Thanksgiving

After Mom and Dad, Brendan was the next to roll in. And the man came ready to work! Right away he started making plans for a delicious cumin and paprika rub for a turkey. He then decided he wanted to make cinnamon rolls for us with a browned butter frosting. I was a little skeptical because I am solely a cream cheese frosting girl and could care less for any other kind. Until now. I have been converted. The frosting was delicious! Chris and family came in about 3 in the afternoon and the party really started. So good to see them and to spend time with family again. I just can't get enough of them! We finished up all the baking the day before Thanksgiving so the oven would be free for Brendan's turkey.

And as per the usual, we stayed up late talking and visiting and by the time we made it to our bedroom I was past ready to crash. Only, McKinley who had had the sniffles for a couple of days gave us a real scare with a croup attack. She had been breathing heavily for about an hour and suddenly started barking like a seal and then really began to struggle to breathe. She couldn't get in a position that would open up her airway and we watched for a minute as she struggled. When it was clear she wasn't going to accomplish things on her own, I scooped her up, wrapped her in my bathrobe and stood in the steaming shower to help her airway relax. Within about 15 seconds she relaxed against me and laid there comfortably breathing until we ran out of hot water. Within 1 min of shutting the water off I could hear the stridor returning. At that point I knew we needed to get her out to the cold air to decrease the inflammation so we bundled up with blankets and spent 20 minutes on the front porch in the sub 30 degree weather. At one point after several minutes of quiet, McKinley softly said "Thanks Mom" and succeeded in melting my heart. After cold air worked its magic we returned inside and Chad and Chris gave her a blessing to help her recover. I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood and the comfort it can bring. McKinley slept fitfully the rest of the night but there were no more episodes restricting her breathing.

The next Morning came much too early! LOL But Chad and I got our morning walk in before hitting the kitchen again. And then the cooking was in full swing. We all devoured the FOURTY-EIGHT cinnamon rolls that Brendan made the night before (gasp) and finished all the Thanksgiving dinner preparations including stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, veggie tray, apple snicker 'salad', mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, Lilia's rolls, Brendan's turkey, and Chris' fried turkey. For dessert we had a lemon pie, chocolate pudding pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, G-ma's cheesecake, and Jaedyn made delicious pumpkin rolls! The food was SO good!

Dad said a beautiful blessing on the food and everyone was ready to dig in. 

We even had enough seating for everyone! I am so not fancy and offered it as an explanation rather than an apology to introduce the paper plates I set out for everyone. My "fancy" was that they were heavy duty. LOL. But really, who wants to do all those dishes after every meal??

The only complaint was the long lines. 😆

Lots of fun and games followed ranging from board games to active games, basketball to remote control helicopters. And talk, talk, talk, talk, talk! It was so good to visit!

On Friday we drove out to Mom's so the kids could star in a video for Mom's music website that Brendan is helping her with. They fed us such great food, and then it was back to IF so Jaedyn could babysit. Chad and I hit up the stores that evening to get gifts for Christmas Eve.

The next day we cruelly made our kids bundle up to drive to the car store, drop it off for an oil change, and then everybody walked home. It has been such a crazily beautiful November and I'm so grateful for the health we enjoy that enables us to soak up such moments! 

Saturday afternoon we were joined but yet more great company. Valerie and Luis came with their 3 boys to spend the weekend! Oh the noise! Oh the fun and games! It has been such a great holiday week!

 

It's getting colder!

It's getting colder! Time to buckle up! We are celebrating Thanksgiving at our house this year. Grandma and Grandpa Boyd are here. We went to see the movie Encanto last night and the kids had a great time. Now we are just waiting for Chris' family to join us and the true party can begin!

This is the sunset viewed on a walk the other night. But it snowed today. So the walks are becoming more precious. It has been such a beautiful fall though, with exception to a little snowstorm several weeks ago, it has been warm and beautiful and we are well into November!

So warm that I took Ebony to get her baptism pictures in sandals and short sleeves on Saturday! Not really. It was like 23 degrees in the morning and freezing! We met Val at the temple and had to shimmy out of our coats for each shot! Luckily she at least was prepared and had brought hand warmers for the kids. It staved off the tears for a good while before we had to call it quits. This pic is just a quickie I snapped with my phone, I can't wait to see the professional shots Val got. We are getting so excited for Ebony's baptism in December... and BOTH sets of grandparents get to be there this time!

 

Family Pictures Fall 2021

 

As I mentioned, Halloween weekend brought lots of fun including some very long overdue family pictures! Val McAllister was so great to work with. She worked quick and well with my rebellious crew and captured their sweet and sass so perfectly! I'm in love with the tree farm she took us to!

It is not family pictures without a little PDA and the emotions it evokes in the littles! LOL A fun family tradition that will just have to be recreated until my kids stop reacting so dramatically! 😂

Is this not the perfect depiction of the playful crazedness?

Oh girls, I sure love you! All of you! Life just wouldn't be as interesting without all that sweet AND sass!

Ebony is 8!

Happy Birthday to this girl! We are still working on getting her baptism picture done so we can send out announcements but due to some scheduling conflicts she isn't being baptized until December 21st so we have a little time!

Normally we do a luncheon for the baptism instead of a birthday party but normally the baptism is close to the birthday. Since this was not the case, we decided last minute to celebrate with a small party. So Ebony invited a friend and another friend's family to join us at iJump for an hour of fun and then we headed back to the house for dinner, cake, ice-cream, and presents. 

We celebrated on a Monday cuz there was no school rather than on Tuesday when Mom and Jaedyn had mutual. So G-ma and G-pa Boyd got to celebrate with us too (they come up every Monday for piano lessons and just cuz they're awesome and like our company LOL). I got a great video of the 2 of them swing dancing while jumping! They've still got moves!

Nothing like a little Dodgeball at the trampoline park to liven up a party! They are from L to R: McKinley, Hugh, Ebony, Addy, and Reese.

Cute little posers!

After jumping we went back to the house. Ebony had requested blended fruit bowls and toast for dinner! Talk about easiest birthday dinner EVER! I was happy to oblige. They we had German Chocolate cake and Huckleberry ice cream- also per her request. I doctored the cake a bit this year with pudding and chocolate chips and it was oh so yummy with the homemade coconut walnut frosting!

Ebony got makeup from her friend.

That statement actually deserves a lot of exclamation points and terrified emojis. I'll be cleaning up some messes for sure. Already have actually!

She also got a brand new set of scriptures with a case, some kinetic putty sand, and a lego pet rescue helicopter. Jaedyn quickly volunteered to help her with that little project. She LOVES legos. She also got a stuffed monkey whoopie cushion from her grandmother and has had SO much fun with it! And some money from her other grandmother which was especially exciting this year cuz she just spent the last of her money and was excited to see the coffers fill up again. She got some pop-it fidget toys from her sisters who bought those gifts with their own money. I love seeing the girls being excited to give and do it all on their own. It's reassuring that amidst the chaos and sister drama, there is affection... albeit buried deep at times. 😂

 

Halloween Shenanigans

We kind of celebrated Halloween for the entire weekend this year since it was on Sunday! 

Friday the kids had their Halloween parties at school. And they all dressed up so cute!

McKinley cutest witch at Mrs. Fun's Preschool Halloween party

Jaedyn is Angelica from Pirates of the Caribbean (That's Jack's girlfriend). Not pictures is the little skull she bought and named Jack. LOL

Ebony was our little vampire this year.

Lilia is... well... obviously!

And she dressed up with her little quad group!

After School parties, we decided to head out for some fun of our own. Jaedyn headed out to a party with friends. So weird that she is off having her own fun now. She's so old! And it was a boy that invited her! Eek. Never fear, we have known him since he was little and his parents are cool cats. She had a great time. They played a game that I really need to look into... called telestrations and it looks so fun! Christmas game gift tradition perhaps? Aiden's mom is hilarious and made such a big deal about the fact that ALL those teenagers ate like birds! What? I was a little surprised to hear Jaedyn was included in that cuz she normally eats really well. Come to find out her tummy was a little upset during the party. But true to herself, she loaded up a plate to take home!

The rest of us headed to the cornmaze for some fun. McKinley and Ebony were my buddies this trip. It was fun to run around and do what the littles wanted without having to worry about boring the older 2!

This little calf got much love. And gave it!

Lilia invited friends and they took off like the little independent preteens they are to figure their way through the maze. They also had a great time and luckily everyone came out on the other side! Which is a big deal given who her parents are and that directional dysfunctionality runs in their veins. 

Just a little added bonus for the memories. This pumpkin was for a competition at my work. We were not allowed to carve, just decorate it, and it had to be dermatology themed. So my pumpkin had MOHS. I don't think it was a good advertisement for our MOHS surgeons though- I noticed it disappeared after the competition while the other pumpkins kicked around the office for a few days as decor!

Saturday we had family pictures done and I am so excited to see the results! It was only 3 years overdue! After pictures we rushed everyone home to dress up and dropped the older 2 off to trick or treat with various friends. We took the younger 2 around the neighborhood and Ebony got to bring one of her friends along. McKinley wanted a friend too! So we called up the neighbors and met up with them! Due to family pictures, I didn't get the kids fed that night. They may or may not have had a dinner consisting of tootsie rolls and other goodies BUT one home was serving Zupa Toscana so Chad and I were at least well fed. LOL.

Sunday, the actual day of Halloween, my parents came to visit and join us for the Primary Program! I love the primary program! It fed my soul to hear all those kids singing and sharing testimony. The most touching song for me this year was Sacred Grove. I just love the new songs that are being produced and used the last several years! They teach simple principles in a fresh way that testifies of the truth of the gospel to me. 

What a busy and wonderful holiday weekend it was!