Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was bittersweet this year.  A week before the holiday my Grandpa Sanderson died, and so Monday morning we drove to Freedom Wyoming (in Star Valley) to attend his funeral.  

 The last time we had been in beautiful Star Valley was 4th of July 2010.  Heidi was 2 months old and Alex had just turned 2.  We had a great time and it was fun watching Grandpa enjoy his only Great Grandkids.  This time around the weather and the road were terrible.  I wondered if we would make it at all.

 It was fun seeing so much family, and hearing all the fun memories.  I often think of my parents and Grandparents after hearing stories about them when they were younger, and wish I could have known them back then.  It's a shame the only time you have everyone you love gathered together at the end of your life is at the funeral.

 I remember Grandpa was always so kind and spoke gently to us always.  I remember his love for fishing and how when we were kids we would always go see the Elk and Buffalo in Cheyenne.  I will always have fond memories of my times with him, but more recently watching Alex play with him.   

 

After the funeral we went straight to Billings.  It was decided that since we were halfway there, it wasn't worth driving all the way back to Provo to watch Alex's dance recital.  I keep telling myself that she probably would have just stood on stage and cried, but I get a stomach ache thinking about all the money we put into that dance class and the $50 costume sitting in the closet.

 I am glad we got to extra few days in Montana though.  Even with a full week of my family the time flew by too fast and I wasn't ready to leave.  Alex and Heidi LOVED the horses.

 Everyday at Heidi's insistence we would go out and see the dog, cows, chickens and horses, and stay way past the point of frozen fingers and toes.

 I am so proud of my little cowgirls.  Alex wasn't the least bit afraid, and once Heidi saw her brave sister, she wanted on too.

 I think we have a horse lover.

 They would have stayed up there riding around the field all day if we had let them.

 The girls had a blast with their Uncle David and Stephen and figured out quickly that they could get those boys to do anything they wanted.  Alex was still a bit shy around Stephen, we tried everything.

 Then he shot a pheasant and Alex was stuck to his side like glue as he plucked, skinned and gutted the thing.  Tyler's favorite quote of the week was after lunch when Alex said "If I put my coat and shoes on, can I go with Stephen to get the guts out?!"  She carried around the wings and tail outside, thinking we would be taking them home with us, until we were able to stealthily throw them away.  After that activity Alex wouldn't leave Stephen alone and was quite upset that he couldn't fit in the back seat with them on the drive home.

 Heidi was the entertainment the whole week.  I have an entire slideshow of pictures just to prove that.

 I had forgotten how cold and windy Montana can get, and unfortunately it was too cold to spend a lot of time playing outside.

 But the girls relished every moment they got.

There is nothing I like quite as much as watching someone else enjoy my children.  I will admit that watching my brothers play with my kids somehow makes my love grow for them them more each time.

 Unfortunately these are the only pictures I got.  My Grandmother also spent Thanksgiving with us and the girls adore her.  She played barbies and read books and calmed Heidi down when I needed the help.  It was a great week spend with family and good food.
 
On the way home the girls got to see their other set of Great Grandparents on my side when we stopped in Worland and spent the night.  We had the treat of seeing some fun cousins that we never get to see, playing games and doing crafty things. I hope Heaven is just a big family reunion 24/7.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am Thankful for one little girl who loves to color and sew, read, tell stories and cut paper, and can entertain herself during Mommy zen time, and another who takes good naps.
I am Thankful for family, wonderful friends and challenging callings in a church I know is true.  I am Thankful for Prophets, Apostles, the scriptures and the Ensign.  For a hard working, brilliant husband who would spend the rest of his life in school if I would let him, and parents in law who let us live in their basement.  I am thankful that I can be a stay at home mom and teach my kids what I think is important.  I am thankful for our country and the freedoms we have.

5 years, really?! already?!?

 Since my father-in-law wouldn't let me carve this into one of his trees, I had to settle for this.  Yea for 5th anniversary romantic sentiments...even if only on a pillow!

This year we went simple, but since it was one of the few dates we've been on in the last year, it seemed super special.
We were lucky enough to get a babysitter starting at about 3pm and Tyler got out of his last class so we could head to Salt Lake.  We never leave Provo, so this was huge in itself.  We stopped by REI to admire all the fun things and walked away with an outdoor survival guide and an oath to practice at least a few things during Thanksgiving break in Montana.
Next was dinner at Moochies.  We had researched all the places in Salt Lake featured on the show "Dinners Drive In's and Dive's" and chosen Moochies.  Unfortunately we were totally disappointed.  Perhaps if I loved cheese steaks and meatball subs in the first place then it would have been great, but I'd had pretty high expectations that were not met.  It was fun though and we had the place to ourselves and no kids to worry about so that alone made it fantastic.
 After dinner we went to the Salt Lake Temple with plans to do an endowment session, but missed out by minutes.  Instead we were able to do some sealing's with Brother Dalton, (Sister Dalton President of the General Young Women's Presidencies Husband).  It was really great, the Temple is just Gorgeous inside, especially the Celestial Room.
  We drove back to Provo with plans on staying out late being young and in love, but after a couple hours cruising around trying to figure out where people go on dates these days, we ended up at a Redbox with Captian America in hand came home and snuggled to sleep on the couch.
  Honestly it was one of the greatest dates ever.  I realized that Tyler and I are completely different people when we don't have a child clinging to each leg, and pretty funny.  We laughed a lot.
So thanks for 5 great years Tyler, you are the apple of my eye.

Babe's first haircut

I sit here at my desk, the kids are successfully in bed after only a minor struggle with Alex. 

Tyler is gone at the Anatomy lab until midnight and I can hear faint traces of NCIS from on the TV upstairs.  The Cure is playing on PANDORA and I am enjoying a large glass of water and the remains of Heidi's Halloween candy.

By remains, I mean what's left of the good candy.  The Reeces peanut butter cups and milky way's have been gone for days.  The snickers and Twix were next to go.  I'm currently snacking on a butter finger and in a dissatisfied sort of way eyeing the king sized Babe Ruth sitting in the bag.  There is still a plethora of M&M's, tootsie rolls, dots, nerds, and whoppers.  Not to mention the lifetime supply of dumdum's.

I've been very productive the last 2 weeks.  I'm proud to say that other than a few gifts still in the works and  2 people to still figure out, I have already completed my Christmas shopping for the year and ordered our Christmas cards!  I am looking forward to making sugar cookies, playing in the snow and enjoying the holiday's this year.

Among the things completed this week, Tyler finally convinced me to get Heidi's hair cut.  

There is some mystical bond between a mother and those precious baby locks.  It is almost physically painful to watch those hairs fall to the floor.  Alex didn't get a real hair cut until she was 2 years old! 

I look back at the pictures and cringe, I should have taken the leap at a year and saved her 12 months of mullet snapshots.  

It was a heartbreaking hair cut, but well worth the results!

Heidi got her first trim at 18 months, a full 6 months before her sister.  Oh how I love that white blond hair!  

She might be our pixie child, Tyler and I have talked about keeping her hair super short until she protests. 

We love Kara, If it weren't for her I'm sure both my kids would still be sporting mullets and my husband would shave his head bald!

I have been thinking about motherhood the past month a lot.  I found this poem and ever since reading it, Heidi has been treated to long rocks with Mommy before nap time and bed.  She is my cuddle bug and I've been a lot better at appreciating that lately.

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth

empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo,

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

So whoever has me for Christmas exchange this year.  I'd really like a copy of this poem.  Printed, needle point, photographed, framed, whatever.  It's something I need to read often, because my babies are growing up.

Halloween

Halloween was a week long holiday this year.  Friday we went to the Provo Party, Saturday was the ward Chili cook off and trunk or treat, and Monday we went to Grandma's work party, Great Grandma's pizza party and then went door to door!  I'm glad it's all over.

 Archie ended up winning a silver medal at Grandma's work party,  the kids seemed to have a good time and I was pretty impressed by all the costumes.  I still think Grandma should have won the adult prize for her Fairy Godmother costume and the fact she had Cinderella, the stepsisters, prince charming and 2 mice with her.

 Heidi fawning over Archie is nothing new.  She is Archie's little shadow and may love him more than Annie.  Although whenever Annie is around Heidi walks around saying "I want Annie, I want Annie, I want Annie. Annie, Annie, Annie. "

I was pretty happy we got a picture of the Cinderella Cast!

Alex and Archie thought our mice tales were the greatest thing.  Everywhere we went Alex was holding my tail.

Watching Alex run door to door saying "Trick or Treat Please"  Monday night was even more fun than I thought it would be.  The weather was perfect so we made it to plenty of houses.  Between all the events we had this weekend their bags were perfectly full (the key is making small bags).
Apparently Heidi didn't understand the hierarchy of good candy, and passed up the resees and 3 musketeers in search of suckers in every bowl.  Coincidently I found a inch and a half long piece of sucker stick in her poop this morning.  Unfortunately Alex still thinks tootsie rolls are manna from heaven so it's almost not even worth stealing their candy this year.