Bits of Thanksgiving

We had a busy couple of days for Thanksgiving this year, Jordan had to work, so the kids and I went down to visit him at the station.  We could only stay for a couple hours because my next stop was my mom's.  Other families stopped by as well, so it was a busy station, and unfortunately Jordan went on 2 calls while we where there.  After that I headed straight to my mom's, she hosted Thanksgiving for our family and our dear friends the Carter's spent the day with us as well.  It was perfect because both our groups were on the smaller size and we were both missing members of the family

 
 The day after Thanksgiving we spent with Jordan's family.  While the meal was being prepared we got pretty creative with entertainment for the kids.  The rope lowering activity was rigged up by daddy and her mission was to collect a rock and a stick before she could be raised back up, she wanted to do it over and over of course.  And who knew that sweeping a back porch could be so entertaining?  Our holidays are definitely different these days, the kiddos provide lots of extra craziness, and I must admit that it wiped me out by then end of them.  But they also provide so much joy and lots of fun.  I am looking forward to jumping into Christmas festivities now, once I recuperate that is ;)

Mom's 50th Birthday Bash!

My mom turned 50 on 11/11/11!  How cool is that?!  She wanted to do something big and special for her day, and she decided on a ladies night out to go to dinner downtown at Buca Di Beppo and see Mixtape at the Horton Grand Theater.  The best part was that we were transported in a SUV limo.

 We all had so much fun, we took a scenic route to get to downtown, stopping off in Seaport Village for a photo op, we grooved to some music, drank champagne, and toasted our favorite stories of my mom.  We sat at the Pope table in Buca and it was such a fun room.  Sitting at a large round table, no one feels excluded, and the acoustics are such that you can hear the person across from you clearly, even if they are speaking low.  The last activity of the night was seeing the show Mixtape, which is a musical revue of the greatest hits of the 80's.  It was hilarious and so entertaining.  We were all laughing so hard as we remembered the silliness and crazy fashion trends of the 80's.  It brought back many forgotten memories like mullets, crimped hair, Michael Jackson, Footloose, and when my mom, sister and I used to work out in silly spandex outfits to Jane Fonda videos.  The night could not have gone ANY better, it was such a fun crowd and most importantly my mom had a blast.  Happy Birthday Mom, I love you so much, you are the best!!!

Halloween

This is a bit belated, but we had a very fun Halloween this year with the kids! In the morning we went over to Grammy's school. My mother-in-law is the Director of the Ramona Lutheran Preschool, and they were having a trunk or treat, she invited Clara to come along as a "perspective" student. Grammy announced to the class that she had something to share, and she took Clara up with her to the front and introduced her. Clara wasn't shy at all, it was really cute (she also introduced Coleton of course). We even stayed for a little of craft time. In the evening we took Clara out Trick-or-Treating with my sister and Jon and Ella. Grammy stayed behind with Coleton to pass out candy, we hear he was a hit with the trick-or-treaters in his pumpkin costume! We actually went pretty far, and Clara was such a trooper. She wanted to walk the whole way all by herself, and she wanted to carry her candy bucket all by herself. We would try to offer to hold it, especially when it got so heavy that it was dragging on the ground, and she would not have it! It was so cute, she will do anything for candy! We had one little miss hap along the way, when the adults weren't paying too much attention at one door, Clara was holding onto the handle, and when they opened their door, she flew inside, fell on the floor and her candy spilled everywhere. Ooops! I can just imaging how surprised they were to have a cupcake come crashing inside! She was a little upset until they offered her candy, and then she was all better ;) These sorts of holidays just get more and more fun when you have kids old enough to enjoy them!

My idea...

...of a perfect day. First and foremost, is Jordan being home. He works 24 hour shifts (sometimes 48 and 72 hour shifts as well), but then he will be home for many full days. This last Saturday, Jordan got home just in time for some Whole wheat brown sugar banana bread pancakes (whew, mouthful?) sausage and scrambled eggs. Then he took Clara up to help him in the garden while I put Coleton down for a nap, then I...cleaned the kitchen, started the first of four loads of laundry, De-cluttered, swept, vacuumed, and cleaned up all the bedrooms. We hung out with the kids before putting them both down for naps, I showered and got ready for the day. Then we all got out to enjoy the beautiful fall air and went on a hike. We went to the Barnett Ranch Open Space Preserve, just 10 minutes from us, and it was gorgeous, and perfect for a family hike. We came home and I cooked Black Bean & Quinoa burritos (absolutely delicious) and had my mother in law over for dinner. Then she put the kids to bed while we headed out to see a movie. We saw Courageous, it was a great movie, with a great message, but also a tear-jerker! That movie will rip at your heart strings if you are a parent!! It doesn't get any better than that! (A huge thank you to the blog world for recipe inspirations!)