Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving season started as all thanksgivings should- with superhero themed fall crafts. 

Elliot and Annie coated one wall with leaf crafts. Isaac told Breezy to make him a Batman leaf, and boy did she deliver. It turns out that there actually is a bat-turkey adopted by Robin in a Batman comic! Breezy's superhero knowledge is vast and very appreciated in this household. 

Annie's class had a Thanksgiving party that I went to! They had cute turkey hats and did a little skit/song for us. 

They read a book about a turkey trying to convince everyone to eat pizza on Thanksgiving, so we made pizzas. Most people had normal shaped pizzas, but Annie and I made sea turtles. They were surprisingly delicious!

Max, Morgan, Blake, and his girlfriend Aspen rolled into town late Wednesday night. I slept in the next morning and woke up to Blake already cooking, with a very eager crew of kids helping him peel carrots. I took them down the street to collect some rosemary from the bushes around the park. The kids were positively bouncing with excitement. They made the cookie salad and shredded the bread for the stuffing. 

My neighbors asked us to watch their chickens and duck while they are out of town. My brothers decided to do a heart warming photo shoot with Sweet Pea the duck (who really is the sweetest)

The love of these brothers is almost as tender as this bird. 

Feast time! Blake even brought Spruce beers! It's like root beer, but it tastes like... spruce. Max is obsessed with it. 

Double load of savory stuffing, Blake Mac, Morgan Mashed Taters, rolls, cookie salad, Brussel Sprouts (the crown jewel), and the tenderest turkey you have ever eaten. It was all so good!

The next day was Friday. We played games and wandered about the park and neighborhood trails. That night we watched the delightfully cheesy 1981 Superman II. My siblings have a unique energy that comes out when they get together- it was the most laughing I have done in a long time!

Max & Morgan left early Saturday morning, but Blake and Aspen stuck around for some more adventures. We decided to take them to the Desert mMuseum.

Just a little lad riding on a wild javelina

Annie was perpetually inserting herself into Blake and Aspen's pictures

Vulture girl!

Beautiful photography by Blake!

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. The whole long weekend was full of good food, chats, and fun. We are blessed beyond measure!

I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Wiener

Well folks, it happened again. The Wienermobile came to town.  

Longtime fan here. Not necessarily of hot dogs, more of the Wienermobile and the way of life of the hot doggers who drive it. 

The wienermobile came to the clubhouse for resident appreciation day. There were free hot dogs and lawn games, and the sweet piping sound of wiener whistles filled the air, mingling with the laughter of children.

The inside of the noble vehicle. 

Aaron made this meme the last time I saw the Wienermobile four years ago. I have found it to hold true. 

Day of the Dead

I was inspired by Megan to start celebrating Day of the Dead. How she does it is that throughout the year she celebrates ancestors by showing pictures of them, telling stories about them, and sometimes eating a food or doing an activity associated with them. She already had a lot of the information gathered about the Blood side of the family tree, which was awesome! I did a pretty decent job of keeping up for the first half of the year, then slacked off with the birthday celebrations. We will have many faces added to our ofrenda next year. This year we scrounged up all the loose frames we could find in the house and used the pictures we already had. 

I like how it turned out!

My side of the family

Aaron's side 

I love this new tradition! It is so meaningful to put up these pictures and teach our children where they come from. 

Halloween, Halloween, What Does It Mean?

It's so much easier to convince the kids to go on walks when there are cool decorations out. 

Unicorn Skeleton! What will they think of next?

Unicorn, Clownfish (with dump truck bag as an important accessory - if you asked him, he would say that he was a "fishy monster"), and an Ender Dragon.  

 

I will forever wear my art project costume to the truck or treat. 

We hit up the Marana Pumpkin patch with the Beuses! We went on a Thursday, and it was way less crowded than the last time we went. We went to the rides first and had virtually no lines to wait in. All three of the bloodlings had a great time. 

Who doesn't love a good corn flyer?

Slide racers!

It was so funny watching Isaac shooting down that slide so fast with no control whatsoever

The kids put their newly acquired Legoland driver's licenses to good use

DIGGERS!

By this point, Elliot was done with photo ops and desperate to get to the corn maze.

He had a painful time on the hayride while his heart yearned for the maze

Finally! Corn maze time!

The kids took dried corn cobs home and made them into little buddies. Although, neither of them took me up on my really good idea to name them Cornelius. 

It was my turn for dinner swap on Halloween. I made spaghetti and eyeballs. They turned out so great! I put frozen meatballs on a tray and topped them with thinly sliced cheese stick and olive bits. It was delicious and fun. 

Elliot scarfed down his eyeballs and went outside to get our Frankenstein head set up all on his own. He manned the candy bowl while the rest of us finished up eating. Then, they were off to trick-or-treat. 

Catch-All Fall

Here's some of what we have been up to this Fall. 

Isaac and I go to playgroup at the church every Thursday. Isaac has a good group of buddies who only occasionally beat him up! Here they are in a "boat."

I for Isaac! One day we ventured out with friends to the new letter art installation in Sahuarita, and the mosaic underpass. It was cool but stressful with so many little kids nearish to the road. 

One day we meet up at the park, and Hannah brought her baby bunnies!!! It was absolutely the cutest event imaginable. 

Isaac went through a phase where he would assume this position on our rug. We called it "Praying to Mecca"

A girl Annie's age moved in next door! Summer and Annie chat over the back wall and play at each other's houses all the time. She's a cute girl, and it's fun having her over. 

Elliot and I went to a stake mother/son activity

We did this puzzle so swiftly

Elliot has been learning how to code in Scratch! We got a subscription to this online tutorial thing called CodaKid. He follows the tutorials then adds his own spins and levels to the games he makes. He got to showcase his "slither," "mission apocalypse," and "space maze" games at a primary showcase. 

Elliot has had two field trips so far- one with his Sopori class to the Desert Museum and one with his general class to the Children's Museum. I got to chaperone both. He was acting too cool for me at the beginning but then got to talking to me and held my hand without noticing it as we were walking along. I hope he doesn't get too cool for me for at least a few more years. 

I still take James to the library for their Wednesday craft activities. It cracked me up when they started live playing a tower defense video game on the library steps.

We went camping with the Sevy's at Kartchner Caverns. It got chilly at night, but I had us loaded up with all the wool socks and coats. We toured the cave which was so cool! The rock formations were mind blowing. We were particularly impressed with the cave bacon. I would love to go back and do the more intense tours. Our kids truly love camping. They get along better than they do at home, and they are always asking when we can go again as we are driving away. 

I organized a ward service activity at a homeless shelter. We staffed two shifts in the kitchen prepping for their big Thanksgiving event. The Gospel Rescue Mission is an amazing organization, and I was glad we were able to support them. 

I got called as Relief Society president back in July, immediately before we left on our Canada trip. It was a bit of a faltering start - both my counselors were gone when we were called, then I was gone when they were sustained. It has been really, really cool for me to care about the women in my ward in an expanded way. I feel like we have already been through a wringer - a former member of our ward was murdered under tragic circumstances. We were all reeling. 

There have already been times where I need to do something simple, like ask someone to teach a lesson, and that person can't teach but then opens up to me about something different but important. The clearest personal revelation I have ever had occurred when Bishop told me to think about who should be my counselors. It has been really cool to take up the mantle for a while. I feel expanded by it, and I've been able to put my own disappointments on the backburner and focus on others.