...and a happy new deer

Bring It On

This Holiday Season I've decided to do things a bit differently, I just hate feeling rushed and crazy busy during the month of December so I vowed to accomplish as much as possible by the first of December in hopes that we could relax and enjoy the season a bit more this year. I think that I've done pretty well so far. My shopping is done, my tree is up, presents are wrapped (thanks to Kambree), house is decorated inside and out, Christmas cards aren't out but they are in the mail on their way to me, neighbor gifts are almost complete, even Kambree's Birthday is purchased and ready to go. WOW it's no wonder I dread December. Well we'll see how it all works out. By the way, Christina was wondering about my Black Friday Shopping. Truth is because of my complete lack of patience and total intolerance of crowds I would rather chew my arm off than attempt that nightmare. However, I did go up to Kings at about 9 AM. There were about ten people in the whole store and I found just what I needed. SWEET!!

Thanksgiving at our House

I have always kind of wanted to host a big Thanksgiving dinner but the thought of it made me a little nervous , I'm not really sure why because I actually really enjoy cooking. This year I decided to try it and I think that it turned out really well. We had the whole Porter family over except for Jeff, Sheila, and kids. Our menu consisted of Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, jello, baked carrots, cranberry sauce, 2 veggie trays, rolls with raspberry butter, a yummy punch, and of course some delicious pies. Thanks to everyone who came and made the day so fun. I am so thankful for FAMILY!!!

Bribes

Oh Happy Day!! I do believe that Kaisley is FINALLY officially potty trained. I know that she hasn't been that bad it's just that I keep comparing her to the other two who were so easy. We've been working on it for about 3 months now and I kept telling her that when she went a whole week without an accident that we could go to the store for a prize. It's actually been about 2 weeks now but I'm a bit of a slacker. So we go into Family Dollar today after I pick her up from Donnas and I tell her that she can have one prize. She immediately finds some very fashionable Dora sunglasses, I try to show her some other goodies but OH NO she just wants the glasses. On our way to pay she sees a little tinkerbell bag she likes. I say "You can choose one" after much consideration she looks at me and says " I sink I'll jus have bofe" Just take a look at the picture and you'll see who won that battle, the same one that usually does!!

Shopping Day

Lunch is our favorite part Grandma guarding the loot

Cute Cousins

Last Saturday was our annual shopping day with my moms side of the family. As close as we can calculate we think that this is our 11th year, it started when Annette lived in Idaho Falls and we decided to go up and visit her and go shopping, now it has turned into an annual event that is a lot of fun. The participants for this year included Myself, my mom, grandma, Laurie, Jessica, Carolyn, Lacey, Annette, and Baylee. It was a great day and I am proud to say that my Christmas shopping is DONE!!! Thanks for making it such a fun day everyone!

Veterans Day

Today at school we had a special assembly to honor Veterans Day. We had bout 30 veterans from the community come and sit on the stage in the gym while the kids sang patriotic songs to them and read a few essays about some of the reasons that they are thankful for our Veterans and those who are currently serving in the Military. If you have never heard 600 kids sing God Bless the USA it's a pretty neat experience. Afterwards, the kids went out and lined the halls and cheered loudly as the veterans wlked down the middle. It made me think about how thankful I am for these great people who sacrifice their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we do. I am also thankful to the families of these people who support their soldiers because they are making huge sacrifices as well. To anyone who has served, or is currently serving, or is at home raising kids alone while your spouse is serving a great big THANK YOU!!!

Yummy

One of our favorite treats in the fall is a pumpkin cream pie shake from Big J's. Because of the Big J's fire that is not an option this year so we had to improvise a little. We bought the Dreyers pumpkin ice cream (divine by the way) put a little whip cream on top and sprinkled on some graham cracker crumbs. So Yummy!!!

Sooooo Cute

OK so everyone who is in need of a cute Christmas gift for for a little one needs to check out the super cute felt food on www.gingerblossomsboutique.blogspot.com I'm thinking that Kaisley might need one of each!

Happy Birthday Addie

Addie is our cute little neighbor that we just love and today is her 9th Birthday. She catches a ride to school with us in the mornings and so this morning we had donuts and some awesome singing voices waiting for her. We are so lucky to have her as a neighbor and a friend and hope that she has a great day!!

Halloween Night

We made a haul!!

Kambree, Kenzie, and Addie

Kieran and the Alyssas

Cona and Brooklyn

Wow, what an awesome Halloween we had this year. I really don't remember Halloween night being so warm, it was so nice that the kids didn't even have to cover up their cute costumes with coats. We did things a little differently this year in our family, I stayed at home and answered the door and Chad took the kids trick or treating. We both agreed that we like this arrangement, I really like to see the kids from school that come trick or treating. If you ever have the desire to witness a traffic jam in Preston Idaho just come out to our neighborhood on Halloween. I gave out about 600 pieces of candy this year!! Well the kids really did have a lot of fun, Kaisley was a pirate, Kambree a hippie, and Kort an obnoxious teenager (didn't even have to buy a costume for that one haha). I have to admit that I am sad to see this holiday go, I Love Halloween!!!