thanksgiving

Last Tuesday we headed up north to celebrate Thanksgiving with Chris' family. Fun. Fun.

LOTS of games were played. Catchphrase was really fun with everyone. I'm not a card game fan at all...so I bowed out of those. :)

The weather was great, which made it so the kids spent tons of time outside. Here they are playing kickball with the dads.

Our Thanksgiving feast was exactly that. A huge feast! My favorites? Sweet potatoes and corn casserole.

No visit would ever be complete without a trip to their favorite childhood restaurant, Espe's.

Kendall loves her grandma's homemade biscuits, so she was quite helpful in the kitchen one morning.

This was the first time I was able to watch Hallmark Christmas movies this season (since we don't have cable). We watched more than one. ;)

We had zero traffic on the way home yesterday, which was great! Tomorrow starts real life again and I can't tell you how NOT ready I am. :)

a night with friends

*Last night we had two families over for dinner. Jen (whom I've been friends with since 7th grade) and Emily (whom Jen and I met in college) and their families drove over an hour to meet up and we had such a fun night. We had eight kids total and it was one, loud house! :)

Here is Kendall helping me prepare our dessert. I've found that trifles are pretty and feed a ton of people! We had so much left over that I was able to bring dessert to my parents today since we were celebrating an early Thanksgiving.

*Last week we took a day off from real life and headed to the happiest place on earth. I had enrolled the kids in a homeschool/charter this past summer and we were able to use the funds we received for Disneyland tickets. Despite it being a tad (okay..maybe more than a tad) crowded, we had a wonderful time. My parents were able to join us and it reminded us of old times, when we had passes and went all the time. Ahh...the good ol' days. :)

*This afternoon I really didn't feel like going for a walk due to some chilly and windy weather. I told myself I would change into my walking clothes and then just see how I felt. It's amazing how simply getting dressed for exercise actually gives you that little extra motivation to head out the door. I'm so happy I did as it ended up being such a beautiful walk/podcast/meet up with Cam on his bike time. ;)

*I have to work tomorrow and part of Tuesday, but they will be nice and easy days, so I don't mind too much. We are then headed up north for Thanksgiving!!

skinny cow protein

*This week I made a recipe I hadn't made in a long time. I realized it had been too long because it elicited 10's all around!!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

 

*Last week I was chosen to be on the jury for a criminal trial. Was I bummed that I wasn't excused? Initially...yes. Was (and is) it hard to catch up on all the work I missed? Yes. Was it a good experience? Absolutely. The whole trial was incredibly interesting and as cheesy as it sounds, I have so much respect for our justice system. We found the defendant guilty on all three counts (resisting arrest, assault of a police officer, false imprisonment).

*Our family movie nights are chipping away at each and every Marvel movie. Last night was, Avengers Age of Ultron.

 

*Cameron has been REALLY into collecting cans lately. He'll walk around the neighborhood and ask our neighbors if they have any extra. He'll then crush them and ride his bike up to the recyclying place to turn them in. He made $23 on his last visit!

 

*I discovered a new Skinny Cow that is amazing. These are my same beloved sandwiches, but are packed with more protein. For some reason that added protein makes them so much more creamy and yummy. I'm officially a fan.

*Had a one night visit from Noonie and Deb last Sunday as they were on their way to the desert for a few days. It was a short, but fun visit!

 

 

the last couple weeks

*Last weekend we left the kids with my parents and went out for a belated birthday for Chris. We had brainstormed fun ideas and had even made reservations at a steak house we had never been to. However the night before Chris decided a celebration is only truly a celebration unless it takes place at The Cheesecake Factory (and I was fully on board)!

We also enjoyed some time beforehand at my happy place...Costco. :)

  

  

*Chris recently did something many golfers dream of...he got a hole in one. I know so little about golf, yet I do know what a huge deal this is. :)

 

*Trick-or-treating was fun this year. The piggies accompanied us. :)

 

*I had to report for jury duty this past week. I didn't have to report until 9:00am, so not only was I able to take the kids to school, but I even treated myself to a Starbucks. I was even more excited when I realized it was, "Free reusable red cup day when you by a Holiday drink." I got a Caramel Brulee latte. So good.

 *Yes, this is the earliest we have ever decorated, but it just happened to work out to where we had a free Saturday and I'm excited for Christmas!

 

*Me and my sis :)