Pilgrims and Indians Day 2011

Thankful for a husband who loves to cook a turkey every year on Thanksgiving Day…just because he likes to:

Thankful for two sweet parents who hosted our Thanksgiving feast, and for the food that filled our bellies:

Thankful for The Muppet Movie we saw afterwards, as well as Kate’s amazing ability to memorize the soundtrack, enabling her to serenade us for 5 whole days now!

Thankful for my little ones who sat bravely (sort of) upon Santa’s lap on Black Friday:

Thankful for the past year and all that it has brought: Thankful for life as a whole.

Ice Princesses

Kate will tell you who her favorite parent is. I’ll give you a hint…it’s not me. She’s also very curious as to which parent was our favorite when Dave and I were both growing up, but that’s another story for another day.

Anyway, Dave is the mastermind behind all things fun. This last weekend he wined and dined us all at Disney on Ice; thus, securing his spot as Numero Uno.

Kate got on the dress of her new favorite color (blue), but NOT her favorite princess (she’d want you to know that).

She got all comfy with popcorn, nachos, drinks, and a light-up Rapunzel lantern souvenir. She especially loved waving her lantern high in the air during the Rapunzel scene!

Cole had to be wrangled for much of the event, and made friends with several employees outside of the show. He did, however, sit still long enough to enjoy his snow cone; hence the blue lips.

“Oh, I wish we could go to Disney On Ice everyday!” says Kate.

Birds of a Feather

Tracy Aviary hosts Winter Wednesdays where admission is just $1 per person. I think it is the cutest little bird zoo and always worth a visit!

Even though it’s cold, the birds are all out and about (and may even attempt to eat your little ones):

They have a creepy and delightful Owl Forest. It just so happened to be feeding time, and we were lucky enough to see what was served: bloody, cut-in-half white rabbit. Lovely.

Aside from the bald eagles, Kate’s “other” favorite…feeding the ducks. She’s very good at it:

Junior enjoyed the birdies too (and his toy dinosaur):

Whosoever holds this hammer

Dave had a birthday yesterday. Because of his new P90x muscles, I was inspired to build him a Thor cake (cause that’s who he reminds me of now). And because I kind of like Thor, as far as superheroes go.

The cake looked awesome (I think); at least until one side was affected by gravity and fell off.

Happy birthday to our special daddy and husband who possesses even more powers than Thor himself!

Grim Grinning Ghosts

Halloween is my true, favorite holiday. We carved pumpkins, Dave spooked up the ol’ place, and we drew in a record 183 trick or treaters.
This Halloween was a great one for Kate! She must have known her time was limited because she RAN from house to house, collecting her precious candy. Cole, on the other hand, was not so interested and didn’t last longer than two streets.
The whole family dressed up for the ward party:
Let me just say…I was not thrilled about going. Halloween is just not the day for a gal to look ugly (at least by Halloween City’s standards)…and mine and Dave’s reused costumes screamed, or at least strongly suggested, “Ugly.”
After all was said and done, I was glad we dressed up like dead, wedded people. We made for an ironically cute couple; although, certainly not as cute as Captain Jack Sparrow and Miss Rapunzel.
Grandma Sherrie also threw a Halloween Bash. She put lots of thought and time (and likely, $$) into the party, and we all had a great time because of it.
Kate says she misses Halloween. I don’t blame her.