It Isn't Just a Turkey

Made by Brody, a little Thanksgiving craft that just brightened my day when he gave it to me.  He was so proud! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Kickoff and Big Owies

We had our first Thanksgiving at Price's this past weekend which helped get everyone in the holiday spirit, I can't believe the holiday's are here!  We had come off a really rough weekend with Kys coming down with a mouth/throat virus (ulcers and sores everywhere in his mouth) that kept him from eating, drinking, and sleeping very much, so we were all a little wiped! 

Memi made a yummy dinner, and the boys got to dig in early because they knew what awaited them after....pudding and ice cream!!! 

Goofballs!

Auntie Becs and Kys, he finally gave into one of his crying fits and just plopped himself down right next to Becca watching some Mickey Mouse.  Who rules the TV??   You know it, we had to take some football breaks to distract this little man from his owies.

DESSERT, the best part of every meal. Kys even got in a few bites, the first thing he tried putting in his mouth all day.

Kader, just loved his outfit, he loves to be with his cousins, it is fun to see him get so excited! 

Memi and the little boys

A little wrestle time, if anyone dares to lay on the floor, they will get jumped on!

Kader wanting so bad to get in the middle of it all too...

Thanks for a great Thanksgiving Papa and Memi!  A nice evening with some good food and great company!

Kys did great for the most part that night, and I am not sure if taking him was pushing it, because that night and the next couple days were not fun.  I had to take two days off of work, and we were back at the doctor because he wouldn't drink anything.  So I started syringing apple juice in his mouth because he was getting super dehydrated and was up all night crying.  Today he is doing much better, still not eating but has had about 6 oz of juice and milk and is pretty happy.  That last week was very draining on all of us with Kys being sick, Chris working 10/11 days, lets just say this house needs my attention (time to get off the blog), I have papers piled high at school to grade, emails not responded too, and some runs to get in!  No matter how prepared you think you can be, God definitely humbles you and finds ways to get your full attention on him.  We are never in this alone! We are grateful that Kyler has turned the corner, and even though the house is a mess, and I am behind at work, we are very blessed going into this Holiday season and have so many things to be THANKFUL for. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!!

Kyler 2 Year & Fall Family Pics

Picture time again, oh how I love pictures.  As I am quickly reminded time and time again, the hard work that comes along with getting pictures makes some interesting memories...  I had Brea Bateman Photography take these, I have always loved her work, and even though I have been very pleased with our past pictures I just wanted to mix things up.  Let's just say I am completly shocked that any of these turned out.  I left that photoshoot crabby, annoyed, exhausted, sweating, and out of breath....  Kyler was not cooperating, we kept shoving fruit snacks in his mouth to keep him from screaming and he just ran everytime we set him down.  I was very embarassed, and I know that photographers see all sorts of things, there is just no prep for Kyler.  Oh what a sweet boy... :)  I wanted to get so many other shots, but our alloted hour was cut short with about a 20 minute shoot.  Crew and Brody did so well, and I was so proud of them, they have come a long way in their picture taking too!

I just finished putting together our Christmas card, I was going to wait to post these, but oh well!

LOVE THEM!

This picture just about sums it all up!  I just hope this high maintenance improves before preschool!

He was however perfectly happy about trying to climb over the bridge (yes you can see my hands ready to catch) and he wanted to go in the creek.  Oh my little, sweet, loving Ky Kys I am blessed because you have taught me so much in two years, I am completely humbled and appreciate the many smiles and laughs!  LOVE YOU DUDE!

Pilgrims and Indians

Crew had a fun Thanksgiving Celebration in Kindergarten today.  They got to pick whether they wanted to be a Pilgrim or Indian, and Crew was all jazzed about being an Indian.  Lucky for him I had already done some Christmas shopping online for 70% off discounted Halloween accessories, which included some Indian gear.  Which by the way is so cheap and fun to get the different costume accessories for dressing up! 

He was running around the house all morning in Crew fashion and I was just a little nervous about what he might do in school...especially with some extra "props".

They had their activities right away in the morning so I got to swing by before work and see all the kids dressed up... and much to my surprise Crew was focused, calm, and doing what he was suppose to.  WEIRD!  When I got there he came and gave me a hug and then went back to his normal business.  He made his mom so proud, and not that he doesn't always, but as we know Crew can be a very wild and crazy little dude!

Mrs. Olson turned her classroom into the Mayflower, with the lights dimmed, lamp on, music of stormy weather, and multiple stations set up.  She does such a wonderful job with these kids, Crew has his conference on Thursday so I am anxious to see how that will go!  What a perfect start to my day before work, I left with a huge smile on my face knowing that Crew is a very lucky boy and is growing up so fast!

Mom in Training

So I signed up... and decided that adding another thing to my list (as Chris would call it) was a good decision for ME.  Every once in awhile I am learning that doing something for ME is okay, and really it benefits everyone in our family in the long run. 

I have done runs in the past, but I have found it is getting harder and harder to do these things because of the time it takes to train, and to stick with it.  My knees are worthless, and after my third surgery they told me that running shouldn't be in my routine, and for some reason I keep coming back for more.   No pain no gain, and yes I am only 30 and want to be able to walk, but at the same time I am finding that the benefits I get physically and emotionally out weigh the negative (for now anyway).  So this time I hired Care to find the best running program for someone that could only run 3 times per week (to get the most out of my knees), and so now I am going on 4 weeks strong and loving every mile of it, or learning to love every mile of it!  We will see how I feel at miles 10+, right now 4-6 feels pretty good!

Moms know what it is like to schedule everything around everyone else's schedule... Chris' crazy work schedule, Crew's 2 nights of basketball, Wednesday night church, Chris' 1 night of basketball, and and and...life will continue to be busy, and I personally kind of thrive on that challenge... So my time is usually after the kids go to bed, or early in the morning before they wake up.  I am really learning to love and appreciate the dark cool and windy, rainy nights/mornings of just me and the road.  I even got this really cool blinking arm band (Chris makes fun of me, but I don't care!), and am obsessed with the Runtastic App that Joelle got me hooked on that tracks your mileage and time, so I can constantly try to keep improving.  People that run know the feeling it gives you, the empowerment, sense of accomplishment, and the addiction to keep pushing yourself.  So even though I could choose to use every excuse in the book, I realize I am only cheating myself and I love the mom I am when I can get my run in....

Motivational quotes are great, and Nike has some fun ad campaigns that they have run for women (although I wear Asics!) so I thought I would share...  They keep me going and focused, along with Care, Stacey, Joelle, and Sarah my running teammates who will be running this too!

I will never be a 'skinny' runner type of girl, and missing my days of volleyball and not being able to play at all anymore, I love still competing and getting that rush of adrenaline...

Birch Bay Half Marathon here we come!

Trick or Treat...aka Treat PLEASE!

We get excited about holidays pretty early in this house, which is my fault, but I can't help but try to enjoy things for longer than they last because time flies and the kids are totally into it too!  We had our costumes picked out early, and because of that Brody has been wearing his wings for about 6 weeks now NON STOP.  Sleeps, eats, plays, and we even can buckle him in his car seat in them...  He isn't too happy at night if he sneaks into our bed, and Chris or I accidentally roll on one of his wings... Oh goodness.  Even though Halloween is over he is still wearing them, it just cracks us up.

Crew was batman and had a great time playing the role of a super hero, and showing off his big muscles.  KyKy was Woody, and loved skipping around in his boots, and ate as many suckers as he could to help him survive the night...He even put his hat on every once in awhile. 

We made our rounds to all the family and took a lot of pictures, surprise surprise.  I just love seeing all of our family and neighborhood kids all dressed up, so cute so I couldn't miss the opportunity to get pictures of them all, love them! 
Fall a beautiful time of year....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!