Thanksgiving

I feel like in the past (when I was in school mostly) holidays would spring up on me so fast and all of a sudden they were over. Now that I'm a stay at home mom with two little guys we celebrate each holiday thoroughly- all month long. It just gives us something fun to do. Thanksgiving was no exception, we did thanksgiving crafts (several darling turkeys resulted), read Thanksgiving books, attended the storytime Thanksgiving day at the library, Chase had a Thanksgiving feast at preschool to which he was assigned to bring jello (aka- the food I never make and was super nervous about supplying), and had weekly Family Home Evening lessons on gratitude. It was awesome.

We started off our Thanksgiving celebrating by hitting up the free day at the zoo! We love those! We always get there right when it opens and see most of it before the crowds come. Heidi flew in to town and she and my mom came with us. Hudson loved it and exclaimed "You've gotta see this guys!" at every animal. Chase was more interested in the construction currently going on there (they are building a new play structure). 

 On Thanksgiving day we did our own thing at home. It was fun to make Thanksgiving dinner for the first year in our new home! Chaser was my little helper and helped me cook almost the entire dinner! It was a really relaxed day of cooking and family.

 Here are the boys by our thankful tree! We started this at the first of the month and every morning during breakfast each of us would come up with a few more leaves to add to the tree. Chase especially loved this and reminded me any time I forgot. He came up with great stuff to be thankful for too (like friends, grandparents, donuts, being invited to birthday parties, my brother, the mountains, beautiful sunrises, primary) and needed very little prodding from me to come up with stuff. That tree was packed full of things we are thankful for and it was great to remember how blessed we truly are!

 Here we are with our dinner. We made turkey and cranberry sauce, roasted green beans, Ruth's Chris sweet potato casserole, biscuits and corn pudding. Of course we had pumpkin pie for dessert. Everything turned out delicious! (I was relieved)

 On Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Smith Family. Since Will and Kate were at Kate's parents house for actual Thanksgiving, we just moved the big family celebration back a day. We loved having two days in a row of Thanksgiving! I got up early to shop with my mom and sisters and then we all gathered at my parents house that evening for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. My grandparents joined us, as well as Nate's cute girlfriend Halie (Nate just moved to Chicago and couldn't make it back for the holiday- luckily we have cousins there so he was with family too!) My mom had a beautiful table set with fine china and crystal goblets, everything was fancy and gourmet! As always, we spent most of the night trying to keep our wild ones under control (and failed, as usual).

November

November was so fun, and it went by so fast! I started off the month with a fun girls night out with my friends from study abroad! Katie, Sara and I became fast friends on the plane ride to London back in 2007 and had a wonderful experience there together. We haven't seen a lot of each other over the past 8 years, but it was so fun to get together at Cheesecake Factory in Salt Lake and chat and laugh the night away! It was fun to reflect back on where life has taken us and all the amazing memories we shared (and that we all equally still shudder at the thought of the hostel we stayed in Dublin!)

 I watch Nora at some point most weeks and we all love it. She's a treat to have around and the boys adore them (and she adores Chase, and to a less extent Hudson). My mom stopped by one afternoon and was reading to the boys and ALL THREE kids insisted on sitting on her lap, even easy-going Nora wasn't content until she'd staked out some real estate on Nana's lap.

The boys are obviously super enamored with fire trucks, and we were lucky enough to get our own personal tour of the fire station courtesy of a "Jack's dad" (Jack is Chase's little friend from Primary and his dad is a firefighter). We went to the fire station open house last month, which the boys thought was great. But having the whole place to themselves, with free reign to play in and on any of the fire trucks and ambulance was pretty much the best thing ever! Hudson "drove" the ambulance for a good 20 minutes, and was a little appalled that no one would give him the keys and insisted he just pretend.  It was a pretty awesome day!

Chase got invited to a birthday party at the Aquarium! It was on a Saturday, and our ticket into the Aquarium for the birthday party covered Chase and one parent (me) for the whole day there! So we went 2 hours before the party started and enjoyed the whole aquarium, which Chase was super excited about. Then he loved the actual birthday party (which included cake and playing on this super awesome play structure with all his little buddies!). I take my kids to do fun activities all the time, but rarely with just one of them. It was so fun to have a whole day with just Chaser! By the time we drove all the way to the Aquarium, stayed for four hours, drove home and stopped at the grocery store, we were gone most of the day!

Since we didn't want Hudson to feel left out, Ben planned a special day with him. They went to the train museum in Ogden, which Hudson loved (although he still reminds me that he would also like to go to the "Karium") Hudson loves trains and Ben had a great time with him. I'm pretty sure their date also ended at the grocery store, just to pick up a pack of cookies for a special treat for Huds. It was such a fun Saturday for all of us!

Out of the Mouth of Hudson

After a fight with Chase and Chase had apologized, Hudson headed upstairs still upset. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm just going to my room to be sad."

While doing a scavenger hunt hiking in the mountains, he kept insisting that he was just looking for tadpoles. Then he told us "Tadpoles hatch out of their eggs into the water, and then they take swimming lessons." He continued to talk about tadpoles the entire hour we were hiking.

During a tantrum I was trying to calmly talk him through his intense emotions:
Me: Hudson, can you tell me what is bothering you?
Hudson: YOU ARE BOTHERING ME!
and now if anyone asks what is bothering him, he says "My mommy is bothering me."
(You know, trying to get him to eat vegetables, take a much needed nap, buckle into his carseat, all that really annoying stuff)

When he's trying to lift something (or someone) he says "Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" (I'm fairly sure he's quoting Jake and the Neverland Pirates)

While eating ice cream at my parents house after dinner one night. "Thanks for the ice cream Nana! My mom just doesn't let me have it when I asked for it for breakfast."
-disclaimer: he didn't ask. But he would have been told no.

Coming out of his room after I'd put him to bed:
I just have some ideas mom!

Hudson has taken to climbing in our bed in the early morning hours. Overheard one morning:
Hudson: Dad- scoot over Dad! I don't have room!
Ben: Hudson, it's MY bed.
Hudson:.....Oh yeah, I forgot.

Hudson: Chase will you read this book to me?
Chase: No, I want to watch this game with dad
Hudson: (whiney voice) Daddy! Chase won't read this book to me. I want him to be an example to me!

After I declined his offer to share Halloween candy with me, he quietly set a starburst next to me and said, "I'll just put this here in case you change your mind."

Out of the Mouth of Chase

At the park one day: Do you know why these wood chips are here? Well I do. Back in the age of the dinosaurs, this area was completely covered in trees. Then they chopped all the trees down and made these woodchips so they decided to put a park here.

Telling a story at dinner one night "In the age of the past..." (I wish I could remember what the story was about, but the beginning just killed me.)

 Mom, do you know how much I love you? Two hugs and a kiss!
and then a few hours later
Mom, do you know how much I love you? As big and as wide as...what's that place we go to again? Oh yeah, Home Depot. As big and as wide as the Home Depot! (I'm sure that was the biggest place he could think of.)

Looking at a picture of the pioneers "Was that just thirty one one hundred and sixty years ago? Oh yeah, that happened before the gold rush." (I did not know he knew about the gold rush.)

While Ben was gone, the boys woke up crazy early and crawled in bed with me every single morning. One morning Chase came in around 5:30 am, and then around 6:00 Hudson came in. In the dark Hudson asked, "Can I get in your bed mom?" and before I could even answer Chase replied "Of course Hudson, you are always welcome here!" (So nice of Chase to welcome Hudson to my room!)
And then Hudson burst into tears because he wanted to be the first one in my bed apparently.  Don't worry, Hudson got up at 4:00 am the next morning to reserve his spot.

 Me: You are going to Nana's tonight so Dad and I can go on a date.
Chase: Where are you going on your date mom?
Me: To the temple.
Chase: Oh, that's sweet!

I'm trying to train Chase that he can only ask for one thing for Christmas (I may be a scrooge). Mostly, I'm trying to instill in him gratitude for what he has and to not be greedy and expect a lot of presents at Christmas/birthdays. So he's been carefully deciding what he wants to ask for, and for the last few weeks it's been a scooter. Then we had this conversation:
Chase: Mom, I want a new firetruck for Christmas that squirts water (his has some broken parts on it)
Me: Okay buddy, do you want that instead of a scooter? (I realize in all likelihood he'll get both- or at least one for his birthday, but I don't want to him expect/require that)
Chase: Well, can't I have both?
Me: No remember, just ask for one thing.
Chase: Well...Can you buy me the scooter and dad could buy me the fire truck.
Me: (Start some speech about being grateful and not greedy and just deciding on one thing to ask for for Christmas)
Chase: (under his breath) Fine. I'll just talk to Nana then.

Ben overheard Chase singing under his breath: Reese Pieces Peanutbutter cup! I was gonna eat it but Dad ate it up! (Recapping an actual incident)

Halloween

Oh Halloween- we do love this holiday, but I can say I'm glad it's over. It was well celebrated (like five separate parties!) Here's the run-down of what we did:

First was the Kaysville Elementary Carnival- this is the school where my mom works and they put on a darling free carnival every year. Chase is the best kid to take to stuff like this. He was so enthusiastic about all the games, talked to every kid he saw there (even though he knew almost none of them) and absolutely LOVED the cake walk (and had us laughing at his darling jumping-up-and-down excitement when his number was called). 

Hudson did not attend this event, since it was the day Ben got home from his 10 day work trip and we all felt like it would be best for Hudson to have quality time with daddy. When I sent the pictures from the carnival in our family group text, Heidi noticed the lack of Hudson pictured. This exchange just made me laugh:

(This is referencing a serious tantrum Hudson was having in which I calmly asked him what was bothering him. His response: YOU are bothering me!)

The next night was the trunk or treat in my parents ward, aka our old ward. I knew Chase would want to go to be with his little friends, so we tagged along with them! Chase ran around with Will and Matt (both Batman) and Paisley (the dalmation) and had a wonderful time. 

On the Monday before Halloween we traditionally carve our pumpkins for Family Home Evening. It was just too gorgeous a night to stay home all night, so we started off with a little family hike up in the beauty of the mountains. Fall is our very favorite time of year! And at sunset, with leaves that are already red, orange and yellow, everything looks gold and beautiful. It was a wonderful night (despite Hudson asking to be carried every 90 seconds).

 Then we carved pumpkins. Ben, always one to find an "easier" way to do things (even if that "easier" way takes "longer") used a drill on the pumpkin he was helping Hudson with. Chase immediately told me, "I wish dad was helping with my pumpkin so that I could use power tools!" Of course, it immediately became a three-man job.

Two nights before Halloween was our ward's Halloween Carnival. Because Hudson's firetruck costume (which I made) was a little cumbersome, he wore his monster costume to the party. I feel like the monster costume really is Hudson is his true form.

 The day before Halloween our neighbor hosted a little Halloween party for the kiddos! It was so fun and cute. They played several little games, decorated cookies and had some snacks. It was the perfect little get-together and a fun way to spend a morning.

 And then it was finally Halloween! The boys were so excited to trick or treat! We slowly made our way around our neighborhood (partly because Hudson walks slowly and partly because Chase liked to have a short conversation with most of the people handing out candy). I love our little fireman and firetruck!

And now I think we will all detox from the sugar high we are currently experiencing and start thinking about gratitude....

While Ben was Gone...

Ben went on a business trip to Washington DC this past month. We decided that since the company was paying for his flights and car rental, he might as well just fly into Richmond and spend time with his parents and grandma. It seemed like a lot better idea when we booked the trip in early October. The day before he left, our already difficult two year old turned into an even more difficult two year old and completely shook my confidence that I could do the single mom thing for 10 days. I can't say that it was the smoothest, easiest ten days of parenting I've ever had (actually, it might sound dramatic, but it was some of the very hardest!) but we made it through!

I am always looking for fun things to do with the kids, but especially during this time of year. And my kids are always easier when we are out and about and doing fun things than when we stay home all the time. The boys have so much energy! One afternoon we took my mom with us and went up to our favorite little hiking trail to do some hiking and a scavenger hunt. Chase loved looking for each thing on the list (something red, something hard, something pokey, something blue, etc.) Hudson spent the whole time insisting on looking for tadpoles. So after hiking for an hour, we headed to the Kaysville ponds to look for tadpoles. We didn't see any, but Hudson felt okay about it by that point. The mountains were gorgeous with beautiful leaves, the boys had a great time, and both boys crashed relatively early that night!

 On Saturday I enlisted my mom to babysit while I went to my friend's baby shower. She made sugar cookies with the boys, which they always love. Doing holiday sugar cookies is one of our traditions and even though it's so messy, it always seems worth it. Later in the day we went back to decorate them. The boys were so cute about it- piling on the candy and sprinkles. And of course, Hudson wore the binoculars the whole time. They are apparently critical to his creative process.

This is a picture from the baby shower I went to on Saturday- Jessica is having a long awaited baby girl in a few weeks! Jessica and Holly are my friends from the island- we got there at the same time and went through the whole experience together, and Jessica lived by us in Florida as well. It was so fun to get together with them. We shared such hard, trying, and amazing experiences together. I feel kind of weirdly emotional just looking at this picture, thinking of very specific times on the island when I needed a boost and either Holly or Jessica was there for me. Even though life didn't follow the path we thought it would, I will forever be thankful that I met such amazing people on the island and all I learned from them. 

My friend Ashley from our Provo days brought her little ones up to play one morning! We always love seeing them. Her girls are darling and my boys love them. They discovered this unused cupboard in our kitchen that rotates and it became a little ride for them all morning.

And oh dear Hudson- heaven help me! He is, of course, adorable, but he also has tested my patience like I never would have imagined! He did not handle his dad being gone that well, he's very attached to Ben and usually wants daddy to put him to bed, whenever he's sad, etc. So of course, bedtime without daddy was a pretty big battle most nights. And then he got into lots of trouble while Ben was gone too. One morning I ran upstairs to take a quick shower and he got the lipstick out of my purse and colored all over our couch! While I was cleaning that mess up, he ran upstairs and emptied his whole bottle of shampoo into the toilet. Right after that he unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper. He also has been throwing crazy, intense tantrums several times a day, which I don't really know what to do with. Then one night he bit Chase (he was pretending to be a dinosaur, obviously). Of course I love him, and he is delightful a lot of the time, but he sure gave me a run for my money while Ben was away. 

Needless to say, after ten days apart, we were pretty excited to get Ben back! Chase gave Ben a big hug and sweetly said, "Dad! I thought you were never coming back!" Hudson was napping when Ben got home, so when he woke up he glared at Ben and said, "I didn't want to see you!" After Ben started playing cars with him, he quickly warmed up to him and then pretty much didn't leave his side for a good long while. 

Basically, we survived, and it's nice to all be back under one roof again!

Books, Bow Ties, The Zoo and the The Marsh

One of my favorite parts of this time of year is getting out the Halloween books! Thanks to their Nana, our boys have quite the collection of Halloween literature and it's so fun to pull them out. I snapped a few photos of Ben reading to the boys on a few different occasions (In the first picture I believe they are reading Froggy's Halloween and in the second one they are reading Dinosaur's Trick or Treat). Our boys are such readers, they love story time so much and it's a big part of our lives. It's so fun to bring a little festive Holiday cheer into it!

 We went to the zoo again this week! We have such great friends with zoo passes that keep getting us in for free. We went again with our friends the Bennett's and Alyse's friend Chelsea and her kids. Chase was mostly just happy to be there with Ryder and the two of them occasionally glanced up from their running around to see an animal. Hudson, on the other hand, loves the zoo more and more each time we go. I don't have a favorite child, but I do have a favorite child to take to the zoo and it's definitely Hudson. He loves animals and gets so so excited. He was claiming that each one was his friend and each animal we saw was his favorite. He excitedly would yell "OH MY GOSH! There's my friend giraffe! Hi giraffe-y!" It was hilarious.

And then we got to the bears, which have always been a highlight for Hudson.  They were napping up against this glass pane, so Hudson laid down right by them and sang to them for a solid ten minutes. When I finally pulled him away he insisted "But mom, I need to sing my friend the bear some lullabies!" Oh my goodness, days like this remind me why we keep Hudson.

Not photographed, but worth mentioning, is that Ben and I got to have another beautiful get away to Park City that weekend, thanks to MarketStar! They treated us to a super delicious dinner and then a night at the NewPark resort, where we've now stayed twice and we love it! We did a ton of shopping and thanks to good luck and great sales found everything we were looking for. And then we came home to our two sweet boys, who didn't miss us even a little and were spoiled by their grandparents. I overheard Chase saying to my mom, "I like it when we stay here, we get to do whatever we want!"

The boys are now wearing their fall church clothes. They generally have just one church outfit to wear a season/they grow out of it. I bought them a few bow ties and I loved how cute and dapper they looked!

 And this is our beautiful marsh! Having bought our home in the winter, I didn't realize what a gem this is! Our property is bordering this gorgeous marsh and all spring/summer/fall I've absolutely loved the view! This is the view from my huge bedroom window and also from our kitchen sink, so I see it all the time. It was beautifully green all summer and now it's turning gold. Seeing the sun rise over the mountains, the pink sky, and this below is a beautiful, welcome sight every single morning. The picture doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it's one of my favorite things about where we live.