Thanksgiving Pics

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. It was quiet but nice. The kids were really into the Macy's Parade this year. While I was cooking, I had my non-sporty husband turn on a football game so it would feel like the Thanksgivings of my childhood. We had a visit from Uncle Jay and Aunt Lady (Katie). John also had a good friend from work join us for dinner. There was an abundance of food; my mom trained me well. I missed being with my parents and extended family, but we had our first Thanksgiving in our own house, and it was a good feeling.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I thought it would be fun to have the kids tell me what they are thankful for this year. They, once again, amused me. I am very thankful for them. They make everyday interesting and fun, in one way or another.

H is for Hat

Coy was learning about the letter "H" last week in preschool. On Friday, they had Crazy Hat Day. Coy was very proud of his hat, and he kept it on all day.

Eight Years Later

A few weeks ago John and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It was 12 years ago that I first laid eyes on my future guy to be. He looked so mysterious standing against the wall in the choir room as the teacher introduced him as the new kid from New Jersey. Oooh, he must be an East Coast bad boy with an accent, we all thought. He looked tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious. Just a short time later we learned the truth. He was actually from Kansas and Salt Lake, he walked on his hands more than his feet, and he thought he was one of the Backstreet Boys. If you could hear me now, I'm doing that "waaa waaa waaa" noise.....disappointment. After a couple years of just eye flirting and thinking the other one was stuck-up, we finally started dating. He has kept me laughing ever since. Even when I feel like throwing him out of a window, he still manages to do or say something to make me laugh; which makes me even more mad but definitely deescalates any tension. I put up with constant singing, cereal eating 'round the clock, movie impersonations, and random energy spurts which result in wrestling matches (non-sexual). I know what you were thinking! I've come to realize that these are some of the many things that I love about my John Jon.com. These are his characteristics that made me fall in love with him. He is slow to anger, quick to defend, a loving, playful father, a consistent, devoted provider, and a thoughtful, caring husband. I could go on and on, but to sum it up, I can't wait till we're old and gray. I think we'll be the most entertaining old folks on the block. John made this another special anniversary by taking me to one of my top three restaurants, P.F. Changs. Then, he took me to see Cirque de Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage. Nether one of us have been on an acid trip, but if we had, we imagine that this show would be similar to the experience. Not our favorite Cirque show to date, but, to state it mildly, psychedelic. We then went to the Palms Hotel for the night. Thanks mom, for the well-done babysitting. At the Palms, we were reminded that we seem to be getting old. Did we hit the blackjack tables, check out the nightlife, or just enjoy the night of mommy and daddy freedom?? Nope. We were two old fogies who crashed at 11:00 pm from exhaustion. We had a great time. He even took me to I-Hop the next morning. What a guy! Thanks for all the fun, baby!

My handsome sugar daddy

He always ruins our self-portraits.

Pumpkin Patch

Anyone in Vegas knows that a casino parking lot and a pumpkin patch are one and the same. They attempt to make the atmosphere more realistic by spreading hay all over the asphalt and placing pumpkins as far as the eye can see. The kids love it, and I used to think it was fun back when Christian was an only child. Now, all I feel is anxiety over fear that a carnie folk is going to snatch one of my offspring and put them to work walking sickly looking ponies around in circles. Well, not really, but the thought has entered my mind. Coy is a wonderer; never one to follow the crowd. Whenever I turn around he has disappeared, so I find these carnival/ pumpkin patches nerve wracking. Despite all that, I did my motherly duty and took them a couple of times this year.

What Happened, Dorothy?

Dorothy has been having some hard times.

Halloween Video

You have to pause the music at the bottom of the page to hear the video.

I Thought Halloween Was One Day

Halloween seemed to last a week this year. I'm not a big fan of this yearly event, but I know the kids love it. When I was little we didn't even acknowledge Halloween, and we just went to Disneyland because we always had the Nevada Day three-day weekend. The kids like to dress up, so I'll deal with it for a few more years. I told Christian we have a new family rule. No more dressing up after the age of ten. It irritates me to see junior highers running around late at night without their parents trying to get candy. This week started with a costume parade and harvest party at Coy's school. Then Christian had a parade and party at his school. I was the parent helper for the party, and I helped the kids decorate their own sugar cookies. On Halloween we went to Town Square for a bit, but it was insanely crowded. I kept thinking I was going to lose a child, so we didn't stay long. Corinne doesn't dig the adults that are dressed up; she's not sure if it's real or not, and there were a lot of adults dressed up at Town Square. Then, we went to our church for Trunk or Treat. The kids got lots of candy and their costumes were a hit. Corinne was Dorothy and Coy was the Tin Man. This is all because Coy has been obsessed with the Wizard of Oz recently. I tried to convince Christian to be the Scarecrow or the Cowardly Lion, but that was not cool. He had to be a ninja. It was a fun night, and the best part was bath time when all the face paint and sparkly makeup was floating in the water. We all slept very well that night. I also need to apologize to my kids for eating every single Reese's Peanut Butter Cup out of their treat bags. I have a problem. Mommy's going to get help.