Thanksgiving was great this year. Low-key with family, great food (No thanks to me. I'm officially putting myself in charge of dishwashing from now on. Spare the food!), games, and best of all, an old-fashioned slide show.

The little kid's table.


Grandma was brave and gave the three and four year olds glass goblets. They all felt VERY special and sophisticated.







*after a drink*"Aaaah!"

The big kid table.


The adult table.





Not pictured was Marshall, who was living up to his Baby Bin Laden nickname in the other room and Dave, who was on a work call.

Alaina was feeling very ladylike and extended her manners to her silverware.


The kids lasted about 10 minutes at the table, then all went downstairs to play. My kids have a habit of screaming and squealing when they're really happy, and it was SOOOO loud, so I had to put on my mean face and order them outside. They didn't mind at all. I'm trying to be conscious of all of the benefits of having older kids to keep my baby-hunger at bay, and being able to say, "Go outside!" while I stay toasty warm is definitely one of them!


Since I had been the one to request the slideshow, Dad appeased me by slipping in lots of pictures of cute baby Carolyn. I do see some Alaina in there!


Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Alaina is taking after her mama and is now a coupon queen! My binder gets a little disorganized when I let her do it, but she asks me every day to clip some coupons.




Connor is more apt to sit and watch, especially when he can get an apple cider out of me! Unfortunately, this extends to a lot of circumstances and we are working on responsibility. WORKING on it...


Connor's still a little shutterbug and often sneaks pics of me. Alaina loves to hang on my right arm and it is cute and frustrating at the same time. I am very familiar with the "Step backward" command on Photoshop because of this little habit of hers.


A different day, same pose. Thank you, Connor, for the forgiving motion blur. This is me pretty much every morning. Fumble through getting the kids their juice, set them up for their only mommy-sanctioned tv time for the day, wake up with my caffeine, dink for 15 minutes before Alaina moseys over and says, "Dan I sit on your lap?"


Sundays are still the best day of the week. They usually include Alaina and Daddy watching some football together...


...while Connor busies himself elsewhere. Baby Olivia is still alive and kicking, and Connor has asked for a carseat for her for Christmas. Some mornings he'll ask me for milk to give her a bottle. He's a good daddy. :)


I've been practicing a new piano song every day. While playing one day, the light was streaming in a north window just right, and highlighted a tiny handprint. I've been using microfiber dusters on the piano for a long time, forgoing the Pledge, and wow, I could barely handle the nostalgia. The oil from Alaina's hand (I can tell it's hers because she still has edamame-shaped fingers, while Connor's are still conical) must have been there for over a year because her fingers are all more than an inch longer. My, how quickly my babies are growing. :/


For size reference:


You can tell it's been a long time since Mommy and Daddy have been on a date (nine months!) when Daddy starts sculpting playdough dates. Can you tell what "we're" doing? The kids asked where they were in the scene and Daddy emphatically replied, "Not here!" :)


I lost ten dollars in a bet against Anthony. I said Alaina couldn't fit into her stocking from Grandma and Grandpa from this picture:


Apparently, she can:


Until next time...

The past few weeks have been a bit crazy for us. Anthony went in for arthroscopic surgery to scope out and possibly repair a suspected labrum tear, then came out with five anchors in his shoulder and a diagnosis of a SLAP tear. Bleh. He's getting stronger and more capable every day, but this experience has shown me how much he'd been doing at home while I've been at work. We've had to call in a lot of favors to make this happen (thank you Aunt Cynthia, Mom and Dad, and Theresa!) and we're grateful for all the help we've received!

Since Daddy was laid up in bed, we had Theresa and baby Oliver over to carve pumpkins a couple of days before Halloween!





Look at that concentration!

My creation, the Headless Horseman:

As cool as these template pumpkins are, I feel a bit like a sell-out. I wish I could take the credit!

Theresa's scary pumpkin:


Anthony was determined not to miss out on the Halloween spirit! It was a bit of a feat getting his uniform on, but it looked good!


I didn't have a costume, so Grandma and Aunt Marinda seized the moment to dress me as an 80's style Strawberry Shortcake with cowboy boots. Do you think I could submit this one to Awkward Family Photos?


Grandpa showing the videos he took to a robot and Darth Mater.


We've confirmed over several dentist visits that Connor has been cursed with my teeth. Let's hope this is not a glimpse into the future!


On the actual day of Halloween, Papa happened to be in town! We went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. The kids adored it, of course!


Connor checking out his loot on the go.


A family photo where everyone's looking! Miraculous!





BFFs.

I swear the weather went from gorgeous and warm to nasty and cold overnight! Thank you, Pinterest, for making our time inside a little more enjoyable! Shaving cream+food coloring=bath time fun!


As usual, things started off deliberately and controlled.




...then mayhem ensued and the bathwater turned black. One funny moment: Connor was chasing around the globs of shaving cream with his hands and saying, "Come to Papa...." I'm not sure where he heard that expression, but since the only Papa we know is THE Papa, Alaina assumed that she would do the same thing while saying, "Come to Nana!" :)


And to end the post, a definitive picture of three-year-old Alaina. Messy hair, dirty face, still in pajamas at noon (some would say that this is a mothering failure, but if my kids are playing nicely together, I let them be!), tutu, one slipper on the wrong foot, one snowboot, and Beantie. The only other thing that could be added to make it more accurate would be three or four plates of food in the shot!

What a fun fall week it's been! On Wednesday, we met up with Marinda and her two youngest to walk around Gardner Village. Marinda and I have been doing these playdates quite frequently for the past THREE YEARS, and let me tell you, we know how to pick the days that everyone else in the world picks to go out, too. Needless to say, we didn't last long there! We headed to Chili's for lunch afterward for what had to be my favorite part of the week: Alaina was eating corn on the cob with her elbows up. Alton jovially poked her in the ribs and she jumped. She very deliberately put her corn down, turned to him and said incredulously, "People are trying to EAT here!". So funny coming out of a 3-year-old's mouth. She was genuinely offended!










Connor has been bringing home loads of lovely art projects from school and insists that they be viewed gallery-style. Anthony and I marvel all of the time the interesting quirks that surface in our children that are so easy to attribute to one parent or the other. I used to hang all of my drawings that I deemed worthy on the back of my bedroom door just to marvel at them in all of their glory. There's something about viewing your own art at standing eye level! (Oh, and that's his baby "Olivia". He takes great care of her!)


The kids have been expert fighters lately and refuse to nap. Anthony told Alaina to just stay on our bed for five minutes while Connor had a five-minute quiet time in his room. Who wouldn't fall asleep in a sea of comfy pillows?


On Saturday, we went to Weber State's homecoming game! There were some moments that REALLY stressed me out (e.g. having to take the kids to the bathroom in a porta potty. I haven't used one since a traumatic episode 12 years ago when a beast of a Young Women leader made me push all of the poop to one side using a stick as punishment for leaving camp early so that I could attend a mandatory 4-H obligation --Oh, the injustice! I know we are supposed to forgive and forget, but I will NEVER...FORGET...). However, barring the potty thing, we all had great time!


I loved the golden light of sunset contrasting with Weber's purple. Beautiful!


Photo taken by Connor. I'm telling you, this kid is a natural.


Today, we went on a drive hoping to find some fall colors. Did we ever! Millcreek Canyon is absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous right now.


About .05 of a mile in, we had to stop for a snack break. I don't know if other people's children consume as much as ours, but I'm having a hard time believing that all children are hungry this much, despite the meal they had 30 minutes ago. We're not talking about a couple of goldfish crackers; in this sitting they ate a protein bar, a nutrition shake, and an apple. About 15 minutes after that, they ate granola bars and yogurts. When we got in the car, they both ate another apple each, and then we had dinner as soon as we got home! Food insanity!





Running while eating. Mom of the year!


Connor is in his element when he is out in nature. Absolutely loves everything about it.



I've always loved the patterns that bugs eat through tree bark. I remember sitting in Aunt Cynthia's bunches of scrub oak, pretending that I lived outdoors, and finding a branch with this on it. I thought I had come across petrified wood that had writings of an ancient civilization on it! I was convinced that I had made a huge archeological discovery, excitedly showing Stephanie and making her take a vow of silence until I alerted the media. You can imagine my disappointment when Cynthia told me it was just the makings of hungry insects.




Proof I was there. Thanks, Connor!





This is so indicative of our family. Connor MUST be in front. Alaina dawdles, then has to jog to catch up. Anthony walks with purpose, and I hang back to take pictures of leaves.







I love you, October.