Thanksgiving

This year was the very first year that we have had Thanksgiving at our own house.  But the best part, was that it was the very first year since we have been married that we got to spend Thanksgiving with my PARENTS!

You see, this is also the first year that we are staying put for Christmas, so we will not be making our usual trip to Wyoming.  We had thought that instead, we may try to make it out for Thanksgiving, but it turned out that Cameron had class the night before Thanksgiving (seriously, what is up with having class on or so close to holidays?!?) putting a serious kink in any travel plans we were thinking about.  So being the wonderful people that they are, my parents decided to come and spend the week with us!  

My parents got here on Sunday, November 18, coinciding with Landon coming down with a wicked stomach bug.  We were so happy to have them, and Cameron had the whole week off from work, and so we were planning on doing all kinds of fun things, but sometimes things don't exactly work out.  Unfortunately, Landon was sick on-and-off for the whole week.  Cameron also got sick, but it was just a 24-hour thing for him.  The rest of us managed to dodge the bullet (well, except for Miley who caught the bug today...a WEEK after Landon first came down with it.  How does that even happen??), and were still able to squeeze in some yummy meals out, LOTS of shopping, and celebrating my dad's birthday.

I didn't take nearly enough pictures throughout the week.  Maybe it was something to do with me trying to Lysol everything and make sure everyone was washing their hands 400 times a day, and drinking their grape juice (yes grape juice....look it up!).

Anyway, it was really nice to be home on Thanksgiving, but have some loved ones with us.  It was great to have my mom here to show me how to cook my first turkey (!!!!) and in general, just help with whipping up the feast. Cameron was also a great help in the kitchen, taking on the mashed potatoes and the pies.  The food was delicious, and it was just a nice, relaxing day at home.

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we got to celebrate my dad's birthday with him (also a first in the 5 and a half years we have been married!).  I had much bigger plans for his birthday, but again, with all the sickness, I am glad we managed to have some presents and some cupcakes for him!  Miley was thrilled to be around someone having a birthday (hey, any excuse for cake, right??) and Landon was perky for part of the time.

My parents had to leave bright and early Saturday morning to drive back to Wyoming.  It was so sad to see them go, but we are so grateful they made the effort to come up here!  We wish everyone could have been healthier, but it was still wonderful to be able to celebrate the holiday with family.  :)

Christmas Craft Night

A couple nights ago, the ladies from church got together to do a Christmas craft night.  I LOVE having an excuse to do crafts, and when someone comes up with the ideas, and provides the materials, it's even better!  Not to mention, I seriously need to build up my Christmas decoration collection, and this night majorly helped.  It is sad when only a few crafts become the bulk of the decorations you have!  Ha!  It was a great night, and now I am excited to get to put these up for the holidays!

A burlap wreath (with a little snow on it...):

Fabric and twine trees (note:  I didn't have enough time to do the fabric trees that night, so the girl in charge let me bring home the ones she had done as an example....score!):

Wooden NOEL letters:

Glitter and string ornaments:

 

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween was a little out of the ordinary this year, as I had to take on all the duties by myself because Cameron had class that night (I know, lame, right?).  I tried to make it fun for the kids, and I think they had a great time, even if it would have been more fun with Dad around.

We started the night with a Jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's.

After dinner, we quickly got dressed in costumes to start the trick-or-treating early.  Luckily for us, the weather was beautiful, so we didn't even have to layer coats over our costumes!  Yahoo!  I figured I needed to get my kids out, so I could get back in time to my house to hand out candy (I love how in a couple of these pictures Landon is looking up at Miley like she is the coolest person in the world.  Melt.  My.  Heart.).

Once we hit the first couple of houses though, most of our best neighbor friends joined us, so soon we had quite the group!  I just took Landon to about 15 houses, then decided to head home.  Fortunately we are surrounded by wonderful neighbors, who are now some of our best friends, and they let Miley tag along with them for the rest of the neighborhood.

Once Miley made it back to our house, we got the kids ready in their Halloween pajamas and we put Landon to bed.  Miley got to stay up and be my little helper handing out candy, and I think that may have almost been as fun for her as actual trick-or-treating (there is that look from Landon again....)!

It was a great Halloween, but I sure hope Cameron is around next year to join in the fun!