A "spot on" Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was spot on (as quoted by Tyler Jolley) and filled with nuggets of happiness (as quoted by Frankie Heck).  Tyler won the best game face contest and the coveted prize was a front page picture on the blog, so.....

go ahead,

soak

up

every minute of your

15 minutes

of fame....

This really was one of the best Thanksgivings.  I loved laughing and cooking up a mean Thanksgiving feast with Margaret, I loved the Christmas music playing in the background, the smell of turkey mingled with killer homemade stuffing and made from scratch apple pie (yeah, we're pretty proud of those) and the sounds of the dads being mauled by the kids.  Jayden and Maddox were typical boys and typically fascinated by the naked turkey and gizzards and then were so grossed out at the idea of eating it. However, I am proud to announce I am a sweet potatoe convert, thanks Meg. And Ryder formed an intense addiction to licorice, thanks bad mom, but I think everyone deserves to enjoy Thanksgiving. We had a rowdy game night before deciding on a whim (mostly because I was getting killed in Hearts) to do it up on Black Friday and we done did it up until 3 AM.  Kylie loved being one of the big girls and swore that sitting in a shopping cart on a pile of DVD's with glazed over eyes for an hour in the Wal-mart check out line was the funnest night of her life.  The next day was Christmas unleashed with Santa and the Snow Princess helping me transform the house. I can't tell you how happy lighted garland on the stair rail makes me.  Then cuddling up with hot chocolate and Reese's popcorn to watch Christmas movies under the glow of the Christmas tree, it was just dandy. I love the holidays.

Fall has hit.  Well, it has hit only one tree.  Of all the trees in our neck of the woods, I'm glad it's the one I see when I look out my kitchen window.  It makes doing the dishes a little more bearable.

Hiking season

I love when the weather finally cools off so we can enjoy the cacti and sagebrush and remember why we live in a state that threatens to cook us alive.  This was an especially memorable first hike of the season because we had my brother Tyler and his family with us since they're living with us for the month of November while he's here on his medical rotation.  It has been a blast having them here and that deserves a post all on its own, but for now here are the pictures of our fun day.

Laundry day for the "new 'nuggles" is a very long and very sad day at our house.

I'll say it again. We love having visitors.  Especially when these visitors are so cute with our kids, and they are game to go wakeboarding in November, and they cheer loud at the soccer game, and they (ok, just "she") likes to go shopping, and they offer to watch the kids while we go on a hot date to the furniture store.  Yes, we loved every minute we had with my brother Tyson and his cute pregnant wife, Dawn.  And the best part is, we solved the mystery of Ryder's flat head-I can now blame genetics and not my lack of nurturing. Love you guys!

Halloween twenty-eleven

Jayden insisted on something scary this year, Transformers are so 2010. Kylie came up with Ryder's to die for nerd costume and I was waiting all night for the "inja" to say "wax on, wax off". Halloween was a month long celebration this time around.  The epic movie night, a carnival put on by neighbors, an adult Halloween scavanger hunt (this proved to be a pivotal point in our relationship.  For the first time I realized that when he says he doesn't like cheezy he is not just saying that while secretly hoping I will fill his car with balloons and love notes.  It was a fun night but scavanger hunts and creative Mormon dates are not his thing.  Atleast now I'm off the hook from planning that patio prom I saw on Dating Divas).  Then trick or treating at Jason's work (where they scored these glasses and now Maddox walks around saying "wook deeeeep into my eyes" and I have never heard him belly laugh quite like when he put them on Ryder),

then the ward trunk or treat,

our "Cackle Cook's Cafe" dinner night (where we lucked out to have Uncle Tyler here with us too),

Halloween breakfast,

Halloween lunches (Kylie tried to break it to me nicely that 4th graders don't do this kind of thing.  I was worried I had permanently scarred her reputation but she came home saying all her friends thought it was cool. They may not have been throwing their heads back in laughter at the joke list I snuck in there, but atleast I got away with it for one more year).

We had pumpkin shaped pizza and then finally the grand finale, trick or treating with neighbors and friends. I love our neighborhood on Halloween, the weather is always perfect and there's a magical glow as it comes alive with kids running around and neighbors gathered at firepits. Halloween has definately moved up ranks on my holiday faves list in the past few years.  Seriously, how could it not??