Cookies and Sledding

PC's brother invited us over to their house to decorate cookies and go sled riding.  We got several inches of snow the night before, so it was perfect.  We all had a blast being with cousins and having fun.  You can tell by the looks on their faces that they were enjoying themselves!

Sledding was a blast, as it was really the first time for our kids.  Tink had gone in WV when she was really little, but that was it!  It never snowed in Texas, of course, and we didn't have sleds in England to go when it snowed there. So this was a great experience for them.  They all LOVED it!  They had built up a little ramp for jumps and the boys (and Tink) especially liked that.  I don't think Minnie even attempted going over the jump, but she loved sledding down the hill.  Thanks to PC's sister, we got some awesome pictures!

Colorado or Bust

We made it to Colorado, safe and sound.  Well, mostly sound, anyway.  The kids were pretty stir crazy after being in the cars for 3 days straight, and we discovered that Goofy can really get on your nerves after asking "What can I do?" for hours and hours.  The movers came Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  On Tuesday, PC went on a field trip with Tink's class to Nanjamoy Creek, so Goofy and I held down the fort while they packed that first day.  Everything was packed up by Wednesday afternoon and then Thursday was the loading.  On Thursday, all the movers were Hispanic, so PC loved being able to talk to all of them in Spanish. I think he misses that.  After everything was out, we tried to get everything cleaned and packed.  The carpet cleaners came that night and cleaned the carpets.  We all slept in the two bedrooms with hardwood floors upstairs on air mattresses. 
On Friday, we woke and set off.  We made it out of D.C. ok. I was trying to wear my contacts, but was having a lot of problems with them, so eventually had to take them out.  I drove the van, and PC drove his car. We split the kids, two and two, which did make it easier.  We made it to Dayton, OH that first night. We stayed in a Holiday Inn and swam in their pool.  The second day we drove all the way to the other side of Kansas City, KS and stayed in another Holiday Inn.  We had to keep stopping for gas in the van, because we had the cartop carrier and the whole inside loaded down with stuff.  But driving it was fine.  One of my main thoughts while driving was how thankful I was that I had gone ahead and had the surgery on my arm done.  If I hadn't, there would have been NO way I could have driven that far.  The last day was the easiest drive, as we had no big cities to go through and it was just a straight drive through Kansas.  A bit boring, but I'm ok with boring when it comes to driving for several hours straight.  We beat Paul's family home from church.  The kids were so excited to see Nana, Papa, Uncle M and Uncle J.  It was a relief to be done with all that driving.  And I missed not riding with PC the whole way. He joked that I always just read while he drives, but I missed his presence in the car if nothing else. But we are glad to be here and so thankful that his family is letting us stay with them.  

Temple Lights

Last Friday we met up with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie K, my brother and his family, and my best friend at the D.C. temple. We saw a handbell choir and walked around the grounds enjoying the lights.  Here is one of my favorite pictures.

We had a good time with everyone, but it was sad to say goodbye. Who knows when we'll get to see everyone again.  But we did convince my brother to stay with us that night. My parents and sister stayed as well.  We took my brother to Chipotle for his first time ever. I think they all enjoyed eating those huge burritos. Then we played a late night game of Balderdash.  Good times. I am going to miss them.

Thanksgiving

I am so far behind! But life has been a bit crazy.  I guess it always is, so right now as my house is in boxes, I decided I better update it!
We went to my parents for Thanksgiving week.  PC went hunting with all the "boys"--my dad, uncle, brothers, and brother-in-law.  PC was the only one to get a deer the first day, but several of them had success the second day.  It was PC's first deer. I think he had a good time. He was using my grandfather's old 30-30 with no scope. But yeah, he's that good.  I was proud of him anyway.  I don't think he liked gutting it, though. Definitely a new experience for him.  This is the only picture that we got. He took it with his phone. It's a four-point buck.

Baseball with the kids

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday this year actually.  Two of my brothers wouldn't have been able to make it if we did it on Thursday. We all brought the sides and Mom took care of the turkey. Plenty of food. I made my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, which everyone LOVED.  Not that I blame them!  ;)  We played some baseball with the kids in the morning and after dinner we played the annual family football game. Lots of fun! I haven't been home for Thanksgiving for many years, and I miss playing in that game. Best of all was just being with family. Who knows when we will all be together again for this wonderful holiday.

The whole crew

Football with the "big kids"

 Thursday, we took the kids to see the new Muppet movie.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie K went with us. That night, the town lit up the Christmas lights at the park. They gave out free hot chocolate and donuts. The lights were gorgeous, and though it was really cold, we had a good time and were glad we went. 







Thankful

PC had lesson for Family Home Evening last night, so I told him we should do our thankful turkey that we do every year. We didn't want to put one up and do all the work of cutting and pasting, so I suggested just using the dry erase board.  It turned out really well.

One thing that was really funny, though, was that Goofy kept saying he was thankful for chickens! It was the first thing he said and we tried to change it to "animals," but he was adamant that Dad write down "chickens."  Then we'd talk about a bunch of other things we were thankful for, and then he would raise his hand again and say, "I know! I know! I'm thankful for chickens!"   He is such a hoot! (I think he was stuck on chickens because we saw chickens at the farm on Saturday.)  We played "Doggie, Doggie, Who Stole Your Bone?" for games and Goofy cracked us up again when he would do a great job of disguising his voice but would say "Doggie, doggie, who stealed your bone?" and would give himself away. Super cute kid!
We do have so many things to be thankful for.  We could have filled a lot more dry erase boards with thankful things.  This year has been crazy and just continues to ride the crazy wave, but we have floated along.  I don't know how we'd do it without our Father in Heaven's help.  And as long as we are all together, well, then it will just all be ok, won't it?

Veterans Day Weekend

PC's sister, Auntie M, came up to visit us this past weekend. It was great! The kids had a blast playing with their cousins.  On Friday night, we tried to go out to a restaurant to eat, but everything was packed and the wait was too long. So we went back to the house and ordered pizza.  More relaxing that way as well.  On Saturday, we drove down the road a bit to the National Colonial Farm. The weather was gorgeous!  There is a little farmhouse there with a lady dressed in colonial garb. She gave the kids each a piece of cotton and showed them how to pull out the cotton seed.  There were chickens running around and a big black sheep.  Two big hogs, named Rocky and Sally, were fun for the kids as well.  We walked on a trail by the Potomac River and could see Mount Vernon across the river.  Very pretty.  We ended at the fishing pier with a great view of Mount Vernon.

And best of all--it was FREE! 
We went home and got ready for Sunday. Auntie M bought us the new Harry Potter movie, so the adults stayed up to watch that.
On Sunday, we had our Primary Program in church and the kids all did very well. Though they were all so nervous. Tink didn't look up once, Bucko looked grumpy, and Minnie let the counselor tell her what to say rather than say it how she memorized it.  But they all did great and we're glad it's over! Now we can have more fun in singing time in Primary. (Ok, maybe I'm the only one who is excited about that!)

Happy Halloween!

Saturday we went Trunk-or-Treating at the church.  It was COLD! It was rainy all day, mixed with snow at times!  Our first snow back in the States, though it really wasn't snow, per say. Just a bit of flakes mixed in with the rain.  We spent most of the day unpacking, organizing, and cleaning. It is great to see all of our stuff again!  We made chili for the trunk-or-treat party, and the kids were excited to wear their costumes!  Tink was a black cat. Bucko was a ninja. Minnie was a ladybug, and Goofy was also a ninja.  Of course, by Halloween night he wanted to be Batman. I had made a Batman costume for Bucko a few years ago, so we pulled that out and let him be Batman last night to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood. Everyone had a good time, but ended up with WAY too much candy, as usual.  Now they will start planning what they will be next year. 

At Trunk-or-Treating

Halloween night