Thanksgiving

After our adventures to Arizona were complete, we spent a few days with my parents (who both returned to Albuquerque with massive head colds, courtesy of Spencer) and turned around to welcome Dessa and her two kiddos for a visit from Seattle. It was so fun to have our kids playing together...wish we lived closer so it could happen more frequently. She texted a picture of our children in my Pilot upon their arrival. He said it looked like a gathering of tiny terrorists.

We laughed, dove into serious how-are-you-actually-doing conversations as only old friends can accomplish, ate, and played. She wanted to visit the Birds of Prey and we took the kids one afternoon for an outing with the raptors. Spencer loved the bald eagle (which seems to be his favorite bird these days) and we met Bob, one of the many little falcons that live and teach at the Center. I also hired a babysitter for the 5 children one afternoon so Dessa and I could have an adult outing; we wound up at the Village for lunch, a walk, and stop at the cafe for a treat before heading home to the chaos. I am so grateful for that woman and her friendship. She makes my world a better place!

The kids were on track break by then so we went into break mode - staying up too late, sleeping in even later, and not living by any resemblance of a schedule. I crave this mode for a few days then find myself wishing to be out of it for my own mental sanity. Cleo tore up bits of paper sitting around, we were invited last-minute to a BSU football game with friends (and went to the most amazing tailgate beforehand - who brings tables, a generator for lights, and firepit for warmth to these things?? These are serious fans; they do it before every home game), and the kids played hard together.

Thanksgiving was spent at home with the Westbrooks. Chadwick built a leaf for the kitchen table I was super excited to put to use for the first time.

We enjoy this family and were so glad they could come for dinner, games, and outdoor time for the kiddos. Chadwick spent the entire morning (literally) putting together a tire swing for the willow tree out back so I was glad that the kids took the time to play on it despite the cooler temperatures. Their oldest daughter, Hannah, created the most amazing cheese board and the food was delicious. A perfect way to celebrate the day and the start of the holiday season.

Saturday found us meeting up with Stephen, Tara, and their crew in High Valley for the 2nd annual Christmas tree cutting. We hiked all over the place - in snow! - and chose a tree that Tara really wanted for their house. Unfortunately for them, their ceilings are too low and we took it home. Seriously, it is the most perfectly-shaped forest tree I've ever seen. Symmetrical with thicker branches to hold the heavier ornaments but not such a bush that we couldn't decorate at all. This tree received a lot of compliments over the course of the month and I was sad to see it go.

Lunch was at The Triangle and then home to start decorating. Historically, Black Friday has been my day to bust out the Christmas music and get started with the Christmas decor. In recent years, my enthusiasm has waned to the point that I feel sadness while pulling out the stuff. I haven't been able to pinpoint what started the transition and why. Perhaps this coming year I can start to unravel the mystery.

Our thankful tree made its annual appearance as well, though I neglected to take any pictures of it. My parents, Dessa and her kids and a few other friends were able to contribute to the leaves. It's been fun to watch the girls' evolve into more spiritual and "older" items of gratitude over the past few years. One of my favorite November traditions.

I also put my faith and the accuracy of the Pilot's gas gauge to the test....one of these days, I'm gonna end up stranded. Morgan had been sick off/on for a couple days and I wound up taking her to the pediatrician for a strep culture last minute. Her being sick had thrown off my schedule and I didn't get out to put gas in the car. By the time the appointment was made and a sitter arranged for the younger two, I didn't have time to fill up the tank before driving the 6.8 miles to the clinic. Our car as a feature that tells you how many miles remaining until Bingo. I'm pretty sure we started out on like 6 miles. Halfway there, on the freeway, the miles went to 0 and stayed put. I prayed and prayed and asked Morgan to pray that we could make it to the appointment. I didn't care if I had to hitchhike after, I just wanted to get there in time. We totally did!! She didn't have strep, and we made it another 1.5 miles to the gas station. I love that there is a built in amount of gas remaining for those of us who choose to push the limits. I'm also grateful for the chance to strengthen my testimony of prayer and hopefully do the same for my daughter. As in times past, I promised myself (again) this would be the last time.

Boston-Bound

Chadwick has a goal to run a race in every state. To run a race every few months in general. He has a goal to run a marathon once per decade. And he has a goal to qualify - and run - in the Boston Marathon.

The road to Boston thus far has been scattered with potholes. Hours training, running early and often in the dark. Running despite of and through a painful, lower leg tendinitis. Running with a cold. Running in the cold.

The sum of his qualification, in the numbers:

• 5,000 feet: The drop in elevation from the start of the race to the finish.
• 1,046 miles: Distance from Meridian to Tucson, AZ
• 26.2 miles run: Chadwick had to be at the base parking lot by 4:30 am to catch the bus to his start at 6,000 feet. It was a short night. 
  
• 12 pints of Gatorade: Both of us, and the kids, were nursing head colds the week prior to the big day. Chadwick woke up for our early flight Friday morning with a fever, chills, and body aches. He declined as the day wore on but continued to pound yellow Gatorade in an effort to stay hydrated. We both napped under the shade of a tree in a park while waiting to check into our hotel. I was quite worried about him running the next day. 
  
• 5 letters:: One of the "swag" items at the registration included wash-on tattoos. I wanted to demonstrate my dedication for the runner at my side and chose a "REVEL" one, placed on my biceps. I spent the weekend flexing and saying with a Spanish accent, "Revel," with the "v" pronounced as a light "b" as is typically done. 
  
• 2 races paid for: Turns out the Petrified Forest Marathon in Holbrook wasn't being run on November 3rd like we thought. He found out October 22 that the race was finished October 20. Whoops! (No, Mom, he doesn't still get the t-shirt even though he paid the entry fee.) Onto the second choice, Mt. Lemmon. 
  
• 2 nights in a hotel: One the night before the race, and one back in Phoenix because we missed our Sunday evening flight by 15 minutes. Poor time management to blame.
• 1 fortune cookie: Trying to "carb up" for lunch so we ate at Panda Express. The fortune was about the first positive we had since the trip began. 
  
• 2:59:40: The time it took my hubs to run his second marathon. Ever. I cried as he crossed the finish line.

YES! We are Boston Bound, baby!!

Book Club Retreat

The Taylors - well, Blake initiated the whole thing - invited several couples to participate in an couples' book club earlier this year. Each month, one couple chooses a book and hosts the meeting. Rules: non-fiction only. We leave the kids at home (for the most part). And have FUN! Chadwick and I have been loving it.

The non-fiction genre is a step out of my fiction comfort zone - John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Smoky the Cow Horse, Jane Austen, and Stephen R. Covey have been my go-to novels or authors in the past with a sprinkling of others in between. I don't mind historical non-fiction and have enjoyed Gerald Lund books in that genre. Blake is a stickler for this particular rule....Erin and I are working on opening up our minds to this new world. Ha!

The Stewarts' know someone who owns a large cabin in McCall and they put together the idea of creating a book club retreat. Genius! The Ericksons subbed in for our normal couple, the Dunkleys and are going to be a permanent fixture in the group.

It occurred at the end of October and was a glorious weekend of chaos, games, sleep deprivation, food, games, and constant minor boo-boos. There was an outing to the lake, catching frogs, manly competition for who could throw a rock the farthest, and a run-in with some good friends from Meridian.

Love that this looks like their first baby, not their sixth. 

The Stewarts

10 adults. 18 children under the age of 11. You do the math.

The cabin was amazing. I've never stayed in a place that actually had enough beds and bathrooms for a large group. Two fridges, three ovens and two large eating tables accommodated us perfectly. The kids dove into the bunk room. This room had vaulted ceilings, 6 bunk beds plus a day bed, large floor space, a television/DVD player, a second story play area (reachable by a ladder), and...the slide. The kamikaze slide. Starting at the upper level of the playhouse 14 feet above, it shoots you down with great speed and into the wall not very far from the end of the slide. To minimize damage to the wall, there was a large, round bean bag at the bottom. Rather than landing comfortably on the bean bag, sliders normally end up between the edge of the slide and the bean bag. Smashed uncomfortably with your back in the tough edge of the slide. The kids minimized the problem by loading the gap with pillows and blankets. Our parental joy of the slide lasted about an hour; the kids slowly started coming to their parents for a kiss on a bump. To whine about a new bruise. To complain about someone banging into them. It was constant!

Amazingly, the largest injury occurred to Spencer two hours before our departure Sunday morning. The kids tried to tell him to not come down the slide, and either he didn't hear or listen, but he ran into Morgan at the bottom of the slide and she fell onto his face. Hard! Blood and instant swelling....I was so worried he had broken his nose!! The next day, things looked more normal, thank goodness.

The television was on. It was off. It was on again. And repeat.

Aside from attending the boo-boos and feeding the hunger, we really didn't see the kids much for the weekend. They played so well! And Tally won the award for the best baby. Ever.

The adults gamed hard all weekend. With the kids, with each other, there was always a game being played in one of the many corners of the house. Or shenanigans of a sort.

The big debate over whether a triathlon is a swimmers' sport or bikers' sport. Not sure who won. Mostly I love that these three tall men are cozy on the couch.

We were up way past midnight both nights playing Code Names, boys vs. girls. The girls handily won the first five rounds Friday night and the boys wanted a chance to vindicate themselves from the constant losses. Saturday brought new rounds, and the guys won! Multiple in a row. It was ridiculous. All the while, we were trying (rather unsuccessfully) to stay quiet so the kids could sleep. But after Logan finally got his team to guess the word "pasted" for the win, he went ballistic. And Cyndi turned the celebration into a meme that will forever reside in our memories. This picture basically sums up the evenings for the adults.

The Katseanas organized a talent show Saturday evening for the kids who wanted to participate and adult couples. I was so proud that all of my kiddos got up in front of everyone for a few brief moments. It's a terrifying place to be. I won't elaborate on our particular "talent," let's just say it involved breaking an apple in half with bare hands and $2 in quarters. =)

Sunday was cleaning, avoiding catastrophic collisions on the slide, and booking it back to Boise for sacrament meeting.

I love these people. They are a group that I feel safe around, where I can be myself. Where we aren't judging others or their children. Honest, hard-working, fun-loving, solid people. Whom I would call my family any day of the week. I feel uplifted when I'm with this group and so grateful to be part of their lives.

We all voted to make this an annual thing. Perhaps without children next year. 

Photo Dump

What have we been up to....

Juicing grapes. We got 25 beautiful quarts from our grapes.

I brought some concord grapes home several weeks later and in the process of juicing them, the pot overflowed and created a burnt mess on the stove. Unfortunately, the smoke "smell" leached into the beautiful purple juice and likely ruined all 15 quarts. There's no amount of anything that can cover the burnt flavor!

A random chain of events landed our little piece of the world in the middle of a photo shoot. We had 6-8 photographers, editors, and story writers on the property along with two super sweet Asian children and their parents for like 3 hours one afternoon in September. The photos were for a children's book about a day at the farm. The crew was at our neighbor's with cows and bees before our house. They rounded off the photo shoot with our chickens, sheep, dog, picking beans/grapes/apples and the red barn. I am pretty sure we will get a copy of the book. The children held up amazingly well for being told where and what to do for over 4 hours. And I laughed as most of the group showed up in straw hats, trying to look the part of country folk.

We made it up to High Valley on multiple weekends - to work on the driveway, to admire the driveway, and play by the shriveled up lake. There was not a lot of water but tons of sticky mud and cat tails! The kids had a blast making snow in the fall. Poor Darwin really wanted to be with Chadwick and the others in the canoe. He swam out to about the middle of the lake before I could get him to come back to shore. While he was paddling back to me, I asked myself if I would be willing to jump into the frigid, dirty water to save my poor, sputtering dog....luckily, he made it back without incident and I didn't have to answer.

The school carnival - hosted each year as a fundraiser, the carnival was a huge hit! Games, food trucks, and a silent auction completed the night. My kiddos were such troopers as we were there early to help set up and late to take down. We met Kenzie and her girls which added to the fun of it all. The weather was perfect and not too hot as it's been in years past. The event went smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time. Mallorie got to try a pizza in a cone...to which she gave a thumbs up on taste. I volunteered my artistic husband to create the backdrop for the photo booth (castle/knight theme) and he went all-out. Using dot markers, he colored the dragon and castle on the garage floor. Turns out, dot markers bleed through fabric and we were left with a dragon and castle on the concrete for about a month. It was a nice welcome as we parked the car each day!

October brought cooler temperatures, general conference (What?? Two hour church rumors were real!), fallen leaves, and canning applesauce (we purchased apples from the Caldwell orchard again this year. Mallorie cried the whole way there and back because her ear was hurting, poor thing.)

A beautiful weekend camping in the Sawtooths and a cabin trip to McCall rounded out the first and last weekends of my birthday month, but those will need to be separate entries to keep this one from turning into a full-blown novel. =)