Turkeys and Puke and all that Crappy Stuff

 It was all my idea. Most of the hair-brained ideas are mine. "We should go to Utah for Thanksgiving, Baby...don't you think?"

And so my lover took me and our little kids to Utah. About an hour before departure, Papa shot a turkey for us to bring to my Dad, who has a deep appreciation for fresh-killed wild poultry.

Our drive to Utah was great. A nine hour drive, no problems at all, we made good time and got to Andrea's at 2AM. When we snuck into her sleeping house Edmond kept saying, "Where is everybody?" He was missing his welcome crew. Well, the crew came out to greet us in the morning and we all laughed and played together, and Edmond informed them, "We can't sleep at my Grandma's house because it's full of kids." Which is true, it's a full house right now.

Utah trips always involve a lot of driving and visiting people and swapping germs.

 And so it happened that on Thanksgiving day Charlie started throwing up. He pukes pretty easy, he'll puke if he gets hit in the gut while wrestling, or if he eats too much, so we decided he was fine and we went to dinner.

 It felt good to see my family again. I love them. Charlie spent the day resting on the couch. The next night we went to temple square. I hadn't been there since B and I were dating ten years ago. It was fun to be back and show our kids the lights.

 

That night Scarlett started puking. The next night Edmond started puking. By the time we left Utah all three of the kids were puking. They puked in the car the whole way home to California. When we reached Tahoe I threw up too. You don't want to know what it was like...four puking people in a car is no bueno. We were so grateful to come home to our clean and fresh-smelling home and get out of the puke car. The next day we learned that Andrea's household was now puking. Awesome.

Utah, we hate you right now.

Except, we did have fun that day in the leaves.

Goodbye, Utah. We won't be back until summertime.

Pilgrims and Indians (er...Native Americas)

The night before the Preschool Thanksgiving Party I bravely snuck outside with a pair of trimmers and cut off some red-leaved branches from a tree on the street behind my house. Every time a car drove by I dropped my loot on the sidewalk and pretended to be just a lady wandering the neighborhood at midnight in her flip-flops with a massive pair of scissors.

Edmond helped me put his name on his Thanksgiving snack bag...but we ran out of room so we just left it "Edmo".

By the end of the party, all the leaves were on the branches of our Thankful Tree. The kids were thankful for all sorts of things...Jesus...Grandma and Grandpa...ladybugs...boobie traps...

We re-enacted the first Thanksgiving. Twice. Because all the Indians wanted a turn being Pilgrims, and vice versa. The Indians lived in their teepee (tent) all winter long and were cozy warm, and the Pilgrims lived in their boat (purple bin) all winter long and were cold and starving.

  

And Scarlett just so happened to be adorable, so Sook took some pictures for me.

Then all the Pilgrims and Indians were sent outside with plates overflowing with a plentiful feast, which they immediately abandoned when it was trumped by the trampoline.

So, their Mom's ate their food.

The End

On My Own

 Now that B is in the bishopric again, it's up to me to have myself and the kids ready for church that starts at 8:30am. If I want to be on time, I have to get all of our clothes and snacks and entertainment ready the night before. I even put the boys' church shoes by the door with their little black socks tucked neatly in them...just to save me a few more seconds. We have made it on time every week...sometimes just barely...but I am proud of this small accomplishment. The best part is that Uncle Ed comes and sits with us during Sacrament meeting and draws whales and sharks for the boys. We wave at Daddy up on the stand, most days I don't even talk to him at church. If I'm lucky I'll see him in the hall and we'll give each other a high-five in passing.

 I don't go to class at all. Scarlett is too loud and busy to sit happily through Sunday School and Relief Society. Sometimes I'll sneak in the classroom and sit on the back row for about ten minutes, but eventually Scarlett gets too disruptive and people start giving me "the eye", so we go roam the halls and talk to the other parents with babies. When church is over it's tricky getting Edmond out of class with his papers and treats, Charlie out of nursery with his papers and treats, and me and Scarlett and my church bag weaving through the crowds in the halls. By the end of it all, my feet and arms are sore from lugging everything around. Scarlett always falls asleep on the way home.

It's a crazy life we live.

Around the House

 Around the house, views like this are making me happy.

 I found this vase at Goodwill. It was a weird green color, but I loved the shaped so I brought it home and painted it white. I cut some branches off of a tree in our yard, and made an arrangement for fall.

 I'm loving gold this Thanksgiving. I found some white plaster pumpkins at Michaels and I painted them gold.

 And these boys playing by the window? They bring life to my house and joy to my heart. I'm so thankful for them

Charlie has a few silly things he likes to say. He likes to call people "Meeps". I'll say, "Charlie, go put your pants on." He'll say, "No, Meeps!" then he'll laugh and laugh.

The other day we were riding our bikes home from the park and I saw some older boys (maybe 8 or 9 years old) that were coming up behind us on their bikes. I told my boys, "Hurry! Those big boys are coming! Let's beat them!"

So we hurried as fast as we could, but the big boys caught up to us and passed us. After they'd gone by Charlie slowed down and seemed glum. I asked him, "What's wrong, Charlie?" He watched his feet kick along against the pavement and said, "Aw...I wanted to beat dose duys."