A Month of Thanks

We are thankful for the Thanksgiving Holiday which gives us cause to really think about the things we are grateful for. Our families, our friends, our faith, and our blessings. Here are some moments we were thankful for this month:

Siblings to crawl into boxes with.

Getting to dress up as a Native American Indian (and it was always said exactly like that which made us smile, and made sense as there are many East Indian children in her preschool class) and go to a feast with "real Pilgrims."

Getting to wear "party paint"

Children whose predicaments provide us much entertainment and laughter, even if it isn't really funny to them.

School feasts and dressing up like a pilgrim

A creative little lady who put hours of work into preparing this feast for when our NZ friends arrived.

Having visitors to our native shores and sitting down with them for their first Thanksgiving.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.

(Mmmm I loves me some mashed potatoes and gravy--happiest person at the table.)

A visit from our awesome friends the Turners. Whose visit also reminded us that we are thankful for the opportunity and blessing that we have had to travel to many places and meet many great people and see many great things.

Dallin's Birthday Party

So what kind of crappy parents make their kid wait almost a month after his real birthday to have his party? Us. Although it really wasn't completely our fault. Throw in several strains of the flu, Halloween, a ruptured ear drum and several weeks later you finally can have the party. It was even scheduled for a week earlier, on a day with perfect weather for a Sports Birthday Party, but that ear unfortunately led to pushing it back another week. Which landed us a rainy day. Oh well, at least he had a party and said that he had a "super fun time" so that makes the wait worthwhile.

So on to the Sports Birthday Party....Dallin invited some friends from school and church. As they arrived they each decorated a shirt that was their team jersey for the games. Red Team vs. Blue Team.



Since it was raining we modified all the games to indoor levels. Golf into formula cans, soccer balls into storage bins, baseball bean bag throw, etc. You get the picture. Then we broke for "half time" which was a stadium food lunch. Hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, pretzels, lemonade, and because I just couldn't bring myself to not include some food with nutritional value, I threw on some carrots and dip.

After half time we continued on with the games. At the end we had an awards ceremony for everyone who completed all the games on their score card. Everyone got a medal. YAY!!!



And our MVP got the game ball signed by all his friends!!

Then everyone had football and baseball cupcakes which I wish we'd taken a picture of because I worked really hard on those....It's all about me you know. All in all everyone seemed to have a good time and Dallin had a great day so that's that.

And then we returned to being sick.... Strep throat anyone????

7 Years of DALLIN

I can't believe our baby is 7 years old!!! Dallin you make each and every day an adventure. Your sweet disposition and smile are endearing. Your pure joy in simple pleasures, enviable, and your determination unwavering. You are a special boy and you hold a special place in our hearts. Thanks for seven years of challenges, joy, and love.

Welcome Dallin! October 28, 2003

Show us that winning smile!
What is this crap they are feeding me?

Ahhhh, nothing like a good binky to keep the boy happy.

One year old!!

Crazy hair day!!

Rock on!!!

DALLIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE YOU!

October 13th--Our last day

The final adventures begin. For lunch we went to the little town of South Royalton, VT and ordered sandwiches in the little deli. We walked across the street to eat in the town square. There were two bandstands and so where did the little performers end up? You got it, broadcasting from high above S. Royalton square, this is the Dallin and Lauren show.



Then we went to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in Sharon, VT.

Beautiful drive into the memorial.

What a handsome guy.

This is the monument to commemorate the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith. What an incredible place. You can feel the Spirit so strong here. It is such a calm, quiet, and beautiful place. The prophet Joseph F. Smith said that all who visit here would have peace. I totally agree.

The kids sitting on the hearthstone of the Mack home where Joseph was born. The hearthstone is now housed in the visitor center.

The missionary couple that does the tours was from Orem, UT. We got to ride on the special cart out to see the foundations of the Mack home and Daniel Mack home. In the picture we are standing on the stone bridge that the wagons used to cross over the river. The kids enjoyed taking turns riding in the front of the golf cart.

It was a fabulous ending to the trip. The peacefulness lasted until we arrived at the airport. But we had it for a while at least. Then it was onto a plane and a long, but direct, flight home. We had a blast on our trip and really enjoyed spending some much needed time together as a family.

October 12th

We checked out of the Burlington Hotel this morning and are making our way toward New Hampshire again. Our first stop along the way was the Browns River in Jericho, VT.

Takin' it easy.

Todd spent many a summer day here in high school. We could see why, it was a fun place to play.

We stopped at Snowflake Chocolates and picked up a few treats for the day. Then we made our way toward the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Today is going to be a day of eating and indulgence.

So we are sitting at Cold Hollow Cider and enjoying some hot cider and fresh cider doughnuts and Todd says to the kids, "Isn't there lots of good food in Vermont?" Lauren was about to answer, when I said, "Mom would be fat if we lived here." "You can say that again," was Lauren's reply. I am hoping that it was in response to Todd and not me, but either way it's true.

Mmmmm, cider doughnuts. Yes, Jonah grabbed a handful of someone's doughnut and we didn't stop him. Babies need to enjoy the goodness too, right?

The next installment in our series of "insert your head photos".

After we had some cider we headed about 1 mile down the road to feed our faces again. But first some education. One can't go to Vermont and not learn how ice cream is made. So on to the Ben and Jerry's factory. We did the tour and then of course had some icy cold goodness after.

Ohhhh, it's my theme ice cream--made just for me (Jonah is going to be a monkey for Halloween).

Just gettin' in good with the source of my food.

We are a happy family. Who wouldn't be happy whilst stuffing one's face with ice cream...

As Jimmy Buffet says, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere. And it was 5 o'clock at the B&J's factory.

Cut a hole in something and our kids will stick their head through for a photo :-)

In between the Snowflake Chocolates and Cold Hollow Cider Mill we stopped for gas and outside the gas station was an extremely large pumpkin. Lauren looked out the window and said, "Holy Spices, that pumpkin's big."

Also, the other day when we were about to go pick apples I paused at the back of the Secret Service Vehicle to change Jonah's diaper. Todd, Dallin, and Lauren went in to get the scoop on the apple picking and to wait for me to catch up. Apparently while they were waiting Lauren said to Todd, "Isn't it ironic that Mom's missing all the fun." (Apparently I miss a lot of fun)

Out of the mouths of babes.

On to NH and our last night of the vacation. The kids are pretty excited for this hotel because it has a pool so they can swim tonight. Somewhere we'll have to fit in some real food, because I am getting a little sick. Too many treats!!!