Thanksgiving Recap!

We had a fun and busy holiday weekend as I'm sure most everyone else did. Thanksgiving dinner was almost a bust since the turkey wasn't cooked in time for dinner!

We cooked the turkey in this roaster and it took two hours longer than usual! I was stressed and embarrassed that it wasn't finished! So on Thanksgiving day we had NO TURKEY! We ate all the fixings and ham. We still got sufficiently stuffed!

After dinner we went to the movies. One of the cousins used a quarter to get a fake mustache out of a toy dispenser. All the kids wanted one after they saw Jefferson with the mustache on. They all looked hilarious!

Maddie did not want a mustache but wanted her pic taken!

Friday morning was dedicated to Black Friday shopping! Morgan and I got up at 4:30 a.m. we hit several stores and we were done by 8:30! We then took Maddie to her ballet performance at the Festival of the Trees! They did a dance to Jingle Bells! It was very cute! (Thanks Tiff for the pic I stole from your blog:)

That evening all the family came back over to eat the Turkey that we didn't have on Thanksgiving Day. We STILL had plenty of sides, pie, and a FRESH batch of Temple's Rolls! Yum!!! On Saturday we went to get our tree with several other friends' from our ward. I have fake tree, but wanted to get a second tree that was real! We hiked around a national forest to hunt down the perfect tree. We finally found one that was perfect and Jon cut it down with his chain saw!We then had chili, rolls, and hot chocolate! It was a fun day! We even found a little snow that the kids were thrilled to play in!
The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning and decorating for CHRISTMAS! It was a fun filled weekend!

Thanksgiving Table

I'm the host this year again for Thanksgiving. I actually wanted to since I spluged and bought new dishes this year at Target. I'm very happy how my table turned out! This is where the adults will sit:

This darling banner is hung above the adult table! Thanks Amy for letting me borrow it! The big girls' have their own table and will sit in the front room.

The middle six children will sit at another rectangular table and the four littiest ones will sit at the bar. They will each get their own turkey hat, paper plate, and plastic silverware! YES!
I assigned a lot of the dinner out to the in-laws, I guess I can do that since I am the host. Right??? I now must go shower, vacuum, and stop watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade so I will be ready when all my guests arrive. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Girls Nights!

This past week has been a whirlwind of activities, most of them being fun for me!!! Last weekend I went to a cabin with eleven other ladies in my ward to stamp cards. I have no pictures to show for this fun weekend because I was either too busy crafting or eating!!! It was a great time and now I have lots of darling cards to give away for the holidays! Thursday evening Morgan and I were able to go to an early showing of: New Moon! It was so fun! There were a bunch of moms and many screaming teenage girls. The whole theater screamed when Jacob came on the screen for the first time! We saw it the day before at an "invite only" screening at 6 pm. I had several friends that went to the midnight showing and got to bed at 3 AM!!! Morgan and I both wore our new necklaces that my friend Julie made, Morgan's said I love Jacob! Last night I took Morgan to the "So You Think You Can Dance" show for her birthday!It was amazing! Those dancers are soooooooooo good!!! We loved every minute. Morgan had a great time with her cousins Paige and McKenna.

Temple, Karen, Erica, and I also loved the show! We kept on sharing the binoculars to get a closer view of some of our favorites!
After the show we tried to get into the Meet and Greet party with the cast but we were rejected! We just drove home and stopped at McDonalds for a dipped cone. It was another fun evening with the girls. Tonight I am going out with my husband though and very excited to spend an evening with him!

This Is It!

On Thursday evening I went with a few friends to see the Michael Jackson movie "This is It"

It was awesome! I have loved Michael Jackson since I was a teenager. For my fourteenth birthday I got the Thriller Album.

I was so excited for this present that I kept the album cover on our mantel for a month! I listened to the record constantly, loved to watch the music video, and desperately tried to learn all the dance moves! I was a true fan! It's hard to believe but I now have a fourteen year old in my house! Last Friday, October 30, Morgan turned fourteen! She's not crazy about any music groups or singers. Although for the past year she has been a HUGE Jacob fan:

And just recently since this season of "So You Think You Can Dance" started she thinks Nathan is fabulous!

How does time pass so quickly and our kids grow up so fast! I remember taking her to get her first year picture taken!And now she is my beautiful teenager!She is a great daughter, sister, and friend! She's VERY dedicated and a VERY hard worker. She will say to us "I need study for my Science Test" We'll say when is it? And her response will be "Oh next week." She is determined to get a 4.0! She makes lists for herself about what she needs to get done in a day or weekend. The list includes everything, piano practicing, personal progress, homework, and dance practice. Morgan loves to organize things, decorate her room, and go shopping. She says she wants to be an Interior Designer when she grows up! She also is a great babysitter and still loves to play with her three little sisters! Morgan is a big help around the house! I can give her an assignment, she will get it done and she often will do chores without me asking!

For her birthday we had a yummy bday breakfast and presents before she went to school! After school I took her and her friend Katherine to get pedicures and ice cream!

For dinner that day we had Wendy's since Jon was out of town. (We had her birthday dinner and cake/ice cream on Sunday with Dad) The next morning the Mia Maids came to kidnap Morgan and take her to Breakfast! She was VERY surprised and had a great time with her new leaders!I made her favorite dinner on Sunday to have with Jon and Grandma/Grandpa. Margene made this beautiful cake but instead of using Coco she accidentally used cinnamon! The frosting had a very strong cinnamon flavor so we had to put the majority of it down the disposal!
We still had candles, ice cream, and a Little cake! I feel so blessed to have Morgan and look forward to many more of her birthdays!

The Grinch!

Exactly one year ago Brinley decided that she wanted to be Cindy Lou Who for Halloween. Since Maddie was obsessed with the "Grinch that Stole Christmas" movie last Christmas we all watched it several times! I decided to have all of us be Grinch characters for Halloween. I had to do some convincing though! Jon WAS going to be the grinch but sadly had to be out of town. Mason stepped in to be the grinch. Actually I told him that I would pay him $20 if he would dress up. Once M & B heard that everyone was on board with the Grinch idea! The girls and I had fun putting together the costumes, getting ready, and taking pictures. My mother in-law made Brinley's darling outfit and I scored some of the other's at Goodwill. I asked my friend Amy if she would take some pics of us. She did an awesome job and I love them! Mason as the Grinch:

Brinley as Cindy Lou Who:

Maddie as Max, the Grinch's Dog:Brooklyn as a Whoville teenager:I was Betty Lou Who, Cindy's Mom:Morgan was also a Whoville teenager:

It was a fun night! The kids already know what they want to be next year, and it's not a group theme!