Thanksgiving

I felt like this year was the most relaxed Thanksgiving ever.  I don't know how everyone else felt, but I wasn't stressed one bit...not even for a second.  All I could think about all day, was how overwhelming thankful I was that Ben was home.  I got to cook with him and hear his laugh and see him snuggle our kids and little things like table decorations and what time we ate, just didn't phase me.  It was blissful for me and I hope everyone else felt the same.

Speaking of Ben, he's going to kill me for posting this picture, but it cracks me up every time I see it!

making green bean casserole

Also speaking of things not phasing me, I didn't pick up my camera much that day.  I know Kent got some amazing pictures and will give him full credit when I "steal" them from him :)

I can tell you that when we weren't cooking, we were watching the parade (which was way better than previous years-but yes is really just one long advertisement) or playing games.

I lost count of how many games of Risk the boys played.

The little boys were busy playing pj games...I also lost count of how many times they changed them! 

Here, they're pretending to be cars:

And yes, I let them even wear pj's to Thanksgiving dinner, because really, don't we all want to be wearing elastic pants?

Alison declared herself the new puzzle master and did this entire puzzle that afternoon.  I was so proud of her!

Because I looked back at last year's post for our menu, I'm posting this year's so I will remember!

Breakfast: cinnamon rolls 

(make more...the kids devoured them and they were all gone by the time I got back from my run!)

Lunch: smoked salmon dip and Ritz crackers, pigs n' a blanket, veggie tray and cheddar/horseraddish dip

Dinner: turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, gravy, pumpkin pie, maple whipped cream

*next year add molasses cookies for dessert!

Thanksgiving week, Part 1

I had planned to do school Monday and Tuesday this week, but Sunday afternoon Alison asked if she could get all her work done then so she could enjoy the coming week.  I was working at my desk as well, so we sat and worked together that afternoon.  I actually really enjoyed that time with her and although I shouldn't be proud of extra work on the Sabbath, I was proud of her drive to get her responsibilities done before family came to visit.

Ben took the whole week off of work and we spent Monday getting down Christmas Decorations and picked up a tree.

We put ornaments on the tree in the afternoon before going out to dinner.  This year was much calmer than last year and Ben handed out the ornaments and the kids put them on the tree.  I played the buffer and helped any falling ornaments or stuck hooks.  We only put out a fraction of the ornaments, but we didn't have to go back and fix the tree after the kids went to bed.

 

This is probably the last year Ben can lift Alison to put the angel on...

 

Long story short, Tuesday morning we found this:

This poor dog was lost and must have felt our porch was warm and inviting because she wouldn't leave.  While we searched for her owner, we let her in our garage and gave her blankets and water.  She was a very beautiful and sweet dog...but she looked like a wolf, which made discovering her on our porch quite alarming.  I made Ben make sure she was safe first and then the kids were over-the-moon excited to take care of her while we found her owner.

Her owner ended up being a gentleman visiting family on a street behind us.  He let her out to go to the bathroom, she chased a squirrel and then it was too dark/she was too unfamiliar with her surroundings to get back.  We also found out that she was a pure bread husky puppy and let's just say her owner was more than excited to have her back.  Our kids were bummed because they were convinced that we were going to be able to keep her.

Ben and I could not stop laughing at the situation though.  The boys have a great talent of destroying their surroundings and we were trying to uncover their rooms before family came and then, oh yea, we had a whining husky in our garage.

The dog finally went home, the boys' rooms were found and Elizabeth, Kent and Jordan arrived Tuesday afternoon.  We had a Mexican fiesta that night and made our traditional pomegranate margaritas...the perfect ending to a crazy day.

Wednesday was girls day!  Elizabeth, Alison and I went to get pedicures and then had lunch at Panera.

bummed it's blurry :(

We spent the afternoon at Town Center and had fun shopping.

 

Alison was so patient while we shopped and then scored the jackpot at Claire's.  She's been doing extra chores around the house (yes you may clean all the bathrooms for $5!) for some money and has been anxious about buying some Christmas earrings.  When we got there, the lady told her she could get 3 items free when she bought 3.  She was in accessory heaven!

We were certainly spoiled that day by Nana that day...and by the boys.  They did all the grocery shopping for us!  We came home to a Mediterranean dinner and food for the rest of the week!

Race weekend!

Alison's "Fun Run" was on Saturday morning and Ben ran alongside her.

I'm so glad we went down that day and got to experience the true race feeling; lots of people wearing running clothes and tents set up and a band playing...there's just an exciting vibe to it.

Since we drove all the way to Norfolk for an 11 minute run, we decided to go the mall/lunch afterwards.  Alison wanted to take a picture with Santa and it would have been $40 if we had said yes!  Do people really pay that much money for a picture with a dressed up stranger?!

Sunday morning, Ben ran the Harbor Lights Half Marathon.  It was cold and raining and a completely different experience than Saturday.  The kids and I got there just 10 minutes before he crossed the finish line, but there was no one there!  I took it as a blessing that I didn't have to try and squeeze my way through a crowd with a giant stroller.  However, I was the only person cheering for the people before Ben who crossed...and that's just sad.

waiting for daddy at the finish line

The boys bunkered down in the stroller...ignore Eli's face

The race "crowd"

Ben in the black, coming up to the finish

 I didn't get great pictures because I was too busy cheering and jumping up and down.  I think I actually startled him, because he wasn't sure we would actually come in the rain.  He grabbed a cover and a water and we headed to our cars to get dry.  BUT, he ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!!

Alison's smile on Saturday almost killed me, but seeing Ben's on Sunday was a close second.

Ah, the things we do as mothers.  Rain jackets and umbrellas and rain boots just weren't cutting it, so on the walk back to the car, I covered them with trash bags I had in the stroller.  I'm sure people thought I was nuts!  

Well, I'm officially ready to move to Arizona and never see rain again, but I'm thankful this weekend is over and am SO proud of Ben and Alison!

Things that make me smile

Alison was studying Greece in history, so we had a Greek dinner one night.  She helped me plan and cook the meal and it was so fun having her in the kitchen with us, really truly involved and helping.  Ben added baklava to the menu and she helped him make that too.

Since it gets dark so early now, instead of playing outside after dinner, we've had to play games inside.  This week, we broke out the dominoes and playing as a family was the most fun I've had in a long time.

Colin wanted to be just like daddy and insisted on using his protein shake cup for his milk.  Why does he have to be so stinkin cute?!

Ok, not the greatest picture, but we met one of Eli's friends at the park this week and seeing him play with a good friend and hearing his giggles always makes me smile.  They were pretending the slides were their houses and I am always so amazed by his imagination.

Alison's writing assignment this week was to write a 2 point paragraph about Christmas.  This was her rough draft:

 This moment of happiness brought tears to my eyes:

Alison asked if she could run a race...her desire was completely unprompted or forced by us.  Ben had just signed up for a local half marathon and asked if she was interested in running the kid run (it was the day before the marathon).  She was excited to commit and asked us to take her for runs over the next month to train.  So, we took turns taking her on short runs and teaching her about running and working with her.  Maybe she just liked the individual time with us, but she never once complained or grumbled about running.  Race day came and I had this "mom moment"; my little girl with a race bib on, set a goal and worked hard to accomplish it.  She ran with all her might and even though it was hard, never stopped.

Almost to the finish line!  Finished 1 mile in 11:04

I just can't get enough of her smile!

That evening, I found her like this:

 Reading in front of the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.  Isn't it crazy that she's old enough to make her own hot cocoa (thank you keurig)?  AND she's reading a Little House book all on her own.  This momma was a puddle of mush by the end of the day.

I love how Colin says 'sandwich'. Alison recorded him making lunch the other day:

School room rearranged

Old room:

"New" room:

I sit in the middle, with all of our materials behind me so I can dish out work in a more efficient way and be right there to help/teach as they needed.

I thought the rearrangement worked really well for us.  We definitely got more done!  Because everything was literally right at my feet, I could easily hand them something extra to do while they waited.  For example, Alison's math had us cut up an apple into fractions and then we used the apple slices to stamp leaves onto fall trees.

Literally at my feet had some consequences though.  I didn't have room for my own stuff since I gave up my desk for Colin's workspace.  So I set my cup of water on the floor and while turning around to get a book, I put my entire foot in the cup of water.  The kids thought it was hysterical...I knew there needed to be some tweaking to this arrangement.  Ben came home from work, walked in the new room and instantly new how to make it better.  How does he do that?!  He fixed the room for me and then went to start dinner so I could finish putting stuff away and I am so thankful this man is home!!!

Now I can still use my desk when Colin isn't working and it looks a little more uniform.  The only problem I need to solve today is that Calendar you can see on the easel.  I had it taped up the wall, but it just keeps falling down.  So I stuck it on the easel until I could figure out a good calendar solution, and clearly that hasn't happened because it still says October.

Leaves!

I feel like Virginia missed fall this year.  We've been waiting and waiting for the leaves to turn pretty colors, and they just haven't.  It makes me sad because this will be our last real fall for a few years (I guess I don't really know what fall looks like in AZ, but I'm assuming it doesn't involve jumping in piles of leaves).  Plus, we've still had some really pretty, warm days.  Yesterday, we went outside after lunch and the boys were cracking me...they literally set up camp in our front yard and were intently playing babies.  Their babies were bears, but they were pretending to change their diapers and feed them.

Boys are in the tent...

I have no idea why the gas tank is in their house, but then again, they are boys playing house.

Alison was slaving away helping me pick up pine cones.

Eventually the boys paused their game to help us with some yard work.

Then it was back to playing.

These boys sure do love eachother and it's so fun to watch them play together.  Crazy though, I get asked all the time if they're twins!