Snow Time

Last Monday we got a few inches of snow. It provided days of fun. Taggart is holding a cup of snow. He took it inside and I poured some apple juice on it to make a snow cone.

Thanksgiving Weekend '16

Our Thanksgiving was anything but normal and traditional but it will definitely be remembered and talked about forever. It was also a day of many firsts.
Due to some unforeseen sickness we were not able to keep with the plans to spend the day with my family. Last minute we thought we would go to Chuck A Rama but had no idea what kind of line would be wrapped around the building and into the parking lot. We kept driving around and saw that IHOP was open. My kids were all for going there. Marshall and I tried their turkey dinner which left much to be desired but definitely kept us laughing through the craziness of the day. The kids loved having pancakes, eggs and bacon for their Thanksgiving feast.

We went to Wal Mart after which was also a first for us. I knew Wal Mart was open Thanksgiving night for shopping but I didn't know it was open all morning/day too. We got some movie treats and food to have our own Thanksgiving dinner(for the next day to make up for this day).

Then we went home and the minis and I took naps. It was so nice to have some good quiet time which I wouldn't have normally gotten.

That afternoon we went to the movie Trolls. This was also a first and helped brighten our day.

 The girls wanted a picture by Boss Baby.

We had some free time after the movie so we found a park and skate park. Even though it was dark, that didn't stop the kids from running around and having fun.

We had missed out on having pie. Ali invited us over to her house and so we were ready to head there after the skate park. We were all so excited to see family and have something normal for Thanksgiving. Sienna had a huge blow out from her diaper and we thought we were going to have to skip Ali and go home. This would go along with the craziness of the day.  We were all so sad thinking we would miss out on dessert at Ali's. So we wiped Sienna down really well and changed her clothes. We were able to go to Ali's still and it ended our bizarre day on a positive note.

Random note: I picked up a pumpkin pie from Costco and worried that they might be out. Not a chance with this huge pallet full plus the refrigerated section.

My homemade rolls with the Lion House roll recipe. This year I used Turkey Flour from Lehi Roller Mills and it made them so light and fluffy. Yum!

Lynnlee's cozy pajamas for watching a movie during Thanksgiving break.

Friday we woke up and got all the Christmas decorations out. The kids had fun decorating the kid tree upstairs.

Ali is a gem. She invited us over Friday night for a Thanksgiving dinner redo. We had delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and pie. She even had her fancy wear out for us.

Sienna found this robe that used to be Lynnlee's. She left it on most of Saturday.

Saturday morning I met up with my friends at Kneaders. I sure love these ladies!

We have a tradition with my family to see a movie on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year we saw Moana. We all loved it. The minis sit through movies now so it's very enjoyable for the whole family.

Saturday night we went to the Santa parade. It's always so cold but it's a short and quick parade.

Later that night Marshall and James went to the BYU game. It was a cold and windy game but they had fun. BYU won so that made it all the better.

Turkey Trot '16

Our school has a Turkey Trot before Thanksgiving break. James took third place this year. The race was longer this year so it was great that he was still able to be in the top three.

His friend Cohen won the turkey this year for taking first. He and Cohen have quite the friendly rivalry going now. James beat him last year but Cohen has beat him the other two years.

Lynnlee has my genes and with her heart she will probably not win the turkey trot but she still enjoys participating.

Uncle Bob

This post is for my uncle Bob. He passed away from Thursday from a brain tumor. I'm so glad he was able to make a trip to Utah and meet my kids, before he got too sick. I also got to see him when I went to Chicago in April for my cousin's wedding. At the time we thought he would recover from surgery to remove the tumor. It is really crazy to think how short life is and you never know when the last time is you will see someone. I really wanted to go to his funeral in North Dakota with my parents but there was too much going on at home. I'm amazed by my aunt Rose's strength. She has endured her own parents passing, she has survived breast cancer and she has taken care of my uncle through it all. My cousin Alex was able to take time off work to be with her dad this last month.
It is sad to lose him but I think he was welcomed by my grandparents, aunt Debbie and cousin Lindsay.

Weekend With Cousins

We love having cousins over. Katelyn, Drew, and Lucy stayed over Friday. These three put on matching night gowns. Don't they look beautiful?!

They had a big pajama party in the basement. Marshall is finishing some projects in the basement bedroom/office so the mattress is in the movie room. It was nice having two mattresses so everyone had a spot.

The next afternoon Ali had all the older kids at her house. Marshall and I took the minis with us to run errands. They were pretty entertaining.

Except that they kept untying the shoe laces on the mannequins.

Taggart's Morning

The snow was all melted by the next day. Taggart wanted to go outside and play the second James and Lynnlee went to the bus. I kept an eye on him while he was outside. He jumped with his baby on the trampoline. Then he gave her a ride on the spinner.

Then he spotted me and so I pushed them both on the spinner. He is so cute!

First Snow

We had our first snow two days after it was 70 degrees. The kids went out and played before school.

The minis didn't remember snow so they thought it was pretty fun.

70 Degrees

Last week the temperature got up to 70 degrees! We all wore shorts and after school we went to our favorite park in American Fork.

Pure happiness!