December/Christmas 2012

Must get back on the blogging track!

Ahhhh, December... it was another action-packed holiday season. Already more than a month out and I'm not sure I can remember all that we did, but here are some highlights. And our camera has been sketchy as best, we are mainly relying on phone photos, which clearly are not always the best-

We attended our town's festival of lights, where Isabel sang with a darling children's choir, which she loved immensely; had a visit with Santa; enjoyed hot cocoa and cookies, and had a horse-drawn wagon ride. It was a warm night, hardly felt like December!

We decked the halls-

I was thrilled thrilled thrilled to finally have made stockings, something I'd been wanting to do since Connor was born. I just couldn't commit to any until I saw an idea I liked, and then I made it my own. I really love how they turned out; they were much work but super fun to make. Some friends and Brian made the stocking board, and the entire outcome made me giddy with joy for the whole of the holiday season.

We attended another, much larger nearby holiday parade and festival of lights, with ice skating, hot cocoa stations, free train rides, and a fireworks show. Super fun night!

We dressed our Christmas best for church-

We spent Christmas Eve at home just the 6 of us, with our traditional appetizer dinner, Christmas movies, PJs from grandma and grandpa, and cookies and milk for Santa-

Christmas morning was EARLY, with Connor waking up at 4, and the rest of them all up by 4:45. Painful. I barely remember gift opening. But I know there were some happy kids. Mason got some Cars-themed stuff; Lucas' gifts included a bunch of Lego Monster Fighter sets (these are a beloved possession still), some books, a Where's my Water game, a Playmobil Egyptian/Sphinx set. Isabel hardly asked for toys, but rather clothes, writing thing (she spends a good deal of time each day writing or reading), a stuffed hedgehog, a 2-wheel scooter, jewelry, bath stuff and books. Connor got the Lego City police station he's asked for for about 3 years in a row, some clothes, games, and vehicle stuff. See why I need to keep up with blogging? Six weeks out and I can't even remember it all. We also got an XBox Kinect from my parents. And if I had to award a prize for best gift reactions/most beloved gifts, it would go to Lucas. Hands down. Very entertaining.

Christmas Day we went to Castle Rock to be with Brian's family; Brian's sister Kelley and her family moved to CO from TX this summer, and it's been great having them close. With the kids waking up so early, it was a lovely, quiet hour-long drive for Brian and me-

We had gotten a magical Christmas snow on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day was cold and snow-covered and sparkly, just how I love it. It was great. We enjoyed a great dinner and just hanging out with everyone, and the kids loved playing with cousins and getting more gifts from nanna and grandpa - Cars squinkies for Mason, an art set for Lucas, more Lego friends for Isabel (these are so darling and so much fun!) and a Wimpy Kid Cheese Touch game for Connor. That evening Brian and I sneaked away for a moonlit walk, and it was fantastic. What is Christmas without a frigid walk in the snow, I ask?

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a nice, low-key Thanksgiving. My brother Nate, SIL Alli and nephew Aidan came over. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner and they brought some great side dishes and pies.

My kids got really into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade this year while Brian and I got dinner ready. We ate with Nate's family fairly early, which provided for a nice afternoon of just hanging out, watching some football and going on a beautiful walk.

Here are the kids - they adore their baby cousin!

All in all, a great day to celebrate the many things we are grateful for.

Halloween 2012

It seriously is becoming more difficult to keep up with my blog. What with pics on phones and pics on the camera, my photos are not nearly as organized as they once were. And side writing projects, and life and growing kids and this and that and it isn't leaving me with much time or motivation. But as this is the ony place our memories are dwelling, I must keep up. At least try to keep up. Hello, here it is Thanksgiving week and I am just catching up on Halloween. A first for me.

Halloween was warm and beautiful this year, the costumes turned out well, the pumpkins were filled with candy, so I call it a success.

A few Halloween-y treats. The vampire pancakes from a few years ago were a MUCH bigger hit this time around (Connor was freaked out by them last time). We have named them vampcakes. And also some Frankenstein krispie treats-

Our carved pumpkins-

My favorite costume (maybe of all time) was Mason's owl costume. I had thought of it a couple of months ago and was so thrilled with how it turned out. My talented and dear friend Kristie made him the hat, and I sewed felt feathers and wings onto a cheap $5 sweatshirt from Walmart, and I bought some yellowy/orange tights at Target. It came together beautifully; the wings actually looked awesome when he pretended to fly, and when he "flew" around saying "hoo-hoo" the cuteness was nearly impossible to contain. He was a big hit at our ward party and trick-or-treating. And the picture of him drinking out of a cup with go down as one of the best pics ever. He was a well-loved and much-admired owl.

In true Lucas fashion, he chose something tough, the Mr. Incredible costume that Connor wore a few years ago. I made the mask, and because he insisted he needed long, shiny black gloves, I made those too. I'd never made gloves before, and he wouldn't want to wear them for anything besides in costume, but they worked and he was pleased. And tough, of course.

Isabel decided on being a candy corn fairy. She didn't want to be called a princess, but she didn't have wings, so we went with fairy anyways. I had a ton of fun making her wand and crown, and had planned on making a tulle tutu, until my friend Becky offered up a felt candy corn bubble dress she had made a few years back, and Isabel liked it enough to use it, so that we did. It went great with her wand! She looked sweet enough to eat.

Connor went through the most costume idea changes; he settled on being a fisherman just days before the big day, but since it was such an easy costume, I was fine with it. He made the paper fish, and then he and Brian sealed them on both sides with packing tape, punched holes in them and hung them on a stringer. They put some lures in a gander mountain hat, he wore a bug shirt that passed of as fishing flies, carried a tackle bag for his loot and we called it good.

All together-

Trick or treating!

The loot-

38th Birthday

Brian and I celebrated our 38th birthdays on October 29. We were excited to try a creole cafe called Lucile's that comes highly rated and much beloved, and so we thought our birthday was a perfect time to go out for an awesome breakfast. And it was! We had beignets, hot cocoa, fresh-squeezed orange juice, biscuits with homemade jams, and he had the creole omelet and I had the eggs sardou, which was poached eggs over creamed spinach with gulf shrimp, and cajun potatoes. And they served the meals on darling Happy Birthday plates. Amazing and fun and cozy and just awesome all around. What a great morning! We hardly ever go out for breakfast; it was a real treat, especially as my friend Jen took Lucas and Mason so we could have a leisurely morning, and we did some shopping after breakfast.

It was nice to get a lot of calls and messages from family and friends with birthday wishes, and that evening we went out to dinner as a family.

The next evening, some of my friends took me out for a costume birthday dinner to Hacienda Colorado, another fave where the salsa is so good they have to serve me my own personal serving in a large bowl. It was fun to see how everyone was dressed - they all looked awesome - but my favorite was my friend Jen's costume... she dressed as my biggest fan! She made a poster with my picture, a shirt with my picture, buttons with my picture; it was a little strange seeing so much of myself, but it was so clever and fun. Love good friends. I dressed as the queen bee, a costume I made and wore for me and Brian's first married Halloween, when he was a beekeeper and I was his queen bee. Ahhhh.....

I arrived home that evening to find this note from Isabel on my pillow; she often leaves notes for me and/or Brian at bedtime, this one was especially sweet-

All in all, a fun way to celebrate my life, although I'm not so much a fan of getting older. 40 is looking all to ominously on the horizon!