Thanksgiving At Our House

I know this is way behind, but here are our Thanksgiving photos finally. We had my parents, and two sisters and their families at our home for two days. Briana's husband Craig was sick with strep throat the whole time and couldn't even touch his turkey dinner, but I think everyone else had a good time. :)
Reese flew in before her parents and we got to have her with us for a few extra days. I LOVE how well she and Nora get along now! From the moment we strapped her in our car to take her to our house, she and Nora were busy pretending with their little figurines. So fun! I have such fond memories of playing with cousins as a girl. I really hope our girls will have time to build the same kind of memories.


Here's most of us lounging after Thanksgiving dinner. Branden cooked the lions' share of the food and it was delicious! I am so lucky to have such a fantastic chef for a husband.
And here is my son, gnawing on a turkey bone. Classy Ike, classy.
Fun time (?) with cousin play.

The next day the weather was nice enough to head out to a park and enjoy the fresh air.

See how Carter is helping his CHILD play? And look, below how with Branden it is the opposite. Hmm... :) You're great Honey!

On Saturday Briana, Craig, Claire, and Dad took off in the early morning, but we took the rest of the crew to a super cool Christmas tree farm up in Reedley.

Reese riding the train with Gramma!

Nora HAD to be in the cattle car. Before she even saw the train, she was begging to go into the "Dumbo" car. She remembered it from last year when she was not even two and a half! She often surprises me with her memory!



We all took a turn up the tree house which has a great view of the whole tree farm.

This really looks like a safe piece of play equipment, right?

Thanks everyone for making the trip down here! I know it added several hours to your travel plans, but we LOVED having you all here! Christmas at our place next year? :)

My Thoughtful, Spiritual Three-Year-Old

Last week I had an unsightly blemish on my nose, probably due to all the sugary Christmas treats we've had around the house. :) As I was pushing Nora in the cart at the grocery store, she had a prime view of my face. Pointing to my nose, she asked, "What's that?" I told her it was a zit. "Not pretty, is it? I can't do anything about it, except wait for it to heal," I said. She thought for a second and then said, "I wish Jesus would come back down to earth and heal your zit!" How thoughtful! :)

A Surprise Visitor

Last Sunday Branden went out to the garage for something and when he came back inside, we found this little guy had appeared! No idea where he came from or where he had been living. But I suppose its better to have a pesky frog hanging around rather than a mouse, a rat, poisonous spiders, or snakes. Still... Branden promptly escorted him out of the house!

Family Photos

A very talented friend, Toni Wood, in our ward took some pictures for us and I think she did a fantastic job. Thanks Toni!

Nora's Lunch Prayer

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Make sure my doll's bottle doesn't fall off the counter again,

Please don't let my brother eat rocks anymore(in the backyard),

Please bless the food.

Amen"

Home Improvement Project Numero Dos

We're hosting the fam for Thanksgiving this year, which necessitated that we upgrade from our little farm table that B has had for a decade. We were about to plunk down a small fortune for a new one, when we found a nice one at a garage sale for much less. Unfortunately, the white seats were pretty worn and stained.

So I tried something I have never done before and recovered them. I did the end chairs in green and the four middle in a floral and they all have plastic over them (tacky? probably. Practical and essential? absolultely! I love being able to easily wipe off red sauce and spilled milk.) It was a really easy project too.

Amber's Design on a Dime (or 400)

My mom gave me a dresser that I LOVE,and we've needed some end tables in our bedroom for a while. I found a pair on Craigslist for $15. They were totally ugly with a gray washed veneer. I really wasn't sure I'd be able to use them.

A friend of mine had told me though that I could get the same finish as my dresser by painting and then wiping some wood stain over the top. I first spray painted the tables a cream color, applied the stain and voila! Matching bedroom furniture. Sort of. :) There's obviously less detail and trim to these guys, and I want to still switch out the hardware, but I'm so glad for people out there who know how to do these at-home projects - it definitely saved me a lot of money and now I have customized end tables!

"Here's your end table, and it's HAPPY to see you!"

Halloween Time

B and I made this spooky cake creation for our ward halloween party. I think we found a new family holiday tradition.

In case you are not a Disney channel buff, these costumes are inspired by Nora's favorite show, Phineas and Ferb. Ike is Phineas, Nora is Perry the Platypus, Branden is Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and I'm Candace.

Happy Halloween!