A Few More Pictures From Thanksgiving Weekend

Let's see...we had 2 cousins to celebrate birthdays.

E's cousin got a walkie talkie set for his birthday. Several of the boys spent the rest of the evening playing on these things. E, of course, was right there with all the action. She didn't have a walkie, but smart girl, she improvised. She talked into a Tupperware pitcher lid. "What?! I can't hear you! Corbin, come in!"

Wedding pictures can be frustrating and long, especially when working with a huge family....in the blinding sun. But we managed, and we captured a few funny shots.

Doodle pad swiped from one of the many children as they exit the Temple.

Lovely shot taken during several moments of mass confusion as we were attempting a family picture...which consists of a ton of people.

The bride and her brothers.

Welcome to the family.

Did I mention the blinding sun?

Smile for the camera!

E was so excited to see her cousin show up at the Christmas tree lot. Of course we had to take a picture of the two. They're such good friends. But E just....

could not...

stand...

still!
It's all fine and dandy though. I love these pictures of her.

My dad assembled his Christmas train that runs around the tree. E fell in love with this train last Christmas and talked about it most of the year. She was so excited to see it again. She sat right beside my dad, helping him with any task possible to make sure the train would get set up in a hurry. It has all the sound effects of a real chugging train, a whistle, and actual smoke. It's a big hit with all the grand kids!

The boys were mesmerized.

A Bunch of Sickos

As I mentioned earlier, the kids caught a bug at Thanksgiving time. We first noticed runny noses on the boys. Then while we were attending Aunt Rachels' wedding, we got a phone call from Grandma that they were going downhill fast. E happened to be at the zoo with her cousin so we weren't sure how she was feeling. But as soon as she was dragged out of the van that evening, we knew she was just as sick. All had the runny nose, cough, sneezing, and fever. We had to cancel our traditional trip to the mountains and just try to get some sleep. It's not fun taking care of all your children when they're sick. The whining and crying, coughs and sneezes in your face, and ALL that snot! It was everywhere! I've never seen so much snot. Before getting sick, my boys didn't mind the nasal aspirator (the nose sucker), but after a few days we had to hold them down to keep them still. The torturous cries that followed weren't pretty. During all waking hours we were wiping or sucking all their noses. After sleeping, it was if they had been slimmed. Not only was their nose encased with dried snot, but it was all over their face, in their hair, and all over their clothes and bedding.

So, it was no surprise that a few days later A and I get sick. Now the whole family gets to enjoy this experience together. Now we're really having fun with the holidays. But wait...it gets better. After having a cold for a few days with a cough that almost breaks a rib and wakes the neighbors, A and I get strep throat. We're lovin' life. This was one happy household for awhile there. But the fun...the fun doesn't stop! No sirree! We've got a 3 year old copy cat, so E decided to get strep throat as well. Fun...we're a funhouse alright. Not only does she get strep, but...drum roll please....scarlet fever! Hooray!

We're all on prescription drugs and cough syrup, so hopefully our fun filled two and a half week ordeal is mostly behind us. We're still recovering, but doing a lot better. Let's hope we don't get sick for Christmas, which was the case last year when E had a spike in fever, feberal convulsions, and Roseola. Good times.

Christmas morning...no fun.

Christmas evening...no fun.

Dr's office the day after Christmas...still no fun.

Thanksgiving

Ok, so I tend not to post directly after an event. We usually wait until the camera is full and then we upload everything at once. Even then I'm not promising a quick blog post. But, I'll eventually get to it. Today's post is Thanksgiving. Ahhh, the holiday to openly express our thanks to so many things...family and friends, home, car, job, our country, our freedom, our ancestors...there are so many things we are thankful for.

Our holiday was packed full of events that kept us on the go. We had a lot of family events that didn't leave much down time. Here are most in a nutshell.

*Family came to town and stayed with us for a week, which was great fun.
*Prepare food for Thanksgiving
*Family pictures- Sports attire this year and very casual.


*Thanksgiving football game



*The actual Thanksgiving meal for A's side of the family, which fed about 57 people this year. I'm not sure if that's the record or not, but we had A LOT of people there.
*A second Thanksgiving dinner at my family's home. And yes, we were stuffed.
*Aunt Rachel's wedding


*Pictures and wedding luncheon
*Shopping. Oh, and we also stopped to get Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory dipped apples. YUM!
*Christmas tree chopping and picnic in the mountains were canceled due to the kids getting sick.
*Choosing Christmas trees on a lot near my parents' home with family


*Decorate my mom's tree
*Game Night with A's family
*Sewing Christmas
*Decorate my own house and tree
*Made a traditional childhood paper chain for the Christmas countdown. E and I made it a little late, but she doesn't know that.
*Work feverishly to get everything ready for the church Christmas Social
*Then just get feverish. A and I ended up getting sick from the kids.

And with all this rushing around, my Christmas Cactus bloomed! Looks good.

Her First Birthday Party

E was so excited to go to her friend's birthday party at the Children's Museum. All the kids had a great time exploring and then having cake and ice cream. I found it funny that there were more adults than children and we were all clicking our cameras in the excitement. Most cameras were on Avery, the birthday girl of course, but I found myself taking more of my own daughter... eager to capture another first.

She and Avery just talking away. E- Oooo, I like your cake. A- That's Dora. E- Wow.

Are there any other kids in the room? There's plenty, but E has some interesting things to say. E- My mommy went to the dentist. I'm gonna go to the dentist. Did you go to the dentist? A- No. I go to the Doctor. E- Did you get a poke? A- Nods head. E-Ooohhh, are you ok?

You think cake and ice cream might slow these two down? Nope. The conversation just got more entertaining.

All the kids finished eating...except E. So, everyone was whisked away to open a few gifts. Well, I thought it was so funny that at one point, this entire table was full of people eating and now there was just one. My little one. And good for her! She decided that finishing her chocolate ice cream was worth sitting by herself as everyone else gathered around the birthday girl and new toys. A true chocolate lover. That's my girl.

Look at these two...holding hands and just giggling away! They are so adorable.