Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow is the big day and I am so thankful that all I'm making are two banana cream pies, rolls, and whipped cream!  The pies crusts are waiting to go in the oven right now!  I am definitely a side dish/dessert person when it comes to preparing turkey dinner.  Turkey's and I have yet to get along!
We put up this thankful tree last week for Family Home Evening.  We all added things that we are thankful for.  I'm sure we could have come up with more (maybe when the kids are older), but it has been a great reminder to me of being grateful for things, people, and experiences.  I've added a few more myself throughout the past week.
 One of my favorites on there is "Mars."  That was Brett's.  I didn't even know he knew about Mars.
That kid surprises me all the time!  Hope you have a happy day!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Grant's Piano Recital

Grant had his third piano recital this past weekend.  He played three songs, including Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.  He had practiced a bunch, and it paid off.  He sat there in his suit and played with confidence.  It was a proud parents moment for sure!  I love watching him progress and see him enjoy his talents!

Monday, November 16, 2015

I'll start with the biggest news...

It's a boy!!!! We're so excited!  Keith is thrilled that he'll have a foursome for golf.  :)

 Grant invited Keith's grandpa to the Veteran's Day celebration at his school.  He was the oldest Veteran there and had a good time being recognized for his service to our country.
 During Grant's free time at school that day he decided to make a card for Keith's grandpa.  A handful of other kids in his class thought that was a great idea and Grant came home with his card, plus six more.  One of my favorites said, "Dear Veteran, do you like ice-cream?"  Ha!  I love first graders!

 Two peas in a pod.
Grant's school had a color run.  We went to watch him and cheer him on.  He won't let me wash his shirt because he doesn't want the colors to wash out.  So it's just sitting in the laundry room.  I think I'll have to throw it in the wash one of these days or he'll never get to wear it again! :)

 We lucked out one afternoon when the electric company drove three big trucks onto our street and changed out an old electric box across the street.  Brett sat out front with a cookie and cup of water and watched the whole thing.  He was in heaven!
Grant got a new front tire on his bike this past weekend.  His last one split open.  He was so excited about his new tire and quickly organized a bike race around the coul-de-sac.   
 Camille is proving to be quite the athlete.  She is obsessed with throwing balls and can catch a football pretty well.  Her dad is soooo proud!  :)
 We spotted a praying mantis on our neighbor's bush.
 This little girl is also obsessed with having a glove (or a sock if a glove isn't available) on her hand.  It's the first thing she asked for this morning.
 Tub hair!
 It's so fun to see Grant learning to read and write so well.  He's started leaving me notes.  Here are a couple favorites:
This one was left on the bathroom counter after he wiped it down before school one day.
 And this one was after I took him to get a new suit.  I hope he keeps leaving notes like this forever, they really boost my confidence!  :)
 Grant had an awesome baseball season.  Keith coached him again along with some other great dads. Most of the team has been together now for a few seasons and they've really made a lot of progress.
 Grant was selected as his school's town council student of the month.  He got to dress up and get a nice plaque from the Mayor.  His cute teacher submitted a letter for him to be considered for this and she was thrilled that he got picked.  She even came that night with her new husband.  I love how enthusiastic she is.  We're proud of Grant for getting this award.  My camera quit on me right as Grant got his award so I only have this group shot.  You'll just have to take it from me that he was smiling really big and looking very handsome as he received his award.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Family Turkey

 Grant brought home a plain outline of a turkey from school.  We were to decorate it all together as a family.  So that's what we did last night for Family Home Evening.  I think it turned out pretty awesome!
Afterwards Keith pulled out his magic glowing thumbs and taught the boys how to use them.  We were laughing our heads off for a good half hour.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Halloween. And an earthquake?

Halloween was a hit around here.  We had a bunch of family over for BBQ pork sandwiches before trick-or-treating started.  Camille LOVED everything about Halloween this year.  Well, that is once I pinned her down and got her costume on her!  Once she saw herself in the mirror she thought it was pretty fun.
Our neighborhood really gets into Halloween, particularly one street nearby.  There were tons of people and cool things to see.  We were out for quite a while.  I came home a little early to rest while Keith took the kids down the other side of a long street.  Then we had fun passing out candy before heading in to go to bed.  Camille was so sad to see the fun end, but she fell asleep super fast that night!
 The boys had fun in their bat costumes.  I found this tutorial and went from there.  It wasn't too hard, but it did take a lot of thinking and figuring out.  I think I'm done sewing for a while.  :)
Grant with his pumpkin.
 Brett with his upside-down pumpkin.
 Keith's pumpkin.
 My pumpkin.  I ran out of time to carve this pumpkin.  I picked it out because of it's natural smile.  :)  So I stuck some rolly eyes on it and a wig.  Camille thinks it's hilarious!
We had a lot going on this past week, including Keith getting Lasik done on his eyes.  It was nice to sit back and relax on Saturday night and watch a movie.  But we ended up falling asleep halfway through.  We are just old and tired around here lately.  :)
Then last night, as I was laying in bed with the window open, I heard a terrible noise.  It woke up Keith (which is really hard to do).  It sounded like a giant mountain lion was running around on our roof!  I made him search the house and check out the windows!  He found nothing, but he said he felt like it was an earthquake.  I was like, "No, we don't get those here.  That's crazy."  But we both started checking online, and sure enough a lot of other people in the whole Phoenix area were wondering the same thing.  And it really was an earthquake.  4.1.  That was a first for me.  Now if I hear those mountain lions running on my roof again, I'll know what it really is!  :)