Thanksgiving 2007

I hope everyone had a pleasant and yummy Thanksgiving.

I'm glad to report we had a pleasant and yummy Thanksgiving as well.

We enjoyed the day with the Merritts (Aunt Naomi, Uncle Gary, Jane, & Ian), Lora Beth, Anna, and her friend Justin. We had a yummy spread of comfort Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, ham, yummy mash potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts (great with soy sauce and a tad of vinegar!), corn, hot rolls, salad, stuffing, and the MOST important dish to any Thanksgiving dinner--the gravy! The meal was so delicious. I wish I would've eaten more than I did. Just remembering the meal makes me want to go back in time and eat it again. Oh! I can't forget dessert: Pumpkin pie, chocolate swirl cheese cake, an "interesting" apple pie (made by yours truly), and pumpkin cheese cake.

Thanksgiving together as a family.
I am grateful to have such a wonderful family extended and immediate.

Isaac enjoyed his Thanksgiving! His tummy was bulging when he was finally done.

Eat up Benjamin!
I am very grateful for two wonderful boys who remind me each day how very blessed I am.

Justin brought his Wii and Guitar Hero 3 over. Everyone had fun taking turns pretending to be famous guitar artists.

Go Tom! Strum that guitar!
How thankful I am for Tom and his love of music and most importantly for the immense love he has for his family.

Isaac even took a turn 'playing' the game.
Mmmmm... mash potatoes and gravy sounds good right now.

Uncle Gary and Aunt Naomi were kind enough to watch Benjamin and Isaac while Tom, Anna, Justin, Jane, Ian, Lora Beth, and I went to catch a Thanksgiving flick. We wanted to see Enchanted, but of course it was sold out. So instead we saw Bee Movie. It was cute and funny most of the time. Nothing much to say about that movie. :)

Here are some more pictures that made the day even more enjoyable.

Benjamin had fun playing with his aunties Anna and Jane.
He also had a blast playing with Ian.

Row Row Row your boat gently down the stream!
What long legs you have Benjamin!

Here's Anna turning an one eyebrow man into a two eyebrow man!
(Sorry Ian, I had to put this in.)

Even though there are no pictures of the older generation for their proof of enjoying the holiday, I am sure they had as much fun as we had.

The Car Wash Incident

Before I get into the gory details, let me just say how satisfying it is to vacuum out a car. What a major stress relief it is to do detail work for a car. I love it! With that said, on with the story...

Yesterday, I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and get our Trail Blazer washed. On a side note: I was very productive yesterday. I did some yard work, cleaned up the kitchen, did some laundry--end side note. I loaded up the kids into the car and drove to our local Sonic to 'give our SUV a bath.' I decided before hand to take advantage of the free vacuums at the car wash. After the wash, I drove into the vacuum lot and started the ever delightful task of detailing and cleaning out our SUV. Remember, the boys are still with me. I let them loose in the car. Ike had a great time pretending to drive, and Ben had fun helping me. Right as I finished...

Ben yells, "I need to go Pee Pee!" He was holding himself, so I knew he couldn't hold it in much longer. I frantically closed the gate and his door, and ran to open the driver side door to get Isaac. BIG MISTAKE! Do not shut all your doors--with the keys in your purse in the front seat--when a 1 year-old has been playing near the lock button. *sigh* I locked my boys in the car!

I wasn't too worried. I have a smart-almost 4 year-old son who is capable of following directions. I calmly asked Ben to unlock the door. He tried, but somehow Isaac turned on the security alarm. Thus, the unlock button didn't work. Ben at this moment was frantic.

I told Benjamin to manually unlock a door (not in those exact words), he hadn't the patience or the concentration (he was concentrating on keeping his pants dry, bless his heart) to understand what I was trying to ask. So here I was trying to get into the car (running around the car like a chicken without its head) before my 4 year-old would pee all over my newly cleaned upholstery, and my 1 year-old son enjoying every moment of this situation. I felt idiotic, and I'm sure the other people there thought the same thing. 5 minutes went by with me trying to calmly (not succeeding) explain to Benjamin how to flip open the lock, but Ben was beyond the point of reasoning or understanding. Well, a boy can only hold in his pee for so long.

Benjamin was so dismayed when he finally couldn't hold it in any longer. I reassured him that it wasn't his fault, and he did the best he could (from outside the car of course). After his relief, I explained yet again how to manually unlock the door. In no more than 15 seconds, I was able to get into my Trail Blazer and find my keys. Ironic, isn't it? I sat down and had a good laugh. :)

So what's the lesson of this story? Is it don't ever leave your car without your keys in your pocket no matter how close your are to the car (even when you're in it at times)? or Is it always have a potty ready in the car? or Is it life just throws you some really ironic curve balls? or finally Is it there's always an upside to a downside? Whatever it is, I am truly grateful to have such wonderful boys. They bring laughter and joy into my life, and they remind me each day that there is hope left in this world.

When it Rains, it Pours!

Yes, I know, my fourth blog today. I don't know why but there are times when I get into blogger mode and want to document everything; and then there are those weeks where I don't want to do any blogging. So enjoy while I'm in my blogger-zone. :)

Last Saturday, November 17, after a hard day of yard work and watching the BYU/Wyoming Game (BYU won 35-10), we went to an indoor play area called Kangaroo Zoo with some friends. The boys (Tom included) loved it. Kangaroo Zoo has the big inflatable slides and bounce areas. It's a great place for kids of all ages to play when the weather outside is frightful. Isaac felt he was BIG enough to try out the big slides. Fortunately, Tom being the great dad that he his, was able to help Isaac climb (ahem...carry Ike) the bigger toys.

This is towards the end of our evening of fun. As you can see, Benjamin's had enough fun for that evening.

Piano is here!

I'm a week too late, but our piano did come. Let's celebrate for a moment!
Woohoo!!! Yipee!!! Excellent!!!

It's been a joy playing it. It's been more of a joy hearing Tom, Benjamin, or Isaac playing it. Tom even brought his violin from his mother's house to play. I'm hopeful he'll want to play it more. My piano fingers are slowly coming back. I get frustrated at times because my fingers aren't as agile or as fast or as strong as they once were. But nothing a TON of practice can't fix. :)

Again a moment of celebration please:
"Celebrate good times, come on! It's a celebration!"

Alyssa Look-alike?

The question is this: Does Alyssa look like me or do I look like Alyssa?

Standing on our Heads

The title says it all. :) It was only Tom and Anna who attempted to do head stands.
However, the boys loved watching Tom and Anna make their faces turn bright red. (I got a kick out of it as well.)

Music in our home soon...

I'm so very excited for Tuesday!! ...hehe... Why you ask?

My piano is coming....... dum da dum dum DUM!!!!

Woohoo! We got it yesterday. Alisa (who was so kind to help me look... thanks again!!) and I looked at pianos Saturday morning. It was so much fun. I'm glad Alisa was there to help. Without her expertise and ear, I'm sure I would've picked out a dud. It's a 48" Brodmann. Black. Sleek. The sound---to my liking very much. Loud. Deep. Soft when needed. Oooh, just thinking about it makes me want to play.

Isn't it purty?!?

I can't wait for Benjamin and Isaac to play it. They'll have so much fun. Tinkling of the ivories in our home.... I can't wait for that sound!