in detail, since you all were there, but here's some cute photos of all of the fun we had!  Thanks again, Mom and Dad for the wonderful memories, hosting our wild bunch, and your generous gift, which allowed us to factor in lots of little experience that will enrich our lives and family time over the next few months that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to work in!









































It was wonderful to be able to spend the holiday with all of you, and we are already looking forward to Bear Lake!

Catching up!

I'm officially on pseudo-holiday, so here's a crash course in what we've been up to since my last blog post, which was entirely too long ago!  In September, I threw my hat back into the photography ring with a shoot of my former coworkers.  It was a ton of fun, since Brian works at a golf course in Denver and had the pull to get it all to ourselves.  It was fun to catch up, and also a little mindbending, since they converted to being LDS after being the young and crazy kids I worked with at Cheesecake.


Mom and Dad came out for a beautiful visit in October.  We made it up to Rocky Mountain National Park and almost to Dream Lake before the skies decided to dump on us, soaking us to the bone and pelting us with hail.  We sure made a memory!


Harrison loved the chipmunks that beg for food.


Mom and Dad at Nymph Lake.


Alaina's friend McCall, who moved last May back to Idaho, came for a visit.  They were both so excited to have some girl time and Alaina had her first friend sleepover.  They were thrilled to make, decorate, and eat too many sugar cookies.


Alaina's reading skills have skyrocketed this year, and she's now reading at a 5th grade level.  Harrison loves to be read to, and like the good big sister she is, she indulges him often.


Daily wrestling in the bed is still a mainstay of our kids' schedule.  We sure are grateful for the indestructible bed frame Anthony's parents gave us.  It was the first bed they bought, decades ago, and it's still standing, even after many "force pushes" which leave the kids flattened and the bed rattling.


I bought some flashlights at Costco, and had I known their play power, I would have bought them years ago!  Stella, Garris, and Harrison love to go "monster hunting" in the basement.


Kelly came to visit in mid-October, and it was nice to catch up and go antiquing (aka junk perusing).


We enjoyed the kids' school's Fall Festival, which included games and trick or treating.


Connor chose to be Harry Potter this year, since we had started reading the books as a family and he was smitten!  It was fun to run into Hagrid!


While Anthony and the big kids waited the hour to get their faces painted, Harrison shoved as much candy into his mouth as he could, saying "Oben dis" and handing me more while his mouth was completely stuffed.


We had a beautiful, 68 degree Halloween and we all had a blast riding around the neighborhood on the golf carts Anthony's parents rented and collecting enough candy to make them all ill.


I had fun torturing the kids with games before we went trick or treating.


Since there were donuts involved, most of them didn't mind.


Hopped up on all the excitement and sugar, Harrison ran around like a tornado for hours.  It was so cute to hear him say "Titorteat" at each house, and when people would offer him a bucket of candy, he wasn't shy about grabbing as much as he could.


He also made sure to jump down each step, so we were a bit behind the older kids.


This happy scene left my carpet begging for mercy.


Have you ever seen such sheer joy?


November's up next!