November 2013 {A lot to be Thankful for}

November was a blur!
While I was busy studying my life away and writing papers....
Tyson was:

Taking the kids to the zoo

Raking the plethora of leaves in our yard

Cooking dinner almost every night

 Watching the kids and keeping them entertained

Keeping the house clean

Bathing little Mister

 Growing a mustache

Doing the bedtime routine solo
(which anyone with kids knows is the H. A. R. D)

and working with Talmage and encouraging him to use his legs

Good thing I scored a keeper. He really kept the house running in November and December while I finished finals and prepped us for Christmas. He is a great team player, a wonderful father and the best helping husband. I bet everyone reading this is jealous...well you should be! He is the best!!

Other happenings in November included:

Dinner at Market Street to celebrate my in-laws anniversary.
This cute boy loves his grandpa.
I hope my sweet boy is cut from the same cloth as his daddy and grandpa.
Then he'll be quite the catch and a "keeper" one day too!

My oldest nephew Jadee got married and it was a beautiful wedding and we were so glad to be apart of the celebrations that day.

Ava (our little artistic girl) won the reflections contest for photography in her grade (1st). She got a medal and her entry was sent on to the district level competition. She also got to have lunch from McDonald's brought to her at school and she was so excited and proud of herself.

The theme was Believe,Dream and Inspire.
Ava took a picture of her jazz dance teacher instructing the class and wrote a little paragraph about students believing they will be dancers one day and dreaming of being on stage and the teachers and professionals that inspire the dream.
We are so proud of our "little fousa".

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house for my mother, my brother Sam's family and some of my nephews. I am so mad that I didn't get any pictures...not even one of the house set up, the awesome Turkey (that Tyson cooked of course) and the awesome people that we got to spend the holiday with. I guess I was so worried about hosting that I didn't get to take time to enjoy it and get some memorable pictures. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, all I could envision was the scene from National Lampoon's Christmas vacation where they carve the turkey and it deflates. But Tyson did such a good job. It was so flavorful and moist and everything turned out delicious! After eating, visiting and enjoying pie, we went to see the new Disney princess movie Frozen with our friends and neighbors the Ramsey's.
Great movie, great company and great end to a wonderful holiday!

Some of the great holiday art that decorated our house!

compliments of Ava

Compliments of Claire

 And some cute things Ava wrote about being thankful for.



And I ended the month the same way I started...with lots of homework and a little study buddy!

October 2013 {Halloween Festivities}

Pumpkin Patch

 

We went to the a pumpkin patch this year to pick our pumpkins. There was a corn maze and tractor ride and a lot of fun photo opts.

We met up with our friends the Ramsey's for some dinner after picking the perfect pumpkins.

Gardner Village

 

Tyson took the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches without me this year so I could do some homework. I hate missing out on fun family traditions.

 Our Ward Party

 

Claire's Preschool Halloween Program

She was adorable! Shy and silly!

She insisted on being a lady bug for this occasion so we went with it. 

I love her independence!

 I love this sweet and spicy girl!

Halloween

Claire likes to surprise people with her scary face.

Ava got to help Ms. Nixon lead the Halloween Parade line. Can you tell she was excited?

That night we put our pumpkins out and went trick or treating. The girls were really into it and could have gone all night but Tyson and I pooped out.

Having a one year old is so fun and those first few months of being one are filled with many "firsts". Here are just a few outtakes of some firsts for Talmage this month and some of the fun he had with his sisters (or the fun his sister inflicted on him).

 First Fudgsicle and Ava the Helper

First and so far only forward facing care ride.

 First sucker after 12 month well child check and shots. He loved it!

 The kids were playing house and they put Talmage in his "crib" to play. It was fun to see Ava coax him over there and shove him under. He didn't seem to mind and he played right along.