thanksgiving {salt lake style}

my parents decided it would be easiest to meet up north for Thanksgiving and let my sister host (she has a WAY bigger house)

i was all about it!

we (the kids and I) loaded up and headed out early in the week to meet Kason in Payson (I'm sure he loves that his name rhymes with where he works)

we checked out his digs and then went and grabbed some dinner on our way downtown

we stayed one night at City Creek only to realize that it really wasn't kid friendly and the room and bathroom were TINY. super nice hotel, super nice. but it totally wasn't working for us. also, i am hilariously scared of heights and we were on the 16th floor with a balcony. i tripped out every time i stepped foot outside. i felt like i had to hold on to my kids for dear life. it was a hoot.

 

so we switched to a more family friendly hotel.

did some beautifying with my little sister first thing in the morning and then switched hotels and waited for my parents and brother to get in.

we went to the zoo on Thanksgiving day and it was perfect. sunny and 65 degrees and hardly a soul there. we had the greatest time! the kids were angels and soaked up every little minute.

 

 

then we had a great dinner at my sister's place and just relaxed and watched sports the rest of the day.

friday night the boy's headed to a Jazz game and i stayed behind and walked to Starbucks with my Mom, Sadie and Maggie. we also hit up Toys r Us for some last minute Black Friday Deals. that was my first Black Friday experience! it didn't really count though since it was at 9pm and really no one was really out anymore. i am not a Black Friday shopper and i am afraid i never will be. but that's okay!

 

we ended the trip with Magz getting the flu and as soon as that happened we hurried back to St G because we couldn't imagine passing the flu around in a hotel. ewww.

we got home in time for Griff and I to come down with the flu. fun stuff! we have avoided sickness since May so we were due for it i guess.

 

(this is how he insists on puking haha)

we seriously had the best time! it was so nice to getaway.

only one little mishap though:

 

Griff was wrestling on Thanksgiving Day and aquired this lovely little cut. it bled a lot and was pretty deep. it clearly needed stitches and i was ready to plop him in the car to head to the ER but EVERYONE vetoed my idea. they all insisted on super glue and that's what we did. of course i wish i would have listened to the little mommy voice in my head because this dang wound has re-opened and bled about 600 times. its very obvious that it needed stitches and i wonder if it will ever heal??

one last pic! my parents with their grandkids (minus one)

juice bags

the boy's call Capri Sun's "juice bags".

ya know, because juice in boxes are "juice boxes" so calling the one's in a pouch "juice bags" just seems right!

you can imagine the looks we get when were out and about. ha.

maggie yells Griffin's name and she sounds exactly like me. she literally says his name almost perfectly and she even cups one hand around her mouth when she yells it.

i guess i yell his name a lot? yep, i do.

maggie is saying a lot of words lately and it's killing me! i love hearing her little voice and how perfectly she says certain words. like "baby". she goes crazy when she see's babies. i love it. such a girl.

 

maggie's words: (these will only make sense and seem cute to me, obviously!)
ocksssss for socks
nint for uncle Klint
maaaaaama for mema
poppa for pepa
ink for drink
snaaaaaaaa for snack
hights for lights
otter for water

the boy's are being boy's.

they can be so good and so so naughty.

 

i really didn't want to jump on the Elf on a Shelf bandwagon but i did, and guess what? it doesn't work and they couldn't care less if that elf is watching them. flip. i have already thrown poor Frank (Griff chose his name, Nolan wanted Superwhy) back into his box intending to "ship him back to the North Pole."

of course he snuck out in the night before i could get to the post office. wish he wouldn't have!

pretty excited for Christmas, i think? it's a hard one for me, no idea why. i am not a HUGE fan of Christmas music either. i try though!

i think we have the kids gifts all figured out and it's looking like were going pretty light this year

now if only the weather here would start acting wintery! were pushing 70 degrees here almost everyday! can't complain though. it's gorgeous. it just doesn't feel like Christmastime at all.

cars

the boy's love cool cars and they can spot them and name them before i even see them!

we do a lot of pulling over and picture taking and i love it.

halloween

this year Nolan officially said Halloween instead of Ween's.

do any of you miss the way your kids used to talk??

i love to see them learn and grow but i miss the cute way's they pronounce things when they are little.

anyway....

we had a pretty good Halloween this year! we tried to squeeze in some spooky stuff before Kason left to go out of town.

we carved pumpkins and hit up our neighborhood haunted house, it's our little tradition!

i think we have done it since Griff was two, per his request.

the kid has been obsessed with Halloween since day one, i swear!

Maggie and i sat outside while the boy's went in with their daddy.

neither got scared, they loved it! (as usual)

i always wonder if we are setting ourselves up for a few nights of nightmares after they go, but nope.

Kason wasn't here for actual Halloween and i have to admit i was a little bitter about it.

luckily my inlaw's had us over for dinner and trick or treating

we ended up having fun and everything went well.

that is, til it was time to go home and i had sugar crazed, cranky and tired kids to rangle all by myself.

i showered them before we trick or treated so that i wouldn't have to late that night.

we got home around 9:30 or 10 and i planned on plopping them all into their beds after a good teeth brushing.

Griff had been holding his pee for a long time i guess because he peed his pants all the way to the bathroom as soon as we walked in the door.

then Magz and Nolan stepped in it and slipped in it and you name it.

pee everywhere and pee on all three kids.

so i had to shower all three, all over again.

it was bananas.....

other than that, it was all good!

hiking

hiking is one of my favorite things to do.

i used to trail run (and hike) in AZ and i loved it.

there is something about being in the mountains.

 i would sometimes run too far and would be running back to my car in the dark....s-c-a-r-y.

i've had to hop over rattlesnakes a couple of times and run from a little bobcat that scared the poo out of me once (he was pretty little but he just wasn't budging and he sat there staring at me!)

i fully intend to trail run again someday, shoot, i fully intend to run again someday, period!

can't wait for the kids to be plenty old enough because i plan to hike all over Utah with them!

we have done a few hikes but nothing too crazy yet, of course.

Nolan still has a hard time and gets a little tired and Magz is getting to be a beast to pack. ha.

here are pics from our latest:

pumpkin carving

while kason was still in town i made him do pumpkin carving with the boy's

they had fun and i just watched and snapped away!

i did end up scraping out some pumpkin guts to help but i really jusy enjoyed watching the boy's with their daddy

Magz just sat there looking cute!

PS i got no pics of the finished product, whoop's.

cousin Sadie

my niece Sadie came for a special visit for Griff's birthday party.

she entertained the kids like crazy and we had so much fun having her here!

her and Griff have become really good buddies.

it's hard to believe she is almost 11 years old!