Thanksgiving and mish mash

This year was our first Thanksgiving on our own.  At first I was a little nervous because what if it was depressing and lame?  But then we did all these fun thing leading up to it and it was awesome.  William helped with the chocolate pie crust.

Spencer pretty much made the chocolate pie, though he was grumpy about it.  But I was happy for his help.Brooke helped with the rolls.  I have no idea why there isn't a picture of her doing it, but it happened!

Blake kicked butt outside. It was 0 degrees or something and he built the beginnings of a snow fort.  The kids were in and out with him.  I told them to go out and help more and he said, "No, I like it." Ha, he was like a little kid again.

We actually made a table setting and used folded napkins!  The kids loved using fancy cups and they kept saying, "First we clink, then we drink."  We made thankful plates, where we wrote what we were thankful for and then baked them, so the plates are permanent.  Hailey made the tee pees for place settings.  It really was great.  Our friends were going to come over for desert, but their baby got sick.  So, we did a bunch of WII dance and the boys played video games.  I wore pajamas all day.  Win, win.

All ready to go.  William was a bit grumpy so we put him to bed but we saved him some dinner.  It was really cool to just be us.  It was a great reminder of how far we have come in the past few years. I am pretty proud of us.  And yes, the Christmas tree was up.  When you don't have people for Thanksgiving, it doesn't matter what time of year you put your tree up.

Hailey made this pumpkin pie pretty much on her own. It was super good.

Snuggling after yummy dinner.

The next day, Blake had to work so we put up the rest of the Christmas decorations.  Spencer and Hailey were kind of a good team with the lights but they were being grumpy.  Too much family time, maybe?

We went to Nauvoo because our friends were being sealed in the temple.  That was a wonderful experience. They had been through a lot and married for 33 years and kept it together.  We are so happy for them.  While Blake was in the temple, we went to the Gunsmith shop, where the kids were wild and pretty obnoxious.

Then we went to the post office.  Lots of interesting things to learn in there!  We are trying to go to every place in Nauvoo, so I take pictures to remember what we haven't seen yet.

We went on a carriage ride through the country.  It was a perfect day to be there, 50 degrees after a cold few weeks.  William loved petting the horses. He also loved "pretend biting" me on the ride. Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Blake and I switched when he was done in the temple. I had a few minutes to sit alone.  This statue is so beautiful.  It's a representation of Joseph and Hyrum Smith before they were taken to jail and then killed.  I have always been touched by it because of the faith they had to leave their families, knowing they wouldn't be coming back.  But knowing that the people would continue on in faith.  It has been a real blessing to live near Nauvoo.  The kids always say they want to live there.

Gorgeous sky on fire!

Blake wearing Spencer's Thanksgiving project from school.  Such a kidder.

The kids wanted to put on a play from The Friend for Family Home Evening one night. With Brooke as Mary and Spencer as Joseph, it was probably about as opposite as the first Silent Night, but looking back it was pretty dang funny to watch them.



William set the table for dinner.  I like how some people have two cups and some have none. It's the thought that counts.  And that bread is what I make whenever I'm sure the kids will hate the dinner.  The recipe is from our Bishop's wife. She makes it for the sacrament bread every week. It is the best.

I was supposed to go with Brooke on her field trip to the Christmas tree farm, but Hailey got sick.  Brooke was such a trooper.  She was sad at first, but this is her thumbs up.  She had an awesome time.  When I asked her what she wanted to do with me when she got home, she said, "Watch SpongeBob."  

We had a few weeks of horrid negative degrees so we had some good ice outside.  I let them loose with this hammer and it provided a few minutes of fun.  30 degrees feels like heaven.

The kids were piling on me one day.  And it was just hilarious because William kept saying, "I want to sit on your lap." and everyone was shoving and being crazy.  I am glad Hailey took this real life picture.

We have gotten pretty close with the Sister missionaries out here.  Sister Pearce was moving on to a new area. She had been teaching my friend, Danielle, so we got to say goodbye to her before she left.  She was a really sweet girl and it was fun to find out she also lived with our friends in Bettendorf.  

We went to the indoor park one day, where there is a lot of running and playing.  William was so pooped after that he fell asleep sitting up on the couch. I say good day.