Thanksgiving 2013

In the days before Thanksgiving, I was in the kitchen with my little helpers baking for the big day.  I was in charge of the rolls (I love this recipe) and pecan pies.  My house smelled like heaven!

As my home was filled with the smells of baking rolls and pies,I began to wax nostalgic.  I remember when I was little, my mom would take the leftover pie crust pieces, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and bake them for a little treat for us.  I have fond memories of eating those bits of flaky, sugar crust pieces in the kitchen with her.  I thought that I could pass on this little tradition in my own home, all the while thinking that my kids would just love them.

The verdict?  Gross Mom!

Sigh.  So much for that.  I'll stick to the "real" cookies from now on.

We got to California late Wednesday night and spent Thanksgiving day with family, playing outside, watching movies, getting dinner ready...

We had some snacks and appetizers to tide us over until the big meal.  Does this snack look familiar to any Peanuts fans?  I couldn't resist!

We waited all day for our yummy dinner.  Sadly, the wait for Mr. Three was just too long...

The rest of the crew enjoyed the turkey and all the trimmings.  Don't worry, Mr. Three had his fill after a long nap.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we decided to have some fun having a Nerf gun war.  Everyone wanted in on the action, even the little ones.

Then, we played a little something we like to call "Tron Ultimate Frisbee."  We stacked on glow sticks, different colors for the opposing teams, chose teams, turned up the Daft Punk, turned off the lights, and used Mike's LED lighted frisbee to play.  We kept the little ones on the sidelines for this part of the game playing.  Luckily, they were too happy playing with the glow sticks to care about being left out.  It was a great way to burn some extra dinner calories.  In fact, we were having so much fun that it got very late into the evening before we called it quits.

On Friday, the sisters and sister in laws went out Black Friday shopping and spent several hours at Old Navy, trying on clothes, bargain hunting and then standing in a ridiculously long line that wrapped around the store.  The entire store was 50% off, so there was a huge crowd.  We got some great deals and had fun visiting while we waited, and waited, and waited... 

We also went to Target and found a few more deals, but the best part of Target was seeing Santa doing a little shopping there, too.  He was dressed in his Santa pants and a tee that said "Believe."  There was a little lady with Down Syndrome there and she walked up and just gave him the biggest hug, and he smiled and talked to her for a bit.  It was a big dose of Christmas cheer amidst the shopping frenzy.

After the shopping, the teenagers watched the boys so we could go to the Redlands Temple with Mike's siblings and parents to do some temple work with the adults for some family names that Mike's father had researched.  He had spent some time Thanksgiving day telling me how he discovered these family members and a little of their stories, so I was excited to help them do this important work.  After the temple, we went to Denny's for a late night dinner.  I had the most fantastic sweet potato praline pancakes and shared a pumpkin pie shake with Mike.  I want to recreate those pancakes some day, they were so delicious!

On Saturday, we took a "little hike" up Sugarloaf near Riverside, where Mike's family used to live.  It was supposed to be an easy hike, perfect for the kids and adults alike.  Well, it wasn't easy.  It was steep and slippery and hot.  The kids and the rest of the adults enjoyed it anyways. 

 

 

I eventually quit and sat and waited for the rest of them to finish, too worried about carrying an 18 month old up an increasingly steep hill. 

 

 

Everyone else climbed to the summit and enjoyed the view and ate some lunch.  Eventually, we all gratefully climbed down with no major injuries.  Next year, I will let the real outdoors lovers enjoy that experience and I'll stay home with the babies.  We also had a cousins dinner that night with Mike's cousins that were in town and stayed up visiting, eating and playing games.

We went to church together on Sunday, ate lunch, then headed back to Arizona, grateful for a fun weekend and lots of good memories.

A Disney Thanksgiving

This past Thanksgiving, we took a magical Disneyland trip with my side of the family.  My parents have wanted to do this for a long time.  A dream come true for all of us.  The boys were thrilled to go to the "Happiest Place on Earth" with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents too.

 

 

We rented a home in Anaheim in a beautiful, historic neighborhood.  We spent Thanksgiving in California Adventure park, Friday at the house for a more traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Saturday in Disneyland, Sunday at church and then the long drive home.

I jotted down several of the little things from our trip that I wanted to remember.  Not so much the big things, but the little things that I noticed as we spent this weekend together.

The first day, cousins walking down the main walks, hand in hand, so happy to be together.

While in the baby center with my sister in law, the attendant asked us if we wanted her to draw a privacy curtain to nurse our babies.  I said, "We're sisters, so we are fine."  That word, "sisters" just rolled off my tongue so naturally.  In that instant, Eva was a sister, I didn't need to add that "-in-law" modifier.

All Mr. Four's adoring fans in line, as they smiled and interacted with my chubby cooing baby.

Watching our boys, as they walked through the parks and onto rides with different adult family members, one ride with Grammy, the next with an uncle or aunt.  It made being at the parks with four kids so easy, knowing that I had a herd of people watching out for my kiddos.

 

The look of utter excitement as my boys got to see Mater and Lightning McQueen driving down the road, so real to them.

 

Mr. Two was the only little one brave enough to ride the Tower of Terror.  He was quite scared, but he moved forward, eyes bugging out, and went on the ride.  After getting off, he emphatically told us he did NOT want to do that again, but as the days wore on, it became his badge of courage, and he would proudly say that he loved it.  He is our real thrill loving one.

My brother in law Scott photo-bombing our pictures.  Silly fun. (Look closely between the gas pumps.)

The Toy Story ride that everyone loved going on, especially with the awesome glasses.

 

 

The delicious bread bowls and soup from the Pacific Wharf Cafe and watching the World of Color at night.  Amazing!

The glee that the boys exhibited, getting on Star Tours as their very first Disneyland attraction.  They loved it.  We were so excited to get in with little waiting, we forgot to take pictures!  However, the boys loved the rockets and we did manage a few pics there, you can see Star Tours in the background.

Every once in a while, Mike and I would get to go on a ride alone.  No kids.  Oh how nice it was to hold hands and snuggle for a few moments, knowing our kids were happy and well-taken-care-of by family.

Eating at the Blue Bayou and felling like I was in a magical world (oh, and the amazing Monte Cristo sandwich).

The Haunted Mansion, decorated with a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme.  The two oldest boys were quite hesitant to go on this one, and at one point, the ride stopped.  Poor Mr. One was scared, begging to get out, but telling himself it wasn't real and holding it together pretty well.  Mr. Two was just staring, grinning at all the spectacle around him.  Mr. Three was smiling, waving and saying hello to all the ghosts in the graveyard.

The moment when timid Mr. One told me that he wanted to be brave too and ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.  As soon as it ended, he shouted, "That was AWESOME!"  So proud that he tried something new.

Hearing Dad express concern that Mom really wanted to go on the Matterhorn (she stayed with the kids while most of us rode).  I love that he was thinking of her, but I also think he secretly wanted to go again, with Mom alongside him (still so in love)!

Mr. Three's squeals of delight, arms raised the whole time, as he rode the Goofy roller coaster, or his uninhibited laughs and shouts to go faster on the the teacups, as he was plastered to the side of the cup, spinning away.

Screaming at the top of my lungs on the roller coasters, part out of terror and part just because it is so fun to scream.

Laughing and reminiscing about Disneyland trips from our childhoods.

The boys getting so excited to get a little Disney souvenir (Star Wars items of course). Oh, and the churros!

Contentedly dreaming boys at the end of two long but fun-filled days.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful, magical Thanksgiving that we will never forget!

Thanksgiving Fun

We traveled to California to have Thanksgiving with Mike's family this year.  I don't have many pictures, but here is a run-down of the fun we had.

The first part was not so fun.  Driving late Wednesday afternoon.  The traffic out of Phoenix was brutal, so we added an hour onto our drive time.  The kids were fairly good in the car.  The promise of a Happy Meal at the mid-point of the trip always helps!

Turkey day was filled with lots of good food, game playing and several Nerf gun battles.  The boys were totally happy.

I don't know why I don't ever take pictures during the actual dinner.  I guess no one wants pictures of themselves stuffing their faces!  After dinner, we put in a movie and played games, making sure to sample all of the yummy pies and cookies for dessert throughout the night.

Friday morning, I woke up before 6 am to make it to the JoAnn's black Friday sale.  Mike got major brownie points for driving me there and then staying and helping as I waited for 3 hours to get my fabric cut and purchased.  (Big thanks to Mike's family for watching our kiddos while we were gone.)  We also found a new Nativity ornament and a few other little Christmas items.  I have the best husband!  It was actually fun and most people there were in a great mood and chatty.  I met a lady who had a son who served a mission for our church in Arizona and even served in my home town.  What a small world!

After lunch, the girls set out for another round of shopping.  Target and Old Navy were surprisingly calm.  I guess it helps to go later in the day, although the selection is limited with some items.  I found most of the few things that I was looking for, so it was great.  The boys and kids had fun playing at the nearby park, more Nerf gun battles, and watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and other kid videos at Grandma and Grandpa's house during the day.  The boys just couldn't get enough cousin time!

Mr. Three also managed to have a little fun with my eyeliner and mascara.  He needed a little battle paint, I guess.

 
After a dinner of tamales and leftover pie, we played some more games and visited.  After 11:00 pm, I finally had to exit the fun to get some sleep.  This pregnant body couldn't stay awake any longer, so I retired early to my bed.

We headed home on Saturday full of good food and memories, grateful for the time we could spend with the whole family gathered together.  We are blessed to be able to travel and be with our Croft family at least a few times a year.  We just wish we could see them more often!

I hope your Thanksgiving was happily full as well.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Hope you all are having a wonderful thanksgiving, with lots of delicious food to gobble, gobble up!

Miscellaneous Pre-Thanksgiving Items

This weekend, the fall baking bug bit hard.

I made Baked Pumpkin French Toast for Sunday morning breakfast.  Yum!

I also found some beautiful ripe pomegranates at the store and couldn't resist getting one.  Mr. One loves pomegranates.  I had to try out this recipe for double dark chocolate pomegranate cookies.  They were even better than the gorgeous pictures showed!  I won't admit to how many I've eaten in the last few days.  I'm eating for two, so a few extra are warranted, right?

A little hint about getting the seeds out of the pomegranate:  After cutting your pomegranate open and into large sections, try pulling them from the peel under water, then you won't spray juice all over yourself and your kitchen (or at least it will minimize the damage).  Trust me on this one.  I have a purple stained white tee and a purple-pink speckled kitchen to prove it before I figured this out...

I also printed, laminated and cut out some of the activities from this Thanksgiving preschool pack for Mr. Two to use.  He and I especially liked the puzzles and the pre-writing trace pages (I laminated them so that he could use a dry erase marker on the pages and wipe them off).

Here are two of the cheapest toys (and by cheap I mean free because they were made from things around the house) I've made to date.  Mr. Three loves both of them almost as much as our cell phones, remote controls and car keys...

The first toy was an idea I took from my sister in law Jenny.  She had made one for her two year old and I loved it.  Clean an empty Parmesan cheese container and grab a handful of pipe cleaners.  If you fold the pipe cleaners in half and twist them around each other, folding the ends in (so your kiddos don't poke their hands), it is the perfect size to fit into the container.  It also makes them sturdier to handle.  Then your child can poke the pipe cleaners into the container through the holes in the lid.  If they struggle to poke them into the small holes in the lid, open the other side with the wide opening and they can put the pipe cleaners in the container this way.  They can also shake the pipe cleaners out by opening the wide side of the lid to play again (or just unscrew the lid...).  

The second toy is just an old wipes container with an oval slot in the lid.  The oval is just the right size to fit the mini playdoh lids through.  I also had some small foam blocks that another sister in law found in the Target dollar spot that fit perfectly as well.  (Thanks Carla!)  Mr. Three loves putting his shapes into the container and dumping them out again.

Don't you just love toys that don't cost a thing?

Hooray for two more activity bag ideas for my toddler.  These are great to throw in my church bag as well.

Now I need to get off the computer so that I can work on Thanksgiving pies and other preparations.  Oh, and maybe actually mop my floor...