Thanksgiving Weekend

The week before Thanksgiving we had a visit from Dave's mom and dad and sister, Christy. The kids were so excited to see their grandparents and aunt and we had a fun night eating dinner together, visiting, playing with the boys and singing songs. On Thanksgiving we spent the day at Valley of Fire with my parents. The boys loved going hiking and climbing on all of the rocks. We saw ancient writing on several rocks and tried to figure out what the pictures meant. We ate lunch at the end of the hike and then once we got home the kids and Dave relaxed while I made dinner. We had a small dinner that night with my parents: a roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, rolls and chocolate-pumpkin cupcakes for dessert.

We set up the Christmas tree and decorations and the boys had fun going to the park, riding bikes and playing with neighbors, watching movies and having a sleepover in our bedroom. We enjoyed the long weekend and Dave and I took advantage of the sales and went Christmas shopping. We even bought a new kitchen table, something we have been wanting since we had Logan and needed a bigger table.
At the beginning of November we had the boys write down things they were thankful for and we tried to remind them of all of the blessings they have. They wrote down things like: the Earth, church, hands and feet, the military, family, Heavenly Father and Jesus, toys, and video games.

Book Basket

In our rental house our family room was upstairs. We had the TV and couch in there as well as all of the toys. When we moved I was looking forward to having a family room downstairs, close to the kitchen, where we could hang out. But we didn't really hang out there. We'd go upstairs to where the TV was because we were used to that. We have no TV in the family room; we only have one in the whole house. But I wanted something in the family room that would get us in there, that would make the kids want to sit on the couch and hang out there. I also needed a place to put our library books so we wouldn't lose them and that was where I got the idea for a book basket. Baskets were on sale at Michael's one day so I looked around and found this one. It was big enough to sit on the TV stand and hold all of our books, but small enough for the kids to pull down when they wanted to look for a book to read. I love the basket. I love that we can keep all of the library books in one place (even school ones so we can find them fast before school on library day) and that we have something to do in the family room that does not involve sitting in front of a screen. Sometimes after dinner Dave will read books with Colin for his homework while I clean up. Sometimes Logan will grab some books and sit on the couch and tell me to come read to him. Sometimes Trevor will sit in the middle and read to both his brothers. And there have been times when the whole family has been on the couch reading books we got from the book basket. There's nothing better than sitting with your whole family reading together. And there's something great about seeing your kids choosing to read.

Halloween

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. We love the spooky decorations, pumpkins, costumes and everything else that comes along with it. Colin REALLY loves Halloween and will often plan and prepare for it months in advance. This year was filled with friend and school parties, the church trunk-or-treat and trick-or-treating with friends. And while they traded candy the day after, the boys were already planning what they wanted to dress up as next year.Colin as a mummy and Logan as a ghost for the Trunk-or Treat.

Trevor as a ninja this year.

Colin walking in the school parade.

The boys before trick-or-treating. Logan dressed up as a Vampire Tiger.