what jack and ava are thankful for

i love to see what my kids are thinking via their school work.

especially when they are expressing what they are thankful for.

{goodbye november and hello december}

thanksgiving in show low, az

we spent thanksgiving with jason's family this year in a cabin in show low, az. there were kids everywhere. 27, to be exact. i think the adults felt a little out numbered at times. but it was fun to see all the cousins together having a good time.

we played tennis, watched lots of modern family, played games, my kids cheeks turned red as they always do when the weather gets dry and cold (i call them my little santa clause babies), drank hot chocolate, made some food crafts, took naps, ate lots of food, watched some football, jack tagged the forest, we had no bedtimes and pretty much did whatever sounded good at the time. it was chill and low key. it was also nice to be cold :) (except in the middle of the night when an extra blanket would've come in handy)

thanksgiving dinner was wonderful and delicious and of course, filling. jack was so funny. the night before thanksgiving he was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep. he kept telling me that he couldn't wait until he got to eat turkey and mash potatoes and pumpkin pie. he seemed just as excited for thanksgiving as he is on christmas eve. strange kid.

we are so thankful that we got to spend thanksgiving with our family. we are so thankful for each other and for our knowledge of an eternal family. we are most thankful for a loving heavenly father and for his plan for us. it's such a great time of year and it's always nice to sit and reflect on all the things that we are thankful for. (because there are so many.....)

to the mountains

we are off to the mountains to spend thanksgiving in a cozy cabin.

we are hoping that we get to wear some winter-y clothes and some winter-y hats.

we're pretty excited.

hope everyone has a lovely thanksgiving.

gilbert days 5k

jack and i ran in a local 5k this past weekend. i thought i would be good motivator for jack and that i would run along side of him to keep him going if he got tired or discouraged. well, i was wrong. this kid can run. just a couple of minutes into the run, i told jack if he wanted to go ahead he could. so, he did. he ended up finishing about 3 minutes faster than me. i am pretty out of shape but still, my 7 year old beat me in his first 5k ever. and he was the first to let me know. although, after he got done bragging to me about how he beat me, he preceded to tell me that i still did a good job. (ahh, thanks jack)

*jack finished 5th in the 8 under division and we were so surprised at his skills but yet so proud.

(thanks to the fam for cheering us on)

afternoon time

whenever jack gets home from school, we love to head outside and wait for our dad to get home.

(that is after i force jack to do his homework and he repeatedly tells me he wishes there never was homework)

but when our dad does arrive home, there is pure excitement and maybe even some kids being launched high into the air.

this never happens

my 16 year old sister stayed with us for a couple of nights. so, we took full advantage of it. we went out for ice cream... on a tuesday night. which is completely unheard of when you are parents to four small kids. we felt such like rebels.

we went to one of our favorite ice cream places, nielson's frozen custard. luckily, we got there right before they were closing. i, of course, got a banana split. they are my absolute fav. i switched it up a bit, though. i got it with chocolate, vanilla, and pumpkin custard topped with fudge and marshmallow cream. it was pretty dang good. jason always gets the same too, a concrete, which for him is chocolate custard with brownies. it was such a nice treat to get to sneak out on a weeknight for some dessert and some one on one with my husband :)

ava ties her shoes

ava can officially tie her shoes all by herself.

(thanks to a handy teaching tool at her school)

and she officially passed her older brother up on this one.

(jack just has his friends tie his shoes for him at school if they do come untied)

jack is also not bothered by the fact that his sister can tie her shoes and he cannot.

i was hoping this would have motivated him to learn, but nope.

i guess ava will just have to tie their shoes for the both of them... since she's so good at it ;)

a cinnamon roll weekend

this past weekend i decided to sell cinnamon rolls since we have been having some much anticipated cooler weather. (because who doesn't appreciate a yummy warm cinnamon roll on a cool morning?) i used to sell lots of cinnamon rolls every weekend with my sister in law but since she has moved away, i don't do it as often. but the autumn season sure does bring out the baker in me. the best part about baking cinnamon rolls is the way my house smells all day long. my kids sure do reap the benefits as well. they get to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast, lunch, and dinner whether i like it or not. they literally go crazy for them.

i thought i was done baking on saturday but eden snuck up on the counter and decided to eat somebody's ordered cinnamon rolls so i had to bake some more on sunday. which is why it was a cinnamon roll weekend and the reason for eating these little guys for every meal. they sure are a treat. i also want to thank my sweet husband for waking up with me at 5 am on saturday morning to help me bake :) he is such a good sport.

veteran's day at the zoo

jack wanted to go to a veteran's day parade today but that wasn't going to happen so, we settled for the phoenix zoo instead. we went with our friends and the kids had a blast. however, i think the whole state of arizona had the same idea. everyone and their dog was there but the day couldn't have been anymore perfect. the weather was a little overcast with a slight breeze. a perfect arizona autumn day. i can't blame everyone for wanting to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. surprisingly, all four of my kids where pretty well behaved. i only lost eden once and the fit throwing was to a minimum. if only there was a compact four kid stroller. i think that would solve all my problems. and if there wasn't overpriced zoo rides that entice my children to the point that they almost can't control themselves.