Thanksgiving with the Shaws

Ben's aunt and uncle invited us to their house for Thanksgiving. They live in Auburn which is not too far from Sacramento. I absolutely love their family and all of their kids. I love all of Ben's extended family. I don't think I have met anyone that I didn't want to hug after spending time with them. Grant is obsessed with trains and has built a track around his property. The kids loved getting a ride in the train.



Grant has also built this little playhouse for all of his grandkids. All of my kids loved playing in the house and pretending. I told Ben that we have got to get our own house someday. I loved watching my kids run around the giant yard. They were like animals who were in captivity, released for the very first time.



I think CJ had the best time. There are two cousins that are the same age as her and they just happen to be girls. CJ had so much fun playing with them. I had fun with all of Ben's cousins. I hung out with the girls and ventured out in the wee hours on "Black Friday". We survived the crowds!



We were also there to see Patricia receive her Christmas gift early. All of her kids pitched in and bought her a baby grand piano. It was beautiful to watch. I hope we get to visit again soon. There is just something about having family around on the holidays. Family makes everything better!

Shortest Blog Entry Ever!

We're pregnant.

The Best Part of Thanksgiving. . .

The best part of Thanksgiving is that I get to decorate for Christmas the day after. If it were socially accepted, I would probably decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween. The stores bust out their Christmas merchandise, why can't I do the same?

This is a stocking that I made. It was one of the projects at our Super Saturday, but since I was in charge of another project, I didn't get to receive instruction that day. My friend who taught the class, gave me the instructions and I went home to teach myself. My friend had made modifications to the part of the heel and so I followed those, thinking she probably figured something out along the way.

It turns out that she wrote little notes on how to make a smaller heel when using a smaller loom to make the stocking. So my heel looks really funny, but I was proud anyways. This is my practice one. I am going to make some for the entire family and I am so excited. Here is a picture of my friend's so you can see how cute they can be. You can get the instructions here.



Ben's Aunt Patricia and Uncle Grant have invited us to come for Thanksgiving. We are so excited to see all of their family and their new additions this year. Last time we visited, CJ actually had kids her age to play with! We are especially excited to see Ben's grandparents who are coming from Utah. They are the kindest and most thoughtful people I have ever met.

We have so much to be thankful for and feel very blessed this year. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you may be!

P.S. If you are putting Christmas decorations up after Thanksgiving, I bid you a happy decorating day!

Things I've learned. . .

1. It's okay to blog even if you don't have a picture.
2. Staying overnight with your girlfriends in Monterey without any kids, is very refreshing.
3. Ben loves me and will never tell me that I'm getting fat, even if I know I am.
4. It's okay to think that my kids are the cutest in the world because I know it's true.
5. Getting a sleigh bed is very cool.
6. "Terrible Twos" could send me to my grave early if the two year old weren't so cute!
7. It's healthy to think about what's good for me.
8. I could take down Ben in a proper wrestling ring. Deep down, he knows it too.
9. Zits are not just for teenagers, although they should be.
10. Ben is excited about his Vidal Sassoon class on Friday and I shouldn't be worried he's really into hair these days.
11. Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.
12. CJ is growing fast and there's nothing I can do about it.
13. Making friends takes effort.
14. Mia is a mini me in so many ways.
15. Xander is a candyholic and may need counseling.

The end.

"I survived Super Saturday. . ."

I'd like to make myself a t-shirt with the words, "I survived Super Saturday." For those of you who have ever been involved in planning one of those, you would probably give me a hug, upon seeing my t-shirt and maybe a huge chocolate bar. For those of you who have no idea what "Super Saturday" is would comment, "When was Super Saturday and is it a holiday?"

I have been Enrichment Leader(organize activities for the women at my church) many times, but never have I organized a "Super Saturday" before! We offered 7 projects with one project having 4 different sewing projects included. We also had one class about digital scrapbooking where the presenter taught the ladies how to do it step by step using a laptop and projector. I mention the words, "laptop" and "projector", just for the men. I wanted to show off that women can work those expensive metal things too!

It was a lot of work, but everyone who came loved it. I didn't feel stress at all because I had great people who helped me out. Actually, I probably felt some stress because I can feel a cold sore coming on, but really, I didn't even notice.

The minute I came home from the long day, I immediately plopped on my bed and talked Ben's ear off (he's got another one, you know). Then, I had this fabulous idea of taking a bath! Normally, our bathtubs are big enough to fit midgits or my kids. Since moving, we have a luxury tub, big enough for a grown human like me! It was heaven. Ahhhhh!

Halloween X 5

That's how many times I feel like we celebrated Halloween this year! We finally have packed away the costumes after last nights "Trick or Treating" at Pixar. If Halloween night didn't produce enough candy, the day after Halloween Pixar makes sure they get enough! Since the day after Halloween was Sat. this year, Pixar had the activity on Monday.

Oh, but let's rewind and we will tell you how it all began. . .

It was a dark, cold, scary night, oooo, ahhhhh. . . actually it was a week before Halloween on a Saturday. We had just rushed home from Pixar (We watched HighSchool Musical 3-"Like OMG, it was the coolest!") and plopped costumes on everyone and hurried to the church building for the ward party. Games and sweets galore!

A few days later. . .Mia had a parade at her preschool where the kids dressed up and trick or treated from the parents. She was a very beautiful princess (she wore a total of 3 different dresses this year). Here is a picture of her class:

That same day, CJ had her school carnival where I was in charge of a game booth. It was crazy because it rained and so everything was thrown into the cafeteria. I really didn't get any good pictures this year of CJ and Xander. We always seemed to be rushing around getting costumes on that I never got a good shot of them.

At CJ's school, they had a costume contest and Mia popped up on the stage with the kindergarteners. CJ should have won the "My makeup is all melting and my wig is falling" award.

On Halloween, I took the kids to the trick or treating on Webster Street where the kids could trick or treat at the local business and they had a little carnival that was all free. I love this, because if at night, the kids or I get tired of walking around, we can be done and they still have candy. CJ got to go trick or treating with some friends her age, for the first time. It was the best arrangement ever!

Ben and I have a giant stash of candy we stole from the kids. Shhhhh! Don't tell. I'm sure it will be gone soon, because I shared the hiding place with Ben and he is just like a kid. He can't stop eating it. I, on the other hand, have so much control, that if the candy were solely in my possession, we could be handing it out next year for Halloween. That may sound gross, but I am just illustrating the power that I possess is very, very, strong.