Thanksgiving

We stopped by the hospital on our way to Twin for Thanksgiving to visit Grandpa Pettingill. He has been waiting to meet Hannah and hear the story of how she got her name. It was so good to see him, and see him interact with Hannah and boys. He was so sweet and gentle with Hannah talking to her and rocking her. He looked so frail and old from the last time I had seen him. We weren't there for very long, but before we left I gave Grandpa a hug and Zander asked if he could give him a hug too. Grandpa really liked that.

We had Thanksgiving dinner with Joseph and Adam's families this year. The kids had fun playing together in the basement, and Charity brought games for the adults to play after we ate. Dad made three different flavors of ice cream, yummmm!!!

Zander Turns 4

Zander's birthday fell on the day before Thanksgiving this year, so he decided he wanted to celebrate it with grandma and grandpa Pettingill in Twin falls since we were going there for Thanksgiving anyway. He asked for a Star Wars themed birthday with Anakin's light saber for the cake. His favorite gift was his Star Wars legos that he had been talking about for months.

Happy Birthday buddy; we love you!

Give Me Cake!

This boy is ALWAYS asking for candy and treats. He is right there whenever me or Dad are in the kitchen. He has such a big sweet tooth. He loves licking the beaters....and then some. We just happen to be making cake this time.

My Hero

Scott and Sydney's Wedding

Thank you Scott for giving us all an excuse to get together and hang out for a weekend; it was so much fun! First, Becky flew in on Halloween night to stay the week with me. Mom came the next day so we had some fun shopping. The best part was having Stephen watch the kids so we could go out almost kid-free since Ezra was with us. We found some good stuff! Most of my siblings stays with us at our house after the wedding. I was so excited to host, and hope to do it more often.

Then came the wedding. I love weddings; even on tv whether they are real or fake. I love watching the bride come down the isle and see the look on the grooms face as she finally makes it into his arms. It makes me teary eyed sometimes. Sydney looked gorgeous in her simple yet elegant white gown. Scott looked so handsome in his maroon Woolen Mill tie, and happy as could be. I love having family gatherings especially when we can all be together because that doesn't happen too often anymore.

 Weddings are about the only place you can get away with wearing the same dress, so we took advantage.

 It's also a great time and place to get a family photo.

The ceremony was short and sweet, then we had three more hours to kill before the reception started. So we cranked up the music and played musical chairs. Then everyone got to dancing doing the Hokey Pokey, Bunny Hop, and a conga line. There was lots of food, fun, and laughter. While we were inside enjoying ourselves Joseph and his family and a few others were outside "decorating" Scott and Sydney's car. They put confetti in the vents, oreos all over the car inside and out, lipstick on the windows, dog food on the hood of the car and finally saran wrapped the whole thing.

I'm not sure who or how this photo was taken, but I just think my sister is so pretty and dainty.

Fall Fun and Halloween

This is the first time the boys have ever raked and played in a leaf pile. We didn't have any trees at our old house, so Zander and Lucas were pretty excited to help dad rake and clean up the yard.

 Playing Halloween Bingo. It was a huge hit!

 We made mummy dogs and drank blood for dinner while dad was away for work for a few days.

 We've got a 3 year old storm trooper, a 2 year old spider man, and a 2 month old bumble bee