This one's for you Auntie Vanessa!

This is just a quick video of Allison singing and doing the actions to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with me. And of course anyone can watch it, there is just a special treat for Auntie at the end!

Don't forget to pause the music!

Thanksgiving Feast

So it may not have really been a huge feast, but it sure seemed like a bunch of food for 4 adults and 2 children. My mom and I just couldn't help ourselves though! This year was quite different than past Thanksgivings. Up until last year, my Granny (my dad's mom) always cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Last year broke that tradition, when she finally decided that she was "getting too old" to prepare such a large meal (she always cooked for an army!). She spent Thanksgiving with my aunt (my dad's sister) and her family. So we decided ("we" being me, Billy, Tyler, Allison, my mom and dad, Vanessa, Jon, Keilana, and Kayden) to join Billy's family in Tennessee for Thanksgiving! It was great fun, and we were very appreciative and thankful for the hospitality shown to us. Shortly after that, however, they packed up and moved back to California. :c( So this year Thanksgiving was even more different. Vanessa is spending Thanksgiving with Jon's family in Utah. So here the rest of us are at our little cabin in the mountains of North Carolina! Billy's sister, Kim, and her husband and baby girl had planned to join us here until they found out Butch had to work on Friday. We were pretty bummed that they couldn't come! With all that being said, this is the very 1st year that my mom and I have made Thanksgiving dinner completely on our own. So that's why we couldn't help ourselves. We were just very excited and had so many things we didn't want to leave out! We REALLY missed Vanessa, Jon, Keilana, and Kayden and wished they were here with us now. But we are also glad they are having a good time in Utah! :)

This was our Thanksgiving menu:

turkey and stuffing, of course!
mashed potatoes and gravy
green bean casserole
sweet potato souffle
squash casserole
cream corn
rolls
cranberry jello salad
lime jello salad
and lots of desserts!

This picture shows the crafts Tyler and Allison made for decorations - Handprint Turkeys, Tie Dye Leaves, Harvest Time Scarecrow, and a Pinecone Turkey.

This picture was just too cute not to post. It looks like it's right out of the Publix commercial, huh?!

Ready to eat our yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

Daddy and his baby girl.

Tyler, Allison, and I came up to the cabin 4 days ahead of Billy, and Allison missed her Daddy SO much! She talked about him everyday, pretended to talk to him on my cell phone, and pointed and said "Daddy!" every time she saw a car that she thought was his. Needless to say, she was exstatic to see him when he got here last night! She is such a Daddy's girl!

We just love our drumsticks!

Chicken drumsticks are one of Tyler's favorite foods. The first time he had one, I explained to him that it was chicken just like in chicken nuggets, only this meat was still on the bone. Ever since then, he has called them "chicken bones."

Tyler and Allison with their Grandma (Allison actually calls her "Me-maw")

Dessert time - YUM!

Each person got to request his/her own dessert. Billy wanted Hello Dollies, my Dad wanted a Pecan Pie and a Coconut Pie (I guess he got to pick two since Allison couldn't voice her own opinion), my Mom wanted the Mile High Brownie Pie (courtesy of Billy's sister), and Tyler requested "Ice Crissmie Treats." We COMPLETELY forgot to buy the Rice Crispy cereal at the store, and didn't realize it until we went to make them this morning. We almost had a very disappointed little boy on our hands until some Lucky Charms saved the day! I completely recommend making rice crispy treats this way, and I don't even like that kind of cereal. They turned out so good! I didn't have any specific dessert that I was in the mood for, so I opted to have a sampling of each! Yummmmm!

The Bounce House!

Last week, my sister and I took our kids to this indoor inflatable jump place called The Bounce House (similar to Monkey Joe's). There's so much to love about it! It's a great change from ordinary outdoor playscapes, it's really good exercise, adults get to play too, and it's very affordable. I only had to pay $7 for Tyler, Allison, and myself! We'll definitely be going back soon!

We tried all sorts of sliding methods.

Face first, belly style proved to be the most fun!

Climb, climb, climb!!!

Made it to the top!

Hi there Mommy!

After a great deal of climbing, sliding, and bouncing, Allison found herself a nice comfy spot to take a break...on top of the train table!

Of course, I had to get in on the fun too...

Check out that hair!

Wheeee!!!

Fall Leaves

I think I've said it before, but Fall is my most favorite season. One of the biggest reasons for this is the beautiful showcase of leaves that show up this time of year in the south. There is just something very special and nostalgic to me about colorful, rustling leaves. I absolutely love watching them fall from the trees and float down to blanket the ground. And of course Fall wouldn't be complete without the chance to play in them! We have taken the opportunity on a couple occasions to do just that!

Here are Tyler and Allison enjoying the leaves (and the tree they fell from) at the cabin:

This picture really doesn't do them justice, but the mountains (yes, those are mountains to us) are just so beautiful this time of year! Tyler is watching an airplane pass by.

These next pictures were taken last Sunday after a special Stake Conference that was held. We got to enjoy both a talk given by Elder Snow from the Seventy and these beautiful leaves on the front lawn of the Stake Center.

Our adorable princess.

Lana and Allison running through the crunchy leaves.

Our handsome little man.

Tyler, Kayden, and Uncle Jon getting ready for a leaf fight!

Adventures at the Cabin

Tyler has to have regular trips to the cabin. If it's been a while since we've been there, he will make a special request to go and remind us each and everyday until it happens. One of his requests came a couple of weeks ago while Grandma and Pawpaw were up there. After listening to a week's worth of reminders, I packed us up after church last Sunday and headed up that night. Of course Tyler was exstatic! (Billy said he wouldn't be able to join us...something about "work.") Allison also greatly enjoys our trips to the cabin. She knows she gets to be treated like a gueen by her "Me-maw" and is eager for adventurous and silly times with her "Pawpaw" (not to mention all the special treats and goodies she gets from them)!

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Our little "cabin road" is in the process of being widened and will be paved this coming Spring. We're movin' up with the times! Pawpaw has been monitoring the progress of the road each day and has made friends with the workers. Tyler got to accompany Pawpaw one morning and even got to drive the bulldozer!

Here he is hard at work! His only complaint about the experience is that he didn't get to "dig dirt." He was too small to reach the controls. :(

Pawpaw also got Tyler a ride on Misty, the neighbor's horse. I wasn't there for that adventure and forgot to send the camera with them. However, the next day we visited with Misty, we took her some pears from our pear tree in the backyard. Tyler and Allison both got to feed her. She was so very thankful!

**There are more pictures from our visit to the cabin in my next post: "Fall Leaves"

A Little on the Random Side

Here's a little glimpse into our regular day-to-day lives! These are just some random pictures that have been taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

With the recent cooler Fall weather, Billy has been bringing in wood from the woodpile to keep by the fireplace for our warm, cozy fires. Along with these pieces of wood have come many lizards seeking shelter for the winter. One morning I was reloading the fire and I see this little guy perched on one of the logs. I immediately called for Tyler to come and rescue him. He quickly grabbed him, named him "Noggerhead," and got to keep him as a pet for the day. I'm not sure how he came up with the name, and no, he didn't hold him ALL day - he has a bug catcher that he keeps little guys like this in for observation.

Little Diva in Training

Last week I hosted a Premier Jewelry party. All the guys went out to dinner, while the girls got to stay home and try on jewelry - including Allison! She had a blast!

Here's a little further glimpse into this diva's world as she listens to music with Daddy on "her" ipod. (Billy said he bought it for Allison since she loves music so much. ;)


And I saved the best for last...

Introducing Mrs. and Mr. Potato Head!

This face just cracks me up!

A Season of Thanks

For Family Home Evening tonight, we talked about the upcoming holiday and its purpose. We looked up scriptures and Primary songs that relate to the topic of being thankful and having gratitude, and we discussed ideas of things we could do throughout the next two weeks to show gratitude for all that we have been blessed with. To conclude, we made a "Thankful Chain" to count down the days until Thanksgiving. (I always try to be very conscience of giving credit where it is due, so I have to give my friend Tiffany props for this idea. Thanks Tiffany!) We took turns naming things that we were thankful for and then wrote each of our thoughts on the chain links.
Tyler's responses included the following:

• Family - He named off each of us individually, but we condensed it into one since there were only 17 links to share. Plus, I wanted to hear what other types of things he would come up with.
• Home - Anyone who knows Tyler well, knows just how sincere this is. I love that he refers to it as his 'home' rather than his 'house.'
• Hot Wheel cars - Boys will be boys!
• Turtles - He frequently thanks Heavenly Father in his prayers for being able to find turtles. I just can't believe he didn't mention dinosaurs or T. REX!
• Waffles - This is Tyler's most favorite food (without syrup). He would eat them for every meal if I would allow it!

Tyler helped us come up with these responses for Allison:

• Books - Allison definitely loves books, especially "Lift-the-Flap" books. You will find her sitting, looking at books on a regular basis.
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Tyler
• Fruit - This is Allison's most favorite food - grapes, apples, bananas, cantaloupe, watermelon - you name it, she loves it. Allison is to fruit as Tyler is to waffles!

The Best of Halloween '08: HALLOWEEN NIGHT!

This is a LOOOONG one!

My sister and I decided to do a spooky Halloween dinner to surprise the kids this year. We received some inspiration for this dinner from a few online sources and were very excited to put it all together. A couple last minute interuptions got thrown at us that day, so we got a little bit of a later start on things than we wanted to. However, most everything turned out the way we wanted and it was certainly well worth the time and effort. It is definitely going to be a new tradition for us!

Mummy Dogs

Pumpkin Burgers

Creepy Crawly Banana Bug and Monster Mouths

Graveyard Dirt Desserts

The first look at the Spooky Halloween Dinner.

Tyler's favorite part of the whole dinner was the "Spider Juice."

This Mummy Dog sure is good!

After enjoying our spooky dinner, we headed out to do a little Trick-or-Treating. Allison took a little while to warm up to the situation. Luckily, she was content with holding my hand so I didn't have to carry her around from house to house. She did have one mishap as a result of running down a VERY steep driveway. Uncle Jon did his best to get to her before she toppled down, but she was cruisin' too fast. She ended up face first on the concrete and received a small scrape on her cheek and nose, and two very LARGE scrapes on her pretty black shoes (thank goodness for shoe polish). After recovering, Allison decided she no longer needed moral support from Mommy and did her very best to keep up with Tyler and Lana the remainder of the time. She said "Tee Teet!" (Trick-or-Treat) and "tay too" (thank you) at almost every house, and stayed as possesive as ever over her pumpkin! I especially loved the way she carried her pumpkin on her arm in total girl fashion. She is a natural! Tyler had a blast and enjoyed the opportunity to roar at any and everyone he came in contact with! He greatly enjoyed seeing all the festive Halloween decor, especially all the spiders and webs (I'm not sure what his facination with spiders is lately). At the kid's request, we headed home after only about an hour of candy collecting madness. Tyler told me, "I'm cold. Let's go home." I responded with, "You don't want to get any more candy?" "Nope," he replied, "I'm done!" So until next year...

The whole gang - T. Rex, "Buddy's Bones," Sleeping Beauty, and the sassy Black Cat.

Trick-or-Treat!

Tyler just scared the pants off these unsuspecting souls with his BIG Tyrannosaurus Rex roar!

A purrr-fect pair!

Hey guys, WAIT for me!!!

Checking out the Halloween decor.

Tyler said this was like the car wash.

Checking out his earnings.

Let's do this Trick-or-Treat thing again real soon!