the rest of Thanksgiving weekend.

I love Thanksgiving weekend every year. It’s a great 4 days to spend with family and enjoy the holiday season.

I swore I wouldn’t give in to the Black Friday mess starting Thursday night.   But, I did.  And only because it involved my two sisters, a trampoline & 2 TV’s.  We somehow had a relatively decent experience at Walmart and somehow we got everything on our Walmart black friday list.  I crawled in to bed at 3am that morning but it was another Black Friday adventure.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting the house decorated for Christmas, playing at the park, dinner with friends, painting some cabinets, seeing the Muppets with my family [or if you’re Nate, we saw the Muffets], eating some Café Rio, visiting Santa, etc.  It was wonderful.

Speaking of Santa, we started this tradition a few years ago and it was another great year!  We go to the Bass Pro shop on the Saturday right after Thanksgiving to sit on Santa’s lap and play in their Christmas area.  We get there bright and early so we’re pretty much the only people there and the kids get free reign on everything!

Nate loved seeing Santa and made sure to let him know the 3 things on his list: Batman Helicoptor,  Joker’s Funny Car & the Penguin’s submarine.  He’s slightly obsessed with Batman. :)

Ryan?  Loved him and was saying hi until he ended up on his lap.

I love the holidays.

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!