Once isn't enough

The next day, after a little Christmas shopping, we had a cozy and delicious turkey dinner at my sisters, with our dad from out of state.

Lena's beautiful touch. Thanks sis, you went all out for this savory meal.

The only two good pics I got from today, my camera was messed up.

We had a delightful time! The girls had fun with their Grandpa, such big giggles!

Many things to be Thankful For

The best part of Thanksgiving is spending time with family. Like many families, we alternate who we visit each year, wish there were time for both. Last year we enjoyed Paul's family here for Thanksgiving. This year, we went to my mom's...

She thought of everything, right down to the place settings with name tags. The girls were thrilled to see their name on their turkey favor. Requested by mom, we first took some family pictures out back, brrrr. After changing and final preparations, we enjoyed the scrumptious feast- we all brought a favorite dish and tried to help out, as much as they would let us. Thanks mom & dad for all your work and a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

After dinner, the kids had a ball finding the treasure with Aunt Lena's Treasure Hunt. Way to Go! They enjoyed our "Rock Soup" story, and the kids played Thanksgiving Bingo while we checked out the ads, planning out our black Friday shopping scheme, if we dare.

Mom was thrilled to have all her Grandchildren together at once, they had such a good time! As I watched their cousins and brothers play so cute with Sophie, Sage, and Alisa- I couldn't help but see how lucky (blessed) these girls are to have big brothers. These boys love their little sisters & cousins.

Paul and the boys met a group from work for Flag Football in the morning and we ended the day meeting here to watch Transformers. Wish I had a picture, all the boys were on the floor in their bean bags, while the men were all gathered round the couch down in our rec room. They love that show, such a guy thing. S & S must of been beat to sleep through it all, the movie was so loud I'm surprised the neighbors didn't complain, or come watch:) It was a fun-filled Thanksgiving Day and so nice to see everyone!

I have so much to be thankful for. Family/Friends/Gospel/etc. Sophie and Sage have added so much to my life and I can't imagine life without them, my boys give me so much joy, such good boys! I have to say, second only to my Father in Heaven, I am most thankful for my husband. Thanks for being so involved in our family, especially lately, and for all your hard work so I can be here for our children. They love their dad!! Thanks for making me laugh every day:)

Happy Thanksgiving

Check out Loving Lydia for other Thanksgiving posts

Our fingers are crossed

Sage had her yearly check up at Primary Children's Hospital last week- lab work... Here were the fabulous results from last year. We're hoping for the same news. She has been a very healthy and happy girl, just like her sister. We are optimistic that all is well and very thankful- we know that our prayers are being answered. We are still waiting to hear back with the recent results, so if I don't hear from them soon, I'll have to call and bug them.
My camera just happened to be on my hip, so I snapped some shots.

Sage having fun in the waiting room, little does she know...

suspecting something as she waits

Waiting to do her lab work

Sophie supporting her sis, and very happy she's not the one getting poked

Sage was clinging to me, so dad volunteered for this part
comforting his girl giving the nurse a sweet smile after
Yae, we get to leave now!
showing me her owie
Nothing like a smiley face pancake to make you feel better :)

FFFF Dressed for the Weather / pre-school update

We are having a long, wonderful fall. What a treat! Lately, Autumn has been very short and is gone before you know it. Although snow is around the corner (kids can't wait), for now we are enjoying these light jacket days. Visit Lissa's post to get a taste of weather in other areas.

I just took this shot of my girls on their way to pre-school this morning. Dressed for the weather and ready to go. They have loved pre-school. They go to one at a local high-school, there are some not so great, but this particular one is awesome. Can't beat a 1 to 1.5 ratio. The HS girls just adore the children and with all the help, they're able to do so much each week. They gather around them, teach them, love them, help them... The teachers just light up when they see Sophie and Sage and I have heard more then once how they are their favorite (shhh, I won't tell :). I'm sure they love all the children. They are very organized with great communication and an open door policy. They even have neat field trips for more hands on experience, firemen & firetruck came to their school last week. Sophie and Sage are excited to go, and thrilled to show me all the stuff they do when I pick them up. It's been a good experience and I'm so glad they enjoy it (they've come a long way being able to leave my side). My only fear now is they won't like Kindergarten so much because pre-school was soo great.

Week-end Escape

Photo-op

Nothing like being barefoot on the beach,

even if it's not 90 degree weather :) Fun big brothers
Craft hour at resort- like my door hanging?
Exquisite Logan Temple

They thoroughly enjoyed the pool, hiking, the beach, and our amateur but fun game of tennis, we'll have to get some tips from Lindsay:) The weather was nice and the canyons were spectacular (pics don't do justice). Love this time of year!

Thanks for all the nice comments, Paul proudly displayed the pictures in his office.

Pictures for Dad

Daddy wanted updated pictures of us for his office... so we picked out our favorite dresses, wore our nice jade bracelets & necklaces from China, and gave our best smiles. Here we are, do you think he'll like them? He has many to choose from, mom ordered more then planned :) Sage in braids, Sophie in pigtails.

Exploring the Children's Museum

I used to take my boys here when they were younger, Nick's favorite place to go as a child. It was fun then, and it's even better now- new and improved. Their are countless things to do- I enjoyed seeing the girls face light up with each new activity. Like my boys, they are deep thinkers and they like figuring things out on their own. I can't even narrow down their favorite activity- rock wall, magnets, water activities, crafts... They were very interested in the Helicopter, but wouldn't go in unless I went with them at first, they thought they were going for a ride (after all, it was a real helicopter, outdoors with mock engine sounds :) Everyone had a terrific time! Sophie- short sleeves, Sage- long.

Happy Halloween

Trick or Treat

Favorite part!
Very excited to show me their candy
So nice to have big brothers!

Kathy, the vampire, made a scrumptious treat bag for each of us
S & S with their cute cousin, Dallas- the cowboy

It was a festive, eventful celebration. First, my little Tinkerbell and Butterfly had a fun Halloween party at pre-school playing games, painting pumpkins, making skeletons, and trick or treating. The first thing they showed me was their bag of candy, "that's a lot of candy!" they squealed. It was hard to compete, but I enticed them with carrots, celery w/ pb, and fruit in their lunch which they picked at, then after a short nap we went to the mall to pick up some pictures. The kids had a ball trick or treating and showing off their costume at the mall. The employees were thrilled to see all the children, luckily we missed the big crowd. After dinner in the food court, we headed home to hit our neighborhood. So many people to see and so little time :).

The girls favorite part wasn't the mall, dressing up, or even the candy, but being pulled in the trailer with their brothers. It was so cute seeing them climb in and out and running to each house, keeping up with their brothers. They had smiles the whole time. It's the only way to go with their little legs on these long steep driveways. Their brothers thoroughly enjoyed taking them trick or treating, or maybe an excuse to get some candy themselves.

We always visit G & G on this fun night. The girls felt so lucky to see both Grandma's & Grandpa in the same night! Last Halloween S & S had only been home for 2 months, so they were quite nervous being around so many people. It was great to see them running around having such a good time this year! I have to admit, I have loved adding fairies & princesses to my clan of super heroes & football players. Good mix, don't you think?
This weeks FFFF is none other- Halloween, click on Loving Lydia for more cute Halloween posts.

Tonight, the day after, the girls grabbed their bags and asked to go trick or treating again:)