Thanksgiving Break

We went to Sandy Valley for Thanksgiving this year. We left the Saturday before Thanksgiving and returned home the Sunday after. We had such a great time. The kids kept asking if we could stay longer.

In one of our hotels during the drive Jackson said he was going to sleep on a little bench. Everyone thought he was serious so we decided where everyone else would sleep. But then he said he was just joking. The only spot left for him to sleep was with Mackenzie and he decided he'd rather sleep on the bench.

Coleman threw up our first night in the hotel, so we weren't sure how the rest of the drive would go, but he ended up being fine and no one else got sick.

The kids watched lots more movies than normal.

Jackson and Coleman spent most of their time in the car (while watching movies sometimes) making their own Pokeman decks. Jack wrote and illustrated each one. They made 120 different cards. They loved playing with them once we reached Grandma's house.

While Grandma and Doug went to see Grandpa, the kids and I went to the Springs Preserve. It was our second time there and we again had a great time. The travelling exhibit this time was a big room of patterns, with the highlight being a mirror maze.  It took Coleman, Jordan, and I awhile to find our out. Jack and Kenzie made it out pretty quickly. There were different math things hidden in the maze, so Jordan, Coleman, and I took time looking for those, which also turned us around a lot. After we made it out, the kids kept going through it again and again.

We also learned about different kinds of patterns.

It was a warm and sunny day so we happy to check out the outside area.

Kenzie with a town lady at an auction.

The sun was already setting by the time we went out to the play ground so it was starting to get cold, which meant we all were ready to go back inside sooner than I expected.

We went to the clean energy place and Kenzie practiced driving with her feet.

Tuesday morning the kids helped Grandma burn her garbage.

Then we collected some things we could throw and set up glass bottles. We took turns throwing our objects and trying to break the bottles. It took a pretty long time to break them all.

Jackson practiced the piano a lot, and even tried playing with his eyes closed. He did pretty good on some of his songs.

We also went on a hike. Jordan brought a pick ax to do some mining.

Doug with Sandy Valley behind him.

The kids played a lot of football. They convinced Doug to play with them some of the time too.

Jordan and Grandma working on a puzzle.

Kenzie loved these little dolls.

Doug and the kids helped Grandma put some rocks next to the grass. It looks so nice!

Wednesday, Candis' family stopped by for dinner on their way to San Diego where Anna was going to be competing in a soccer tournament the day after Thanksgiving.

Jackson and Isaac

The kids did some jump roping.

It was so fun to see them!

The kids took turns playing the piano.

On Thanksgiving, we had our own Turkey Bowl. 

Kenzie, Coleman, Jordan, and I beat Doug and Jackson.

And we played the Farming Game.

Coleman lost his fourth tooth!

The kids found a dead bird in one of the buildings on the farm.

Kenzie playing the piano so Grandma could get a video of it.

Kenzie helped Grandma make some cookies the day after Thanksgiving.

These are some of the Pokemon cards Jackson made.

And here's a few more.

We were able to see Damon and his wife Danica for dinner on Friday. They were moving from Texas to California and stopped by to see Grandma. It was great to see them!

We left Friday after dinner on our long drive home.

Mackenzie and Coleman at one of our hotels.

We ate at Taco Bell on the way home and the kids loved it! They've always complained when we  go there, so we don't go very much even though it's one of my favorite fast food places. But now we can go whenever we want!

Coleman lost his 5th tooth! 

Jordan also lost two teeth while we were gone! I didn't get pictures of his because they were in the back of his mouth so they aren't as noticeable.

We go home Sunday afternoon, then went to my parents' house for some Thanksgiving leftovers and we watched the Grinch. 

We had such a great vacation! We always love being able to spend time with family!

Preschool

Kenzie and I have been teaching Ashlee's preschool this week. It's a lot of fun and I love that Kenzie wants to come help me. We have a couple more days after Thanksgiving too.

Kenzie and Leah

A funny thing happened the first day. One of the little girls said she brought a show and tell and got it out and told everyone about it. All day she wanted to keep playing with it, even though she wasn't supposed to. Then when her mom came to pick her up, she asked whose guitar it was. I told her that her daughter had brought it in and showed it to everyone. The mom said it wasn't theirs. Then another mom said her daughter had brought it. That little girl thought she had brought something, but didn't see anything in her cubby so she thought she forgot it. The first little girl was so sad she couldn't take the guitar home. Her mom told me the next day that even at bedtime the little girl was complaining about how they stole her guitar. haha! It was so funny! Preschoolers are so fun!

Excited for Christmas

Mackenzie is already so excited for Christmas. She wears Christmas shirts most days and often a Christmas headband. When I went in her room one night, I noticed she had put up several decorations in her room:

She kept the Nativity set we got last Christmas from the Kenyons. 

She made this at Super Saturday when she came with me (Since I don't really love crafting, I signed up for all the cooking classes. When she decided she wanted to come she really wanted to make these. Luckily there were some nice women willing to help her when she needed it so I could still go watch the cooking demonstrations. She did it mostly on her own though.) I think they turned out so cute! 

She made this at Activity Days last year. 

I also found a Christmas note on my bed that night. On the other side she wrote me a very nice letter telling me how wonderful I am and also talked a little about Christmas. We think she's just trying to butter me up so I'll buy her everything she wants!

This Week and Last Week

The kids built the strongest tower in co-op

They played Sushi Go in games class.

Jordan's been crocheting again. He did a great job on this hot pad! 

For science the kids made chain reactions.

Jordan loved it and spent the rest of the afternoon making them. 

For Jackson's half birthday I got him some whipped cream. He always wished we had some. But I accidentally bought him the almond milk kind, so it's not quite as yummy as the normal kind. 

Jackson passed off all his piano books! As his reward Robyn gave him his favorite ice cream. He actually finished them a couple weeks ago and she kept forgetting to buy his ice cream so she also gave him some chocolate syrup:) He's not going to be using any books anymore. He will just be picking challenging songs and working on them to improve his piano skills.

Mt. Rainier

Doug and I took advantage of our kids having no activities last weekend and left the kids with Ashlee while we escaped to Mt. Rainier. We stayed at the Nisqually lodge, which was a few minutes away from the entrance to Mt. Rainier. We didn't realize that we had to have chains in the car to enter the park, so we had to turn around and find a chain rental place. Luckily they were only about $15. And the park entrance was free because it was Veteran's Day.

We went to the visitor's center in Paradise and then did short snow hike to Myrtle Falls. 

It was beautiful up there! 

Doug didn't bring any ear warmers so he borrowed mine and I borrowed Kenzie's. His head was too big to wear hers :) 

Doug and the Falls. 

 Mt. Rainier.

Other than the hike, we mostly just hung out. Doug played his switch a lot while I read. My goal (which I accomplished!) was to finish a book I've been reading for a week or two.

The kids had so much fun with the Crabtrees. Kenzie and Cam lost a kitty and made some signs that they hung up around the house:) I love having family close by!

7th Grade Basketball

Last week Jackson tried out for the middle school basketball team. 60 boys tried out, and about 25 made it.

Jackson was one of them!

When he got close to the car when I picked him up on the day of final cuts he raised his arms to show he made it! His coach said he probably won't get a lot of game time because he's so small. But the coach said he's a good player, listens well, and learns quickly. We're excited for this new sports adventure!

Mackenzie's Crafts and Christmas Lists

One Sunday she really wanted to look on the computer to find crafts. We found this Mayflower one and she created it. 

Then she decided to make this Easter decoration.

She is also very excited for Christmas. She has started wearing Christmas clothes and listening to Christmas music. She also made her first Christmas wish list. Some of the highlights include: picture with Watson (the Schofields' dog), real life pet (mostly puppy), guitar, and my personal favorite: magical power to help me at math :) I also love that she drew a picture of a worksheet with a question mark by it.