Same old Same old and Thanksgiving

 I really didn't do anything other than the same old same old the 2 1/2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.  Here are a few of the same old same old things I did.  Every Tuesday morning, I went to the temple.  We (Christa and I and my mom when she isn't working)  are getting a few more ladies from our ward coming with us.  I think the most we have had so far is 6.  The first Thursday of the month one of the ladies in my ward puts on a craft night.  This month we made a wooden turkey.  It was by far the best turn out at her craft night.  Lots of ladies and late night chatting.  Talmage had his yearly doctors appt, Brenton had his first Youth Conference experience, Payton had a primary class party where they painted nails and made pop top bracelets.  I went to a Thanksgiving feast with Jon at Connor's school.  The next day, I made cornbread for Hayden's class they were tasting food that the Pilgrims and Indians would of had at the first Thanksgiving.  Jon and I also went to a wedding reception.  And of course, the normal Wednesday night Activity Day Girls, Scouts and Cub Scouts.  

Hayden the Pilgrim

Hayden a pilgrim

 This year we were at home for Thanksgiving.  We spent our Thanksgiving feast with Jon's mom and dad.  My parents and Morgan and Taylor went to California and the Tady's went to his family's house.  The Edward's want nothing to do with any of the extended family so it was a small gathering.  We got together around 11 am and ate after everything was carved, cooked and set.  I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green been casserole, strawberries, and french silk chocolate pie.  Jon's mom cooked the turkey, brought rolls, and made pumpkin pie.   I was able to make everything except the potatoes and gravy the day before so it was quiet a relaxing Thanksgiving day.  I was even able to run that morning and go to the gas station to pick up a newspaper.  Jon's parents only stayed a few hours and then headed home.  I guess they got up real early that morning to buy a good deal online.  So they were in need of some naps.  The meal was great, but it was just way to quiet in the house for it being a holiday.  I hope next year we have more people to spend it with.  This whole month while I have been out running, I have been focusing on things that I am Thankful for.  Believe it or not, I could think of a different thing everyday some days multiple things. 

Thanksgiving minus Jon and Connor


 

Tellus Science Museum

On Saturday, November 5th we went to the Tellus Science Museum.  It is in Cartersville about 40 minutes away.  This museum is only a couple years old and I hear commercials on the radio all the time about it.  It isn't a very big museum.  The museum itself has a rock and mineral area, a fossil area, science in motion area (cars, bikes, trains, planes etc.), and a what they call my big backyard gallery (kids interactive area with a backyard theme).  Outside they have an observation area, a small self sufficient solar house, and they also have a planetarium in another building that shows different shows throughout the day.  We didn't do this on this day but will on another.  The kids favorite by far had to be the area where they could pan for their very own minerals, which they got to keep, and next to that they had a dig for fossils area where you got to keep one of the fossils (or sharks tooth) you dug up.  The kids spent the most time in this area and the backyard interactive area.

Payton, Kennedy, Talmage, and Hayden panning for minerals

Brenton looking at his minerals

Hayden with a mineral

Talmage going in for more minerals

Payton searching for minerals

Kennedy

Connor in the backyard interactive area

Connor

 When we were finished with the museum, we went to a nearby park and ate a lunch we had packed and brought from home.  It was a nice sunny day, but windy very windy.  Half the kids ate in the car while the other half was eating in the sun.  After we ate, we walked over to the pond area to watch the ducks for a while.  These were some crazy ducks.  We also spotted some giant cat fish swimming in the water.  I wasn't able to get a clear shot of the catfish under the water.

duck splashing in the water

Some of the many ducks in this pond

More wing flapping from the ducks

We did buy a year pass to this museum so we will definitely be back a few more time before it expires. 

The Newest Cub Scout

On November 2nd, Talmage got to go to Cub Scouts for the first time.  He has been waiting for this day since May when the first boy in his Primary class turned 8 and got to attend Scouts.  Talmage is the youngest one in his class so he was the last one to get baptized and join Scouts.  They meet 3 times a month the first and third Wednesday's are with his den and the fourth Wednesday is with the whole pack.  I love Cub Scouts.  The boys are young, excited, and enjoy it so much more compared to Boy Scouts.  Probably, because it is much easier to pass off things.  Well, it has been a nice 4 years off (since Brenton was last a Cub Scout), but it is also nice to be back into it. 

Talmage's 1st day of Scouts

Talmage 1st day of Cub Scouts

Halloween

After Halloween being on a Sunday last year, The kids were really looking forward to a normal Trick or Treating experience.  We always trick or treat in the Tady's neighborhood.  It is the perfect size neighborhood and the older kids can do all the houses no problem.  Hayden skipped the last 6 because he was tired and his bag was heavy.  This year we took Connor in the wheel chair and that worked out perfect.  He loves to be outside but has a hard time keeping up with everyone.  He wants to go at his pace which is usually pretty slow.  Jon got a great work out since most of the houses are up on a hill and he pushed Connor most of the time.

Kennedy as Rapunzel

Brenton as I'm not sure he just threw on this hooded cape last minute

Payton as a green haired fairy

Talmage as Harry Potter

Hayden as the black spiderman

Connor as a Star War guy

The Tady and Trebilcock kids

We didn't stay long after finishing trick or treating because it is a school night.  I hope they change the trick or treating night in our area to the last Saturday in October instead of October 31st.  With all the commuting parents have to do in our area and then having to think out the next night being school, I think it would be just easier and more relaxed.  If it ever comes to a vote, I am definitely on board to changing it as long as they don't change it to Sunday.

Pumpkin carving

The Saturday before Halloween October 29th we carved our pumpkins.  The kids made up their faces and Jon and I supervised/helped as needed.  You will have to wait until Halloween to see the final results.

Jon helping Hayden carve his pumpkin

The girls carving their pumpkins

Talmage making sure all the seeds are out

Hayden with his pumpkin

Hayden happy with the results of his pumpkin

Jon drawing the face on

Brenton drawing his face on

Kennedy carving away

This day is way more fun for me now that the kids are getting older and can do most of it themselves.  I remember a few years back when the kids were a lot younger and could basically just help take the seeds out, they would tell me what they wanted their pumpkin to look like and to call them when I was done after reaching their hand into the pumpkin about 3 times and got a few seeds out.

Trunk of Treat

Friday October 28th, we had our annual ward Trunk or Treat. Since it was wet and rainy outside, we had to move our location from the Hunter's Christmas Tree Farm to inside the church building. The kids were bummed out because they love going to the farm. We had the activity in the gym. First we started off with the usual hot dog and chili dinner. Since we weren't at the farm we couldn't do the other activities like roasting marshmallow in the fire or the hayrides. Instead, they had little carnival like games set up in some of the classrooms. To end the evening, the kids got to trick or treat inside the gym to parents who were lined up around the perimeter of the gym. It was a fun night and a good turnout. Hopefully next year, the rain wont be around.

Hayden and Kennedy were the only ones that I got a picture of that night. 

Hayden Bumblebee Transformer

Kennedy Rapunzel

Kennedy Rapunzel

It's great to be 8

Talmage turned the big 8 on October 21.  He has been waiting a long time for this birthday, because now in just a few short months he will be getting baptized.  All Talmage wanted was a Nintendo DS.  He has been saving up his money to buy one himself and he will have enough come Christmas with his Christmas money he will get.  I was glad he didn't have enough money before his birthday, because I was planning on buying him one all along.  Of course, I didn't let him know that.  He was very happy when he opened his presents and found one of them to be a DS.  He was excited to try it out right then. 

Talmage with his presents

 The following day we had the relatives come over and celebrate with cake and ice cream.  He got 2 games for his DS and a Target gift card that he bought another DS game with.

Talmage with his DS games

I wonder what this long box could have in it?

This what was in the long box.  A Target gift card.

 Talmge wanted a sugar cookie cake decorated with Lego's.  So that is what he got.  The Lego's are at battle.  One side is on grass the other on dirt.  Jon did the Happy Birthday sign out of Lego's.

Talmage with his cookie cake

Make a wish

Talmage's Lego cookie cake

Happy Birthday buddy!!

Room Switcharoo

On Friday, October 14, we had new carpet put in the downstairs bedroom and laminate flooring in one of the upstairs bedrooms.  We are switching things around in 2 of the kids bedrooms.  The week before this I was busy sorting, throwing out, and donating items in both those bedrooms.  I also cleared out the bedrooms and did some touch up painting.  We decided Connor really needed his own bedroom.  Brenton has been sleeping on the couch in the office almost since school started because of Connor.  We put Connor to bed at 9 pm and most nights we can still hear him awake when I go to bed at 10:30 pm.  It was really starting to affect Brenton and getting the sleep he needs.  So we decided to move Connor upstairs in Hayden and Talmage's room, and move Hayden and Talmage downstairs with Brenton.  Even though the downstairs bedroom is big Jon decided to build a triple bunk bed for the 3 of them.  So they would have more floor space.  So after the new carpet was put down in the downstairs bedroom, Jon went to work and started assembling the triple bunk.  He already started on it and did as much as he could but most of it needed to be done in the room.  While he was doing that, I was kept busy by putting all the stuff back into their rooms.  When the boys got home from school, they were very happy with everything even though we were still in the process of putting everything away.  Connor loves his new room and loves to spend time in it.  Once we told him that that was he new room he never looked back and has no desire to be in the downstairs room anymore.  The vinyl floors in his room look a little strange because yeah who does that in a bedroom, but they were a must since he doesn't always prefer to use the toilet when he has to go to the bathroom.   I am very impressed and happy with the turn out. 

Brenton on top, Talmage in middle, and Hayden on the bottom



triple bunk bed



Busy Saturday

Saturday October 1st was a busy morning for us.  It started out at 9 am when the whole family had to be up and dressed in decent outfits for our family picture.  The beginning of the school year the elementary and middle schools have sign ups at the open house for family portraits.  You pay like $20 and you get an 11 X 14 family picture.  The entire $20 goes to the school and the photograph company comes back to the school on a designated weekend and takes your picture.  I was the second person to sign up at the middle school so I picked the first time slot they had on Saturday.  It was a good thing I did because the Roswell Youth Day Parade changed it date from Oct. 8 (because of Yom Kippur) to October 1st.  The kids did a great job and Connor did better than we could have hoped.  The last time we had a professional picture of our family was when Brenton was 2 1/2 and Connor was 1.  We have had professional pictures of all the kids about every couple years but non with Jon and I in them.  The pictures turned out great and I am so glad I can check that off my list.  So after we got our pictures taken Jon headed over to our church building for a funeral.  Our last Bishop's father died.  While he was at that I took the kids to the youth day parade.  The kids love this parade and look forward to it every year.  Of course, all the kids got plenty of candy.  After the parade was over, we had to head home to get ready to watch General Conference.    I enjoyed all the talks from conference and since then I have enjoyed listening to the talks again on my ipad every Tuesday morning I would put a talk on and listen to it while driving to the temple and then after.  It took me a couple months to relisten to them all.  I used to try and read them all in the Ensign, but could never finish them all before the next months Ensign issue.  So this way I could do 2 things at once drive and listen and get my goal accomplished after many failed attempts. 

Weirdest thing ever

Toward the end of August, I got a bad cold that lasted for ever.  It started out with a sore throat followed by loosing my voice.  Of course my kids loved the fact that I couldn't raise my voice at them for basically a week.  Once I got my voice back, I had this cough which lasted almost 2 months.  Coughing all the time got old real fast and I was sick of taking cough drops multiple times during the day.  About 3 weeks into this cold the strangest thing happened.  I lost all sense of taste.  For a whole week I couldn't taste a thing.  It kind of freaked me out, because at one time a few days into not being able to taste I thought what if this is how it's gonna be forever.  After the depression of that wore off, my thought was wow I could make this work to my advantage.  I could finally eat real healthy and loose those last few pounds that I have been trying to get rid of for years.  I started eating things in the cupboard that had been in there for a while and would probably never get eaten.  Things like the flavored applesauce I thought my kids would like to bring in their school lunches but the kids never wanted to take them.  After day 2 of not being about to taste and being a little freaked out I went to the Internet and searched my symptoms.  What I found from my search is that my cold ended up turning into a sinus infection and my sinus were so clogged that it was affecting my taste.  I chose not to go to the Dr and be put on any meds. because of all the reading I did.  By the time the medicine would start to work would be the same time my body would be on the recovery.  The worst part about not being able to taste for that entire week was when the primary had there yearly movie night and Jon and I went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant with some friends while the kids were at movie night and I couldn't taste my yummy food I had been looking forward to eating since we made plans to go there a few weeks earlier.  What a waste of money?  Oh well, I am so glad I have my taste back even if I still have those few pounds to loose.  Now if only the cough would go away too.