Playing Catch-Up: November 2014

Onto November! The Major Events: My first temple trip in two years, Fischer's Birthday, Thanksgiving, and setting up Christmas.

Day after Halloween we took down the spooky decorations and put up our generic fall ones. There weren't many, so we kept our pumpkins out. Fischer loved the ones that were small enough for him to hold.

The weather has been a lot more pleasant this year than last and so even though it was Fall, we still had plenty of "short sleeve" days.

Due to living so far away from a temple and having Craig gone 99% of the time, I hadn't gone to the temple since having moved here. Not great excuses but it's the truth. So, after an especially tough week, Amberly, Courtney and I headed to the D.C. Temple. Beautiful isn't it? I can't even express how wonderful it was to be back in the House of The Lord. So peaceful and exactly what I needed that week.

Had a trip to Chuck E. Cheese after the kids did their chores all week to earn a super fun day. It was totally empty except for us; all I could think was, "Yeah, Five Nights at Freddy's" really ruins the place for you. That Chuck E looked extra creepy this time around. (I'm not saying, I'm just saying.)

And Peanut here had another accident which resulted in severe rug burn on his nose. Oh, the perils of being a new walker.

At some point, it did get cold enough that we couldn't play outside everyday. I guess the boys felt like they were being held hostage in the house because they set up right by the back door.

Just a random cute shot of Rhyla helping Fischer with his breakfast.

Then, on Fischer's actual birthday we got to attend two parties! One for Vash's classmate Owen at the bowling alley, and then Fischer's party at our house. Rhyla wore that hat the whole time, which is quite a feat because she likes everyone to see her pretty hairs.

Once Vash figured out the game, he got very competitive. Tried so hard to win, but alas... I'm afraid I passed my gutter ball skills onto him. Eventually we got out the ball guides and he got all strikes after that! 

Fischer had a great time watching and eating chips while he sat on my lap.

Back at our place, we were enjoying the calm before the storm. So many people came that I had to bring down all the card table chairs just so half of them could sit down! Amberly had helped me decorate and all the guests want finger foods to share. Emily even surprised us with homemade ice cream, which was probably the best thing I've ever eaten. 

We played, and ate, and opened gifts, and visited. It was low key, yet awesome. Only sorry Daddy had to miss it.

Fischer made sure to enjoy all the offerings of his Birthaversary feast. LOL.

This kid insisted on finishing his chicken before he would eat his cupcake, but he sure seemed to enjoy it once he tasted it.

All the big kids helped open his gifts. He didn't mind.

And we spent many an hour enjoying all the new things the next day. I think the kids probably pushed Fischer around the circuitous route of our home in this Mickey Fire Engine about eighty times before tuckering out and playing with something else.

Blurry, but Rhyla showing us her carrot nose. It's from our snowman kit and meant to go on Frosty of course, but she still needed to try it on.

Somehow, this is the only picture I got from thanksgiving. Fischer may or may not have been allowed to lick the spatula after I assembled our pomegranate salad. Anyway, because Craig was gone for this too, Amberly and I split up the dinner and had it together with our families and my parents. Again, it was low key and everything turned out super yummy. We then watched "You've Got Mail" and fell into peaceful turkey comas.

When Craig did finally come around, he spoiled the kids rotten by taking us out to eat and then to the movies to see, NOT Big Hero 6 (Which is misleading because of this picture, and which I totally wanted to see), but the Penguins movie (Which actually turned out to be hilarious). 

Always good to have Daddy around. 

In short, November was a great month. It's the perfect time of year to focus on what we have and not on what we want. It helps us remember to be grateful, even in our trials, because we are still so blessed and have so much to be thankful for. My Peanut turned a year old, which doesn't seem crazy because my time is actually slowing down and I love it. I love spending every minute with my kiddos and watching as they grow and learn and love together. I love helping them develop and I love hearing their thoughts and feelings and listening to them express kindness to each other. I couldn't have asked for a better set of babies, and I'm grateful that they're mine forever. 

Oh, and Happy (late) birthday, Fisch-Man!