The Most Wonderful Day of the Year!

I love Black Friday. It means crowds, sales, getting up early, shopping straight for 9 hours without kids, being with friends, spending money, and filling the van. We did have a little extra room in the van this year, but we did take more than one also.

We started bright and early at 3:15 am at Target and didn't get home until 12:30 in the afternoon. I love going even if people think I'm crazy. I think I love the company that I am with and the fact that most of the Christmas shopping can be done in 1 day! I look forward to Black Friday as much as kids look forward to Christmas morning.

Black Friday also means getting out the Christmas stuff. Boxes of red and green can only mean decorations.

Megan did a great job with the tree while Emily watched mostly and Tyler helped Wendell with the lights outside. I just love the Thanksgiving weekend. We saw Santa come into town in a parade, played laser tag, saw Tangled, shopped some more, and ate out. It really is the best time of year. Now we are ready for the busyness of December.

Thanksgiving Day

I just love Thanksgiving. I love that it is a relaxing day with food, games, and family. I also like the anticipation of the shopping weekend. This year we went to a church to eat and celebrate.

Grandma Grace has a lot of posterity when we sit down to eat. There were a lot of people and a lot of food.

Emily's favorite part was the pumpkin pie with squirt cream.

While the adults played games, the kids entertained themselves in the gym with tables, the stage, and planning plays. It was a fun day.

Later that night, we went to Wendell's parent's house to do gingerbread houses. I think the kids ate more of the candy than actually got on the house. What a great day to be reminded of everything we have to be thankful for and celebrate with those that mean the most.

Thanksgiving Break

The last day of school before Thanksgiving a huge "blizzard" was supposed to blow in. Everyone rushed home to wait out the terrible storm. Well, we didn't get our blizzard, but snow did fall. Enough to make the perfect playground for a day without school.

The kids spent hours digging and building forts.

Sadly, it hasn't snowed since, and their forts have all melted.

The night before Thanksgiving, we went to a festival of trees. Emily was so sad that we wouldn't fork over the $700 for a new tree complete with decorations. I finally told her it was either the tree or presents on Christmas. She relented and was happy with reindeer food for $1.00.

The trees were beautiful.

It was fun to look at everything. Tyler informed us after looking at all the trees, that we needed to do a little better with our own when we put it up. I can always count on Tyler to be honest. Now bring on the turkey.

You Just Got Burned!

I have finally finished my final for the semester and can update the blog again. Before I do, though, I have to quote Megan. She had a lesson a couple of weeks ago in Young Women's on tithing. Apparently the only thing she heard was the scripture about being burned at the last days if you don't pay. We had tithing settlement this week and she took almost all of her cash out to pay as tithing---which we didn't know. Well, today we were in the car talking about buying things and Megan said, "I can't buy that. I don't have any money. I paid it all to tithing so that I won't get burned." I think we need to have a lesson on the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. At least she is covered if the second coming happens in the next couple of months. I guess I should be more willing to pay all I have so I won't get burned.

Hello Winter!

We have really had a nice Fall. So nice in fact that most of the leaves are still on our trees and the kids haven't even been able to play in them. Well, we woke up this morning to snow on the ground. So much for raking. Hopefully what few were on the ground blew away with the wind over the last 2 days. I do love sitting in a nice warm house looking out at the snow. It also means that the holidays are one step closer and with a few more flakes there may even be a snowman in a yard soon. Now we have to find the boots, gloves, and coats---that may take a while.

Tyler has Advanced!

Tyler and his friend have been working hard to earn their Webelos badge in 2010 so they could get the special commemorative patch. Well with a lot of work at den meetings, Tyler finally received his badge last week. He's thrilled he now has all 4 badges on his shirt and now wants to earn all the pins.
You gotta love the pinning of the moms. Games after the pack meeting to keep busy scouts occupied. Next on track is the arrow of light.

Happy Birthday Emily--Again!

Emily has been planning her friend party since Megan's birthday in July. She wanted to surprise her friends also with something fun. We weren't up to a camping trip, but settled for a sleepover. They started by making pizzas.

Then decorating cupcakes Disneyland-style---Mickey shaped bowls and lots of frosting and sprinkles.

Emily's favorite part of the party was opening presents.

The girls love to pose.

And then for the big surprise. Emily wanted to see Disney on Ice and take her friends. On the way to Salt Lake we kept telling the girls we were going to a basketball game. They just couldn't figure out how that could be the best party ever as Emily had told them. When we got to the doors finally, the ticket taker asked if the girls were ready for the monster truck show. They all groaned, but of course then saw all the Disney goods.

The party waiting for the show to begin.

The girls loved the show, but from the look on Tyler's face, I don't think he was as excited to be there. I don't know if it was the 5 girls or the show itself.

All smiles.

After getting back home, the girls spent the rest of the night playing Just Dance and watching movies. Emily thought she had the best party ever and from a Mom's point of view it was one of the easier ones.

Breakfast the next morning and the end of the partying. Happy Birthday Emily!