Thanksgiving Break

We just got back from our great Thanksgiving break. We ate amazing homemade food as well as visited our two favorite places...Portillo's and Oberweis! Let me tell you how thrilled I am to see the look on the nurses face when I step on the scale at my next appointment. We also spent time with extended family and had a great time. Lots of late nights, good laughs, and tons of memories were had by all.

The weekend started at our local Santa parade where Abby got to march with her school. She was so excited and loved to hear our group of friends cheering her on as she walked by.

We packed our bags and headed for Chicago. We had planned in advance for each one of the kids to have some special one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa. They each had so much fun and I know they will remember their special time that they had for a long time.

Abby and Grandma made an apron together. They picked out the fabric and sewed it all together. It turned out great and Abby will have many chances to use it over the years and think of her grandma each time she does.

Ethan was in heaven working with Grandpa in his workshop. They fixed a power cord, hung a fire extinguisher, and fixed up the old bird house. Ethan was so sad when it was time to leave he just burst into tears. All he wanted to do was find Grandpa and give him a big hug.

Morgan made pies with Grandma. She stuck right by her side until each pie was finished. She was so proud of her work that night when we ate them all up and told her what a good job she had done.

Our next favorite part was going to work at the storehouse where Charlie's parents are serving their mission.

We got to see what they do each day and fill some orders. The kids LOVED it. Abby got to go and spend an entire day there with her cousin and they had a blast. I wish we lived closer so we could go more often, it was a great experience for all of us and we appreciate what they do there each day.

Lots of time was spent just playing and hanging out with all the family. It is always a little loud and crazy but well worth it for the memories that are made.

We also visited the local children's museum. My kids love it there and this trip did not disappoint. Samuel was in all his glory...can you tell?

We are glad to be back but sure enjoyed time with family. We have learned over the years that nothing means more than family. We don't get to enjoy time with any of them very often and when we do it just reminds us of how wonderful they all are and how much we love and miss them.

Thanks Ross and Diane for always being so welcoming and opening your home up to a million crazy kids. We appreciate it more than you could ever know!

And the verdict is.....

It's a boy!

For the first time I was wrong. I am having a hard time taking in the news, but it looked like all his fingers and toes and parts were in the right spot. He has broken our family trend of girl, boy, girl, boy so I can tell he is a little rule breaker already!

Losing My Mind!

If this were my real hand I would have at least 25 ribbons tied to it and then they would have to be numbered and I would have to carry around a post-it to help me remember what each one was for.

This baby has apparently sucked every last brain cell that I once had out of me. I have had periods of forgetfulness in previous pregnancies but nothing like this.

This is what I have managed to screw up in the last week or so. I called my niece 10 days before her birthday and sang happy birthday to her. Let me tell you how it feels to have a 4 year old explain to you that it is not their birthday yet!

Yesterday I dropped Morgan off at a play date that was not supposed to be until today.

And the last two days in a row the school has had to call to tell me the bus was waiting for me at the driveway to let Morgan off! They will not let the kindergarten kids off until they see their parents and after 3 children in kindergarten that had NEVER happened to me until this week. I even looked at the clock at 11:58 and thought to myself to make sure I was out there plenty early. Then I went on cleaning until the phone started to ring and my heart sank.

So...if I call you and sing you happy birthday or it is your birthday and I don't call or we are supposed to meet and I don't show...please don't be surprised. My only hope can be that this fog clears after this little baby arrives!

Fall top 10

We have been so busy having fun that I have not had much time to blog about any of it so here I go. The following is a list of my top 10 things we have done this fall and have loved every second of it!

We went to our local balloon festival. This is one of our most favorite things to do as a family. We meet a bunch of friends bring food to snack on and then sit back and enjoy the beautiful balloons. I love that we have FINALLY lived somewhere long enough that we have traditions that the kids look forward to each year. We celebrated Morgan's birthday. She wanted a Halloween themed party so we all dressed up and decorated and made slime and all sorts of fun things. She had a blast and has worn her beautiful church dress she asked for to church every week since then!We visited our local cider mill. This day was filled with corn mazes, bouncy houses,hay rides, yummy food, and great friends. Not to mention the smell of fresh cider being made. YUMMY!!!!Charlie has started a Sunday tradition where he makes crepes for breakfast. They are so good and they make us look forward to each Sunday morning.

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year here we always try to snap a few pictures out in the leaves. We got a few good ones but they will most likely end up being our Christmas card so you will just have to wait until that comes.

We went to our ward trunk-r-treat. We worked on our trunk for awhile and we won an award for one of the best trunks. We used lots of dry ice and made bubbly blood and monster drool. The picture did not turn out that great but we had fun working on it with the kids.

Some of our good friends hosted and adult only Halloween party and it was a BLAST. Charlie and I went as Deb and Pedro if you could not tell from the picture. I was a bit sad that we only got one picture because the shoes finished off both of our outfits and you can't see them in the shot we got. Charlie had on black moon boots and I found a pair of silver LA Gear shoes. We were quite the couple. It was so fun to get away for a night with amazing friends and just be goofy. I hope it becomes a tradition!

Miss Morgan lost her 1st tooth. It had been loose for awhile and she finally got up the courage to let me yank it out. She was so excited for the tooth fairy to come and visit.Carving pumpkins is always a treat in our house. We let the kids draw out designs and then we get busy carving. Halloween was a favorite holiday growing up in my house an I have for sure passed it on in my own family.

Last but not least was the big night. We bundled up and headed out to a few houses to collect some loot. Sam was a frog, Ethan a BMX bike rider, Abby was Dorothy, and Morgan was a witch. My favorite part of the night was seeing little Sam toddle around holding his pumpkin bucket with a green glow stick around his neck. He was in his glory just wandering the streets and having people give him candy. It is one of those moments that make mothering worth it and a memory I am sure to keep forever!

Wow, it has been a great month or two. I love this time of year and my goal is to enjoy as many of these days while I can before dreaded January hits!