Much Thanks Giving

I have a tendency to get really frustrated with myself. 

 I wish I could say that I gave much thanks, but, unfortunately, I have felt somewhat terrible (the 3rd pregnancy can be a beast!) and I have let it depress me a little.  I planned a lot of fun things, but it was hard to motivate myself to do any of them.  The ONLY thing I ever want to do these days is stay home!  Thankfully, Kenny was home and helped me a ton! 

The kids have had a blast.

 I am glad I persevered, and we have had some great memories with the kids!

Every morning, Tanner and Jackson would wake up and ask what we were going to do for the day (because they knew I had something wonderful planned)!  I loved that! 

 We got to play with cousins,

 make crafts,

 spent time in the mountains (looking for our perfect tree),

 feast on great food,

 trim a tree,

 watch Christmas movies (I keep them packed up until Thanksgiving...so it is a real treat when I unpack them).

 enjoy our first family Christmas party of the season,

  see Aunts and Uncles,

  and spent time with Dad!

 In retrospect, I know I have so much to be thankful for!

 I am not going to lie though, I still love to stay home these days.

 At home, I don't have worry that someone thinks I am a bad mom, or that my kids are heathens. And my house is the perfect temp for a lady inclined to serious heat flashes :)...I never let it get above 65!

 As a Christmas gift to me, I am going to stay home as much as possible, but as a gift to my kids I will still venture out, as needed, for holiday adventures.

 Compromise?! 

Sounds good to me!

 I will try not to worry about what anyone else thinks,and I will try not to think of the uncomfort, but of the precious bundle headed our way...soon!  That is bound to bring a smile... right?!

 I am so grateful for Kenny and the boys!  They are all I have ever wanted!

Jackson is thankful for his paper turkey, and Tanner is thankful for church!

Sounds wonderful to me!

Believe me, I know that I really am a very lucky girl!

Turkey Shoot

Kenny is such a great Dad.  I know it sounds like bragging, but I just can't help it!

Our ward did a Turkey shoot last weekend.  All the men, young and old, did some skeet-shooting, and target practice. 

Instead of going and just enjoying himself, he took a 5 and 3 year old, who were beside themselves with excitement!

 I asked him if all the guys bring 3-year-olds to go shooting. 

He said, I don't care what anyone else does, I do.

He said that they created a cage in the back of a truck to lock the boys up when it wasn't their turn.  Wish I had a picture of that!

 It was also nice for a pregnant-tired mom to get to mop the floors and do some crafting/sewing with no little boys underfoot!

I sent Kenny with the camera, and he even took some pictures for me.

Horsey Rides!

There is a black vinyl couch in our house.

The boys have a few names for this couch...

Granpa's couch

sleeping couch

and, when Dad is home at bed time, The Horsey Station.

Kenny will make deals with them, like, if your teeth are brushed before this timer goes off, I will give you a horse ride to your beds.  The kids LOVE this. 

I love having Dad home! 

I sure feel like a horse these days, but I will not be giving any rides, anytime soon!

A tasty, fun time...

We have a wonderful resourse here called the preschool library.  It run by the school district, and the boys and I just LOVE this place.  They ladies who run it shared a fun idea with us...

Finger paiting with Kayro Syrup.

I put syrup into each section of an icecube tray with a different color of food coloring.

 These are made of cardstock...you need the studiness!  Let dry for 24-48 hrs.  They will be hard and shiny.

They were so cute!

 When we finished, I cut up some apples and we ate our paint.  Tanner was hesitant, but Jack was ecstatic (he usually eats it anyway though, so what's the difference, right?!).

Jack kills me with his facial expressions!  We call this the One-Eyed-Jack-Attack!

 After Jackson tried a bite, Tanner decided it was OK!

We had a sticky mess, but it was well worth it!

October Preschool Memories...

We had so much fun in October...but I have always been partial to Fall!

Our trip to the corn maze included...

...playing,

 ...a hayride,

 ...pumpkin picking,

 ...a giant cornbox,

 ...learning about water,

 ...gettting lost,

 ...feeding goats,

 ...more playing,

 ...and, of course, eating snacks!

 Here is some more of the fun we have had...

 Ava is 5

 A Halloween party that took us all over town!

We are learning and growing too fast!