Giving Thanks

Tom wasn't too thrilled about an apron fit for a 5-yr-old.  

Our potato team--sweet and mashed to perfection.

One of my all time favorite pictures of Carma's beautiful smile and spirit.  She's rolling out one last crust to make one last pie she can't eat for one of her children she loves more than life itself.  

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and some veggies kept the littles happy while we finished up the cooking.  

Tom and Kevin tackled the tedious, messy, but essential job of seeding the pomegranates.   Funny how tedious tasks can become treasured memories when you work with someone you love.  

The table is set.  

Zach, Dan, Josh, Laura, Ryan, Tom, Kevin and Carma chatting and cooking

Finally sitting down at the table deserves a toast!

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing....and thank Him for the countless number that we enjoy.  We even snagged Spencer and Mary to eat with us!!

Meals that great can wear you out!!!

Our fearless clean up heros

Then on to games!!  Darren felt so big playing the Wii.  

The fun, food and games lasted through late Friday night, when we finished with a few hilarious rounds of Catch Phrase.  Tears were shed, hearts were gladdened and pounds were surely gained.  (Honestly, I've never had a better turkey than the one Kevin made this year.  Way to go, love!)

A VERY happy halloween

Another great Halloween!  This time I remembered my harried and stressed-out self from last year and firmly refrained from running the halloween parties for my girls' classes.  So I was a much happier mom as I assembled and created their costumes, fixed their hair and makeup twice (for school and then for trick-or-treating).  Another key factor to my happiness was the incredibly warm weather we had that day!  No jackets for trick-or-treating?!  Is this Utah or Texas?  

Without further ado.....here are my angels before leaving for school (a.k.a. parade and party central.  Seriously.  We had no where near this many parties when I was in school.).  Elle went as Anna and Eden as Elsa from Frozen.   The fact that Elle let Eden borrow her treasured Elsa dress (bday gift from Mary) AND agree to be Anna alongside her, was an act of true love comparable to Anna's in the movie.  My very favorite part of this Halloween was to see her really understand how much it would mean to Eden and choose to be so selfless.  Ryn had originally just wanted to be a general sorceress, but once she got to school everyone assumed she was Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter so she decided to go with that.  

 Where there's Anna and Elsa, there must be an Olaf, and Hope was the only one small enough (and young enough not to demand a say in her costume) to fit the bill.  And even though I've never seen a cuter Olaf, she was in denial all day, telling everyone she saw, "I Elsa.  I Elsa."  Her costume was the only one I had to make from scratch (another reason for celebrating this year!  1 out of 5 is fantastic!!!)

 Darren was slated as Ryn's pet dragon.  She told him he could be a bat, a cat or a dragon, so he went for the "scariest" choice..... Or at least the choice with the most chances for growling loudly at everyone he passed.  Thankfully, Michelle had a perfect dragon costume for us to borrow!   Thanks for adding to my stress-free Halloween, dear friend!!!!

 Elsa had to be right up there with the most popular choice of costumes for little girls this year.  I actually lost count of how many there were in the school parade.  And Eden's bosom buddy, Gwen, joined her in the thrill of stepping into the glamorous role of this beautiful princess for the day.  They can be found most days singing her song, "Let It Go" at the top of their tiny (but powerful!) lungs in stereo.

And as a final treat, here is a teeny tiny snippet of Hope, who sang it the whole time we were trick-or-treating, stopping only to repeat, "I Elsa.  I Elsa.......LET IT GO!  LET IT GO!"