Thanksgiving in Logan 2015

Life has certainly picked up speed for me these past  few months.  I've kept up with the big things on this blog but I am missing my daily musings and stories about the kids that are so quickly and easily forgotten.  Like when we were having hot dogs for dinner one night and as I put a package of hot dog buns on the table, Finn squealed with joy, "BUMMMSSS!"

And now I fight the urge to refer to all hamburger and hot dog buns as bums.  Actually, I lie. I don't fight it. I just go ahead and call them bums.

Christmas is upon us and it's nothing new but I thank my lucky stars for Dan everyday.  He really takes charge of the Christmas present planning and has it all ordered and picked out, which at this point in my life is so good, because if not, who knows what, if anything, would end up under the tree.

But Christmas, it's only second to Easter in my book.  And I started early this year.  I got a bee in my bonnet to make a silent Christmas Lesson for the Young Women.  (I'm back in YW, which is a separate post for sure).  I usually refuse to acknowledge Christmas before Thanksgiving is over, but I knew I needed every ounce of time I could scrape together to make the video, so I started before we left for our Utah Thanksgiving.  And guess what? I loved it.  It didn't hurt Thanksgiving at all.  In fact, I think it probably made me even more mindful of the magnitude of my blessings. 

Our trip to Utah for Thanksgiving went well.  Jack helped me drive.

We had a delicious dinner and were hosted so sweetly by Dan's brother and sister in law, Jared and Ashley in Logan.  It stresses me out to bring our family into other people's homes because it's kind of like inviting Barnum and Bailey and all their animals to sleep over for a few days.

But our kids were in heaven being with their cousins 24-7.

 In fact, I think Max and Greta probably broke some records.  They played, and played, and played, and then played some more.

The only downside to the trip was that there wasn't much time beyond Thanksgiving day to see the rest of the family.  We did make a trip down to see Rachel and her family and then continued on to Salt Lake to see the lights at Temple Square.  We have been to Utah for the holidays for so many years I've lost track, but we'd never taken our kids to see the lights and it was really bugging me.  So we went.

 It was the first night and therefore more crowded than the Ft. Worth Zoo on a free day and it was booty cold.

  Ava opted to stay in Logan with her cousins but Dan and I and the boys braved it and had a pretty great time aside from our dinner experience at JB's right off the square.  The waiter, some sort of older Eastern European guy, was less than impressed to be serving us and our kids.  And the kids were actually being fine. And we were even one short!  As other childless couples would get seated in his section, he would greet them with syrup in his voice.  And when he walked past us, he'd glare. It was seriously the worst service I have ever had at a restaurant, ever.  When Dan asked him what kind of drinks they had, he sneered, "Cock praducks" ("Coke Products" in Slovakyrgestian), a phrase Dan and I couldn't help but repeat to each other for the next two weeks.  And when I asked him for the ice cream that came with the kids meals, he told me he could get them "if I really wanted him to."  

"Yes, I paid for them and I really want you to."

  The food was just sketch, too.  The ice cream would have been the safest course except I'm sure he spit in it.  I'm not even kidding.  He was so horrible.  I told Dan there was no way we were tipping him.  But then Dan felt bad and started imagining him living a lonely, horrible life and left him $5.

Anyways, if there's anything to be learned from all this, it's to stay away from the JB's by Temple Square.

We drove home just in time to put up our tree before the kids started back to school and real life began again.

Max's Six Year Pictures

It was a race against the sun tonight trying to take these pictures.

So between the quickly fading light and the fact that Max has entered into that "awkward smile" phase, I wasn't feeling too confident in the images we were getting.  

At one point I suggested that we call it a day and try again in the morning.  He assumed that meant he would also not receive the traditional milkshake picture bribe and then this happened.

So we decided that the milkshake was a non-negotiable and kept shooting since we were already there.

And I have to say that the pictures turned out a lot better than I thought they would.

I also figured out that if I made up stories about me slipping on banana peels in the grocery store, we didn't have to worry about the awkward smile.

Ava Turned 10 Six Months Ago

I am giving this blog a present.  I'm sure it has felt neglected lately, but the pictures about to grace this space should make up for any lack of attention.

Ava is half way to 11 now so it's way past time for her 10 year old pictures.

I love her so much.

Her complexity is beautiful and curious and there is always something new to discover about her.

I hope that someday she will see and appreciate herself for the creative, sweet, and bright girl that she is.

And I pray that the people she meets will take the time and effort to see her and to know her, because it will be well worth it.

She guards herself closely, but if you're lucky enough to sneak in,

to catch even a glimpse of the stories and pictures that reside in her imagination, 

you can practically see the sparks and magic dust that surround her and she looks even more beautiful.