A Day Of Thanks

Thanksgiving is here! Happy Thanksgiving!! These are some little handmade turkeys that the kids made for Colby for Thanksgiving! Aren't they adorable!! For whatever lame-o reason, I cannot get these to post with the correct rotation. I have tried at least 5 times, and I give up. You'll just have to deal with them sideways, I guess. They're still cute though!This is the turkey Barrett made. On each of the colored feathers, the kids wrote some things they were thankful for and that they loved about Daddy. Just in case you can't read them, Bear loves Daddy's tickles; playing Guitar Hero; that Daddy's funny; and that Daddy's cuckoo. Isn't he funny!!

This is Charlotte's turkey. Hers is the only one that is right-side-up! Charlotte is thankful for and loves Daddy's hugs; that he's funny; Daddy's kisses; that he makes her laugh; and when he plays with her. She is a doll!

This is Savannah's turkey. She is thankful for and loves that Daddy is funny; that he thinks she is cute; that he is nice; that he's crazy; and that he is a lovey. She is so sweet.

As for myself, I am thankful, ever so grateful, and feel so lucky for all the blessings in my life. I have three (mostly) wonderful and adorable children. I have a wonderful and amazing husband. I am so thankful for Colby. He is wonderful, thoughtful, funny, patient, tender and kind. I love him. I adore him and cherish him. I am eternally grateful for him, and I hope that he knows how much we all love him. We are so thankful for how hard he works to make us happy, and how much he cares.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Flashback to Halloween...

So, it is nearly Thanksgiving, which can mean only one thing: it is time for me to post our Halloween pictures!! Hey, I am actually less than a month late on this one, that's improvement!

Barrett, Savannah and Charlotte at the pumpkin patch! Each of the kids got to pick out their very own pumpkins. They were so proud!!

Carving time! This year, we made everyone try and help, instead of just making it the "Amazing Colby Jack-o-Lantern Party" like usual. The kids actually had quite a good time, getting right into it all, and scooping out the seeds. Obviously, we still let Colby handle the knives, and do the actual carving. I mean, I am a bit of a blase and relaxed parent, and probably let my kids do too much that could possibly be considered dangerous, but I didn't let them handle the gigantic carving knife. Now, a small kitchen knife, or paring knife, that's a different story....!

Savannah pretty proud of her pumpkin guts!

Savannah the Snow Princess, or The White Witch from Narnia, or a Snow Fairy from Barbie in the Nutcracker. Her costume depended on her mood. The official tag on the costume said "Snow Princess," but apparently, that wasn't quite enough for Savannah!

Princess Cinderella Charlotte. She was excessively pleased to have an official Cinderella gown of her very own. I was actually surprised that it took her this long to ask for a Princess costume. Charlotte is such a fluffy, princessy twirly-girl, I thought she would have asked for it long before now. But, she loved it, and said that she is going to be Cinderella next year too. We'll see!!

Cowboy Barrett. So, everyone knows that Bear is totally enthralled with "Toy Story" right now, and that he thinks Woody and Buzz Lightyear are the coolest! So, he decided he wanted to be Woody this year. So cute!!

All three of the cutie-patooties with their costumes and carved pumpkins.

Happy Halloween, now that it's November! Ha ha ha!

New camera

I have a new camera!! So, if you recall, Colby got a new camera for his birthday/Father's Day this year. It is a nice camera, and it takes nifty pictures and all that, but I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, it really is a nice camera, but it scares me. I hate even picking it up, let alone taking a picture with it. It is too complicated and "too much" for me. I liked my other camera, but alas, some completely horrible person with ZERO conscience stole it while we were in Disneyland. So, after much whining about my not having a camera that I like, Colby bought me a new one!

This is basically the newest version of the camera that I had. But, a little improvement over the older model: it is pink!!!
I LOVE IT!

So, I should be able to take more pictures now that I have a camera that doesn't terrify me.
Yay, my little pink camera friend!!!

DISNEYLAND!

I have finally waded through our Disneyland vacation photos. Between Colby and Colby's Dad, there were over 800 pictures to choose from. Just a little overwhelming for me, and it took some time. Plus I suck at posting things quickly anyway!
Here we are in front of the Castle. Charlotte pretty much wanted to stay where she could see the castle at all times. She loved it. We had so much fun, and we can't wait to go back in a few years!

This is Savannah taking pictures of the kids. She LOVED being the third photographer of the group, and she took some darling pictures. I wish I could post them for you, but some total JERK at Disneyland stole her camera, so I can't. Poor Savannah was heartbroken. The lame-o thief took the camera out of it's bag, then placed the empty bag back in our stroller. Talk about malicious and well-thought-out. Dweebs. Honestly, people, buy your own camera, don't steal my sweet 8 year old daughter's camera. Have you no shame? Grrrrr. I am still seething with anger and bitterness over it.

Savannah getting overly excited to get to the entrance gates! She was seriously overjoyed and happy to be in the Happiest Place On Earth!

We were there in time for the Halloween decorations, so that was fun. Savannah thinks the Mickey Mouse pumpkin head was about the coolest thing ever!

All the kids with Tigger! Barrett was preoccupied trying to make Spiderman hands for Tigger, and Charlotte just wanted to go find some princesses!

Charlotte's favorite ride was Peter Pan. I bet she asked to ride that one at least 25 times a day. She loved it, loved it, loved it!

Charlotte at the Princess Luncheon. She had a blast meeting five of the princesses personally: Belle, Mulan, Ariel, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Cinderella. This is Charlotte showing off her Cinderella dress and crown. She had so much fun, and the food was honestly the best food we ate during the whole vacation. Definitely worth the price!

Barrett had a little too much fun, and fell asleep in the stroller. He and Charlotte both took little catnaps in their strollers every day. Kind of nice, they missed out on the hottest part of the day, and Savannah could go on some rides that they were too small for, and they didn't ever realize they'd been left out!!

This is Barrett the first day in Disneyland. Talk about overwhelmed and overstimulated! Now, you must understand that Woody and Buzz Lightyear from "Toy Story" are just about Barrett's most favorite characters of all time. Barrett even dressed up as Woody for Halloween! So, on the day he gets to meet Woody and Jessie in person, he is so scared that he literally was crying and begging to go home! Poor little guy! By lunchtime, he had acclimated and had a good time. But of course, we never did see Woody after that!

Barrett trying to pull the Sword in the Stone. Big muscles, Bear! Pull harder!!!

Dani with Eeyore. You are all no doubt aware of my fondness of Eeyore. He is hands-down my favorite character from the Winnie the Pooh stories, and I was so excited that he was here! So, I just had to have my picture taken with him. Dani and Eeyore, King of the Gloomy Doomsayers!!

Savannah and Colby riding together. Colby being Colby, and sweet Savannah totally oblivious to Daddy's charming teasing!!

And, finally, all of the girls with Princess Aurora. I really do understand that Disneyland is more for the kids, and that the whole experience is for them, but, you all should know by now that "Sleeping Beauty" is my absolute favorite Disney film of all time, and hence, Aurora is my very favorite Disney Princess. So, I could not resist, I had to jump in for this picture. Savannah, Charlotte, Dani and Princess Aurora!


We had so much fun, and other than the camera being stolen, and a minor irritation with Snow White that I am still trying to get over, it was so wonderful. I think the only thing that could have made it better for me was if I had been able to meet Grumpy!! He is my other favorite Disney character. But, maybe next time!!!

Pumpkin Seeds

Okay, so Halloween is over, and I promise that pictures of the kids in costume are forthcoming, but first, I have to say something:

I LOVE PUMPKIN SEEDS!!!

Let me explain. I have never, ever before attempted roasting/toasting/cooking pumpkin seeds. But my dear friend Tami assured me that it was easy to do, and that even I could handle it.
So, with a fair amount of fear and anxiety, after Colby carved the pumpkins, instead of chucking the seeds in the garbage, I rinsed them off and toasted them.

You know something? It really was easy, and I did it, and,
drum roll please......

They are so yummy and tasty!!
They're pretty much my new favorite snack. Well, maybe my 2nd favorite, trailing behind anything chocolaty and minty!!!

Thank you Tami!!!