Thanksgiving 2010

This year we headed over the mountain(s) and through a few woods to Grandmother's house- my parent's house in Idaho. We drive everywhere we go these days- with 6 of us now, it hard to justify flying anywhere that is close enough to drive. And yes, close enough is 10 hours in the car, but it just makes more sense to us to drive- financially it is much cheaper and we can also bring more stuff! Being limited to just a few suitcases is hard, especially when you need to bring double strollers, 2 portable high chairs, pack and plays and whatever seasonal toys we need/want to bring along.

The weather on the way there was perfect- we just escaped the snow storm that hit Auburn and missed an unseasonably snowy and cold Thanksgiving in Seattle. But no fear- it was even colder (sub zero temps) and plenty of snow in Idaho.

The second night we were there, Papa shared his traditional pomegranate with my kids. It was well received by all.

Ben loved having an entire week with no work and we sure loved spending every minute of every day with him. The kids often go days without seeing him during the week at home, due to their early bedtime and his work schedule, so we soaked him in.

He also enjoyed my dad's 4 wheeler and 4 acres of land to haul the kids around on for rides. Someday, babe, someday...

It was a very relaxing week for all!

The twins enjoyed everyone, especially Papa!

Mitch and cousin Carter had a wonderful week together. They spent a LOT of time watching shows together, mostly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The adults will never be able to get the theme song to that show out of our heads (M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.... and Oh Toodles! And not to leave out "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!)

But when the TV was off, they had fun playing in the snow together, too.

Papa's four wheeler was hours of fun, used to pull everyone on a tube and sled.

Daisy even got in on the fun- she loved all of the acreage as well. Someday, Daisy, someday.... (Yes, she made the 10 hour car trip too. She's the quietest, least neediest "kid" we have).

Oh, and baby it was COLD outside!

My second set of twins.

These boys had a great week sharing everything- they even shared Strep Throat with each other, and Chloe got in on the fun too. Nothing like a family get together to share meals, toys and a little sickness.

The day before Thanksgiving we all sat down and helped my mom with "Project Rudolph", a non profit organization that sends goodie bags and motivational letters to the troops serving our country for Christmas. It was a fun project and the kids had a great time.

On Thanksgiving morning, we gathered up the entire clan and got a group shot. The kids did really well for this picture and it was a miracle that we got everyone looking.

The same cannot be said for the shot with the grandkids and Grandma and Papa. The kids were done at this point and this picture captures perfectly how they all felt... bored, angry and sad. This was the "best" shot of all of them- there was not a single one without someone crying.

We decided to try and grab a quick shot of our family after all that- not our best idea, but worth a shot. This is what we got.

Thank goodness when Thanksgiving dinner was ready. Leah and Lexi enjoyed their first real Thanksgiving meal.

Not pictured, but they LOVED dessert even more. Each of them ate an entire slice of pumpkin pie themselves, plus some.

The babies loved spending a few days with Great Grandma D. She is a fit and healthy 89 years old and still gets down on the floor and plays with my kids like she's 20.

Despite what this picture shows, Leah loved her.

Black Friday was the best day- my mom and Grandma gave me and Ben the best Christmas present ever- they watched all four of our kids while Ben and I went shopping. We never get to go shopping for 8 hours without kids. It was truly a priceless gift.

When we got back home, we had a joint birthday party for Chloe and her cousin Tristan. Their birthdays are one day apart. Chloe is turning 6 and Tristan is turning 3.

Ben and I both commented that the week really did go by much too quickly- we had such a great time, even if the ride home took 3 hours longer than normal (some nasty roads and weather). Good thing we get to see Grandma and Aunt Catherine in less than a month!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirates Life!

We've entered a new phase in Chloe's eye care- PATCHING! From the first time she was diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye), we were told there was a big possibility that she would have to patch her good eye (to strengthen the bad eye). She has been in glasses for almost 2 years and each doctor appointment we've been to, he has told us how fortunate we are that she is doing so well and not needing to be patched.

We went into the eye doctor last month for a routine check up and found out that although she is still doing good, it was time to patch. This was a day we have been dreading since the beginning. Luckily, we only have to patch for 3 hours a day (for now). With a girl who rises bright and early at 6 a.m., she can take that patch off and be done by 9:00.

There are actually some different options for patch's, and this "pirate" style is just one of them. The doctor's office offered us a little cloth style one that you slide over the lens of the glasses, but with that one Chloe could still see around/under the patch on either side and it was bothersome. The pirate patch completely covers her eye and fits quite nicely under her glasses too. And this one is probably doing the most good too, as the eye has no chance to peek any where and be used at all.

She doesn't have to wear it in public with that short of wearing time, for which we are currently grateful. A friend of mine came over one morning and saw Chloe in the patch and I quickly explained the situation, but I'm sure her first thought was that Chloe was playing dress up or something. Our family already gets LOTS of unsolicited attention in public (twins and 4 kids 5 and under, need I say more?) and I would hate for her to get teased. I'm sure we'd gets lots (more) of comments to our already side circus show.

The first few days in it were torture. It felt like much longer than 3 hours, (to all of us)! She would literally ask every 4 minutes if it was time to take the patch off and would slide the patch up and off her eye when we weren't looking.

Now with just a week in the patch, she is doing amazing. We are so proud of her- Ben and I have each tried it for a few minutes and it is torture! It gives me almost an instant headache and that darn strap on the forehead is so annoying, and every time I would blink my eyelashes would rub on the patch. I can't imagine doing it for 5 minutes, let alone 3 hours. She is a trooper and we think she looks adorable in it.

During the first few long days, I kept reminding Chloe that I knew this wasn't fun for her, but that sometimes we just have to do hard things. She is doing it and doing it well!

It also helped to have Nana Andros send us some pictures of Ben at Chloe's age (5) wearing a patch as well. (And can I just say I am totally digging the tank top).

Like father, like daughter!

(Ben, 6th pirate from the left).

As Mitchell would say- "Arrrr, ladies!"

Fall Happenings

We have been loving this Fall season. Here is a bit of what we've been up to and how we've been enjoying it.

Leah's newest obsession- a yellow Care Bear. We've dubbed him "Bear Bear" and she crawls all over the house with this bear and takes him to bed. She only holds him by one arm.

Leah and "Bear Bear" fast asleep

Leah has always been our emotional girl. This Fall has particularly brought out some strong emotions in this baby and we've had days where she has done nothing but cry... and scream... and whine... All Day Long (no exaggeration). But when she is happy she is very happy and we love it.

Mitchell has recently taken up "reading." He loves to grab a book and "read" to himself. I hope my kids will always love to read.

With Fall comes the finding of more spiders in the house! I absolutely despise spiders- always have. I am so weary of them that I can spot one- a microscopic one- across a room and I can't stop thinking about it, or looking at it, until it is dead. They are so tiny and quick that if you don't keep an eye on it, you may lose track of it and who knows where it will end up and surprise you later! Yuck.

If Ben is home, I make him dispose of the spiders. This day, I found 2 of them way up high in opposite corners of the ceiling and Ben had to get out the step ladder to get them. Mitch thought he'd better check out the situation too.

Even with the sun gone (what little sun we had this summer), my little man is still loving wearing his hats. I love that he loves to wear hats and he'll go and put them on and wear them randomly, at his choosing. I always thought a man in a hat was very handsome.

With Fall here, the kids have been missing harvesting vegetables from our garden. Mitchell would go out and pick things without even being asked.

Boots and hat on and a bowl from the kitchen and he was set. We harvested garden food well into October.

The kids' favorite thing to pick was carrots

Our Japanese Maple

Playing in the leaves!

The first week in November, Chloe had an end-of-the-year soccer party at a local pizza place. She made some really great friends on her team and had such a fun season.

Cake for dessert! Team "Sol." (Spanish for Sun).

The girls all got trophies and medals and Chloe was so excited and proud. It was such a fun experience for her. I can't say I'm sad to see the 5:30-6:30 p.m. practices end, though. With a kid bedtime of 6:00 p.m. in our house, that put a cramp in our style one or two times a week.

Chloe has taken it upon herself to be our leaf raker. Here she is using a rake and a dust pan to tackle this small mountain of leaves.

She then, very creatively, used a fan to try and blow open her garbage bag to make dumping the leaves easier.

Our Fall has been quite rainy (no surprise) and when the sun doesn't shine it gets pretty cool. I pulled out the knit hats that were plenty big on the babies last year and tried them on this year.

They still fit and looked pretty cute.

Trying to get a picture of both of them with their hats on was impossible.

See Mom? It's a game!

They do not like anything on their heads these days, including and especially hair bows or head bands.

And the days are getting shorter, but not short enough for this little boy. Some days he just can't quite make it to 6:00...

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween WEEK! It was full and busy. I never used to care for Fall very much, and never really cared for Halloween, but now I love both and look forward to this time of year, especially with my own little family to share it with.

The kids had lots of opportunities to dress up this year and they had such a great time. They were constantly begging me to put on their costumes.

Our first opportunity was for the MOPS group we belong to. The kids got to wear their costumes to their MOPS classes on Monday.

A witch and a cow

Mitch looooved this cow outfit. Oh how he pestered me to wear this outfit.

With it on, he would immediately start mooing and be down on all fours, just like a cow.

On Thursday, the kids received a Halloween package from Grandma and Papa Blakeslee with tattoos for everyone. There was 4 pumpkin ones, so they all got to wear one for the day.

Papa also sent the kids his favorite fruit- pomegranates! He first introduced my kids to them and they are now hooked as well.

He decorated the pomegranates with scary Halloween faces. The kids loved it. (This is also the closest thing we had to carved or decorated pumpkins this year, unfortunately.)

Chloe also got to dress up for school on Friday for the Fall Festival party. The Kindergarteners are the only ones allowed to dress up at school for Halloween, too. No scary costumes were allowed, so Chloe went as a princess. A friend at school had dressed up as Snow White, so Chloe then told everyone at school that she was dressed up as Snow White's stepmother, the Queen. (She claims she was a nice queen, not evil like the one in the movie!)

On Friday night, Ben and I were invited to an adult Halloween party, which required that we dress up. We haven't dressed up in years (5 years to be exact) so we thought long and hard about what we could be- something fun, of course, and that went together. We already knew what we wanted to dress up the twins as this year, so we stole the idea and used it for ourselves.

Saturday night we had a ward Trunk or Treat party at the church and we decided to dress the whole family up in the theme of what Ben and I were on Friday and what the babies were already going to be. I had originally not wanted to dress up for the ward party, but Ben talked me into. I was glad he did- it was a lot of fun. What other holiday gives you an excuse to dress up silly and crazy and have that kind of fun?

So here are a few of my favorite things...

Thing 1

Thing 2

Thing 3

Thing 4

Thing 5

Thing 6

Quite the process to get all of us ready... lots of blue colored hair spray and lots of towels to keep our clothes free of spray.

Our inspiration

It's a Family Thing!

And we are extremely proud to say that out of 3 wards, we won the Best Family Costume! We had some stiff competition, too. Gooooo Things!

Thing 3 and Thing 4 with all their Trunk or Treating loot.

On Sunday we let the kids dress up in what they were going to be for the church Halloween party, since we made them switch and be Things at the last minute. They were so cooperative and went with it. What great sports! Chloe, a witch again.

Mitch was a pirate. Notice the orange knife in his hand? It's a plastic kid knife from our kitchen and he insisted it was his pirate knife. When asked what a pirate says he would say, "Arrrr... ladies!" (Instead of Arrr... mateys!) What a ladies man!

We all took long showers Saturday night to get the blue hair dye out- 3-4 shampooings each. After church I was looking at the back of Ben's head and noticed that Ben hadn't quite gotten all of his out. Oops. No one at church noticed (or said anything). That's Thing 1 for you...

Happy Halloween!