A day of thanks.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day this year. 

It was technically an “in-laws” year for Thanksgiving [but since Wes used all of his vacation time & more this summer we needed to stay.  We missed you Griffeth clan.] so my parents decided to go to Salt Lake but my sisters were here so we all got together for a casual Thanksgiving Day.  And I have to say . . . it was wonderful.  We rarely get together with just my siblings so it was a nice treat.  Nate, Abbie & Daisy played exceptionally well together which left time for the adults to visit and chat [and chase Ryan]. 

Our day started with walking the track at Abbie’s elementary school just down the street from our house.  It’s a great tradition at Bartlett – it’s fun to see your friends and neighbors on Thanksgiving morning and to get a little exercise.  Vegas may not have the best autumn as far as pretty leaves and cooler weather,  but we almost always have fabulous weather on Thanksgiving Day.

We headed to Ali & Tripp’s early afternoon and we hung out there until dinner time.  Sam made Thanksgiving sugar cookies for the kids to decorate &  we all contributed to the menu [I’m not gonna lie, Tripp and I didn’t do much]. . . and each of us made something that we hardly ever make so that made it fun, too.   It turned out delicious!  It was nice to keep it simple this year.

And when you have two fabulous girl cousins that live around the corner from you – you’re bound to end up in a dress every once in a while.

And while we’re talking about a day of thanks . . . here’s a few things I’m thankful for:

I am thankful for Weston R. 

I’m sure glad I snagged him 9 years ago!  He keeps me on my toes & makes sure our little world is always entertaining and fun.  He’s a fabulous dad to our two boys – I love watching the beginning of Wes teaching them all he knows.  He works very hard to support our family and on top of that he is FABulous around the house.   One of my favorite things right now about Wes is how he genuinely looks out for my little sister, Sam.  Until she finds a man lucky enough to marry her – Wes is always checking in with her to make sure she’s doing well and makes sure she doesn’t need anything.

I am thankful for Nathan.

He is still a boy of extremes.  I’ll focus on his wonderful side.  He loves to do/make things for people and lately has been very interested in helping others.  He has an enthusiasm and excitement for basic things in life that I love.  He is creative and a little quirky and loves random things around the house.  He has a tool box of random items that he is constantly creating with.  He definitely inherited a competitive side and wants to win at absolutely everything he does.  He’s definitely testing the waters right now but I sure am grateful for this little boy.  He makes me smile.

I am thankful for Ryan.

Even with the almost two-year-old-ness and the fits and the hitting/scratching (oh, ryan) and the short naps that results in more fits...he is truly a joy.  This little boy is one constant motion - he never stops moving.  He climbs.  He gives the biggest and best bear hugs you can ever want and can lay on the charm.  You will find him saying “pretty please” when he really wants something.  He is a total boy – he growls at just about everything, laughs when he farts & gets excited to tell me his diaper is “cucky”.  Despite all of his craziness, he still gives me endless cuddles throughout the day which I love.  And even though he gives me a run for my money every single day – I sure do love this monkey.

I feel like my list of things I’m thankful for could be forever long.  But here’s a few more: our health, our home, our great families, sisters, wonderful friends, my Savior, the gospel, my calling in Primary, jobs for both Wes and myself, & the ability to be home with my kids.  Life is pretty good and I’m thankful for that.

Birthday Shopping with Abbie

Abbie turned SIX last week [which is just crazy to me] so Sam and I took her on our annual birthday shopping trip last week.

This year she wanted to go clothes shopping which was really fun!  Our first stop was H&M and that ended up being our last stop for clothes because she found a dress and a skirt that she wanted.  She also found Minnie Mouse ear muffs that Nate gave her at her party.  We went to the Town Square park and enjoyed a yummy pretzel and then made one more stop at the store - Sanrio.  Abbie spied the Hello Kitty filled store on our way in so it was a must while we were there.

It was a fun few hours out with Miss Abbie.  She’s such a sweet girl and we enjoyed spending time with our niece.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Yep, the tree is up.

I’ve never put my tree up this early before but I think it’s a new tradition.  

a). I still have my fall/Thanksgiving stuff up all over the rest of the house.  I heart Thanksgiving.

b). I don’t like saving everything for the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Between the tree/exterior lights/Christmas décor – we’re getting the tree and outside lights done early.

c). And it’s just plain festive.  I never feel like the tree is up for long enough so maybe this will help.

Happy Holidays!

Before & After: Family Room

We’re moving pretty slowly with decorating our home [we will have lived here TWO years in January!] but we have managed to do a few projects around here.

There were a few obvious things that were on the top of our to-do list.  #1: the family room area.

BEFORE

Isn’t this just a bizarre use of space?  Do we really need to have a big post coming out of the fireplace like that for the flue?  It’s all just strange. Plus the pink/green tile was just killing me. 

AFTER

So, in October 2010 we had a fabulous general contractor come in and frame/stucco in the windows, give us a real mantle, & a built-in.  And one year later . . . October 2011 . . . I finally found a tile of sorts to put on the fireplace.  So, it’s finally complete!  And a MUCH better use of space for the family room.  And, it allows the couch to face the other way so it really opened up the room. 

Next project?  The bathrooms that are still stuck in the 1980’s!

I have a new rule.

If you’re my friend – you aren’t allowed to move!

I’ve recently lost way too many friends to Utah [and one to California] and I’m not liking it one bit.  Glad your husbands found better jobs – but we miss you!

Here are a few friends from my old ward at a goodbye outing for Megan & Alex.

Look out – Kiley & I are coming to visit you all!

Nate’s realization.

My boys fight.  A lot. 

But tonight – for a half hour right after they got out of the tub and it wasn’t quite bedtime – they played.  Nate initiated a fun game where they ran a pretend race from Nate’s room all the way down the hallway to my room where Ryan jumped in to my arms as I folded laundry.  They did it over and over laughing & holding hands.

About halfway through – Nate says this in a shocked tone of voice:

“Mom – this  is really great that I’m being so nice to Ryan.  It’s actually really fun to play with him!”

And at the end of playing for 30 minutes without a single tear, he says:

“Mom – me and Ryan have never done this before!”

Too bad Wes was out of town and didn’t get to witness this!

Time with NATE.

I got some quality [and much needed] time with Nate this weekend.  We’ve had a long week in our house & Nate and I needed some time without Mr. Ryan. 

A few months ago, my friend Laurel posted about the “filling of jars” for good behavior.  Once the jar was full, they got to pick something out that they’ve been wanting for a while.  I was looking for something to help me with Nate and his behavior so I found him a jar and some pom pom balls and away we went.  Typically he just has to fill it up once to get to pick something out but I’ve been wanting to take him to Build-a-Bear [I knew he’d love it] but that’s a pretty big outing so he had to fill up his jar two times to get to go there. 

He was SO good and filled it up the first time in a week.  I didn’t know he had such good behavior in him!  Round two took significantly longer but he did it.

As soon as Wes walked in the door from the golf course on Friday [Veterans Day] Nate and I headed to Build a Bear and it did not disappoint.  He loved it.  He has a side that is very nurturing and loves to take care of things so he’s loving his bear.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so excited about something, actually!  He couldn’t wait to show my entire family.  The bear’s initial name was Santa Griffeth but by the end of the night his official name is Light Bear since he has light spots on his ears. 

And of course, the outfit he picked for Light Bear?  Spiderman.

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The rest of our quality time together was spent at his preschool friend Paige’s birthday party, running a few errands [errands are a piece of CAKE with just a 4 year old tagging along!] and at 2 volleyball games.  My highschool volleyball coach [who is now a friend] still coaches at my highschool and she’s fabulous.  They were in the state tournament this weekend and the WON the state championship!  It was fun to be there to watch.

It was a fun weekend with Nater Taters!

goodbye stomach flu. hello colds.

So . . . the stomach flu left our home and we were all healthy for about a week. 

And then the boys got hit with a cold/cough/fever that made for a pleasant weekend.  Poor guys.

Nate is back to normal but Ryan is definitely not.  The hardest part is that they both act pretty normal when they’re sick.  They’d have to be strapped to a hospital bed to stop moving.  But today Ryan’s little eyes said it all.  He wasn’t feeling it.  But somehow he was still running around like a crazy man for a good part of the day until he’d just collapse in my arms.  I have yet to experience a day on the couch watching movies with a sick child. :)

He did sit with me for a few minutes to watch Grover!

I love these boys of mine.

Wes had a birthday.

Amidst all of the recent craziness, Wes turned 31 on October 25th!

Unfortunately, his actual birthday was kind of uneventful as far as birthday celebrations go. 

- I was still not feeling well from the bizarre sickness that ran through our house & it was the day of the trunk-or-treat that I was coordinating so I was a little busy.

- So we did Yogurtland with my family the night before and we opened presents on his birthday but that was about the extent of it.   Luckily the PBR is one of Wes’ favorite events of the year and it’s always the week of his birthday.

- I managed to muster up enough energy to make him his favorite birthday cake [homemade chocolate chip applesauce cake] but the recipe I was following didn’t have chocolate chips listed in the ingredients so I didn’t add them before I frantically threw the cake in the oven to pick Ryan up so he’d stop screaming.  I know, you’d think I’d remember an ingredient in the TITLE of the cake, but I didn’t.  I had to throw the “it’s the thought that counts” card on this one.  I’ll re-make him one eventually!

- I still owe him a birthday breakfast at The Cracked Egg.

He did however get many birthday wishes so thanks for that!  Nothing was going my way, that’s for sure.

Wes is ADORED by his two little boys.  They ask for dad a lot – especially Ryan.  With his travel schedule, they sometimes go a little while without seeing dad so they get pretty excited when he actually comes home from work!  They can be found staring out the window waiting to see his car.  And I’ve got to get Ryan’s excitement on video when he finally spots the little silver corolla pull in to the driveway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Weston R.  We sure do love you!

halloween night

We had a great Halloween night.  Halloween is a friends & family kind of holiday to me . . . the more the merrier.  So I invited 35 people to my house for dinner on Halloween night!  Everyone was fabulous and brought food and it turned out to be pretty fun.  We had 4 pots of soup and lots of Halloween food, treats & drinks before we went out trick-or-treating. 

 

Trick or treating was fun.  We did a loop in my neighborhood and it turned out great.  Ryan ran his big elephant self around the entire loop.  He let me carry him once we were a few houses away from home but he wasn’t letting anyone carry his bucket of candy!  He loved following all of the kids around and attempted to barge in to any house that had a dog.  And of course, Nate loved going with some of his friends.  After every house he would yell, “mom – I said thank you again!”

It turned out to be a pretty fun night.  There is no way I would have pulled this off in time without Sam’s help.  My mom forgot she told me she’d come in the afternoon to help with set-up [she’s the queen of dinner parties] so Sam showed up even earlier than she originally had planned and saved the night.  We cooked and arranged to the tunes of Christmas music.  When my mom showed up – she was quite a lifesaver, too. 

In October, we watched a lot of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” so we continued the Great Pumpkin tradition in our house this year. 

Nate and Ryan each picked about 10 pieces of their favorite candy to eat this week and the rest went in to the big black cauldron that was left on the porch on Halloween night.  The Great Pumpkin comes and takes all of the candy and leaves the boys with a surprise.  This year it was Superman t-shirts and some superhero figurines.  They loved it.

Happy Halloween!