Thanksgiving

We had such a fun Thanksgiving break this year. My sister Amanda and her family came up from Arizona for the week, so it was fun to have the whole family together. The day after Amanda and her family arrived, we loaded up the cars, and drove down to Kansas City to spend a night at the Great Wolf Lodge. We had fun playing at the water park, shopping, eating out, and spending time with our cousins.

My parents celebrated their wedding anniversary while we were there.

My mom ordered all of the girl cousins these princess nightgowns.

They loved having matching nightgowns, and wore them to story time in the lobby that night.

I had one of these exact same nightgowns growing up. I loved it!! Now it is so fun that my girls have the same nightgowns to enjoy!

Thanksgiving day was spent at my parent's house. We had a fabulous meal, and then took all the kids on a hay rack ride.

Clara with her uncle Morgan

The 'big' kids table

After dinner we loaded up for the hayride. It was pretty chilly out, but fun.

We found some large hay bales that the kids had a blast running on.

A picture of the 11 oldest cousins (the 3 babies were at home with Grandma).

Makenna's 5th Birthday Party

A week after having Hudson's birthday party, we had a birthday party for Makenna's 5th birthday. We decided on a Wizard of Oz themed party for her; an obvious choice, since she has been obsessed with it for over a year now. It also gave her a good excuse to wear her Dorothy dress again. Makenna was SO excited to have her party, and was involved in every process of the preparations, including finding the invitations and supplies online, (she loved looking at Wizard of Oz items on amazon, and would beg me to do so almost everyday for the few weeks leading up to her party), making the decorations, making the cupcakes, and getting the activities ready. It was fun to have her so involved.

The cupcakes we made, with 'Rubby Red' sprinkles on top

We also painted a yellow brick road on our sidewalk leading up to the front door, hung balloons in a rainbow pattern in our entry way, and made signs for Munchkin Land, and Emerald City. We were ready to party!

One of our signs that Makenna colored

 A group shot of all her party guests

Our first activity was making lollipops in "Munchkin Land"

Our second activity was making beaded necklaces in "Emerald City"

We also played a few games, and let the girls get their finger nails painted 'Rubby Red'.

Opening presents

Blowing out the candles on her cupcake  

It ended up being a really fun birthday party, and Makenna loved it!!

We had her party on a Saturday, the day before her actual birthday. On her birthday, she took some treats to church for her primary class, and then my parents came over to have cake and ice cream with us. (We didn't invite any of the aunts, uncles, or cousins over, because all of her girl cousins had come over to the party the day before.)

A few facts about our 5 year old: Makenna LOVES to color, draw, and do crafts. I have a pile of cards and pictures that she has colored for me. She likes making pictures for other people, and often wants to send cards in the mail to extended family members who live out of state. She also loves going to preschool. She goes 3 days a week, but would happily go all day, everyday if she could. Makenna tries really hard to be good, and doesn't like when she gets in trouble. She is great with playing with Hudson, and loves helping to take care of Clara. She also loves going to dance. She is a very social, active, happy little girl, and we are so blessed to have her in our family!!

Hudson's 3rd Birthday

Hudson turned 3 on November 9th. His morning started with 3 candles in some french toast; eaten on the "Special" plate...of course.

Later that evening we had a little party for Hudson with some of his cousins. Hudson's party was car themed, as he loves playing with cars, and plays with them everyday.

Makenna and Hudson made this cute car poster, and we played pin the wheel on the car.

The first present the Hudson opened was this construction truck. He was SO excited about it, that he pretty much didn't care about opening any other presents, and he played with this truck for the rest of the night. In fact, John and I didn't even give him the present that we had bought for him (a new bike) until the next morning!  

A few facts about our 3 year old. Hudson is almost always the first person awake, usually before 6:30am. He eats 3 or 4 bowls of cereal every morning (each bowl a different kind of cereal). He loves to play with cars, trucks, and trains. He also loves having Clara sit in his room with him while he plays. He gives her toys to play with, and enjoys having her as his little buddy. Clara loves this too, and is happy to sit and watch/play with Hudson. He has pretty much given up his naps, but will still fall asleep about once a week. Everynight before bed, he wants me to sing him 3 songs: Silent Night (we've been singing it almost every night since Christmas 2011), I've been Working on the Railroad, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Hudson continues to be such a sweet little boy, and we are so blessed to have him in our family!

Halloween

On Halloween, the kids got to go trick or treating twice. First, we drove down to ConAgra, and the kids got to trick or treat around to all of the offices at John's work. Afterwards, we paused outside to take a few pictures of the kids in their cosutmes, before heading home. (Hudson had refused to wear his costume at ConAgra, but luckily we got it on him before trick or treating around the neighborhood.)

My parents came over for dinner, and then went trick or treating with us around the neighborhood. It is fun for us to be able to have them come along. The kids loved, loved, loved trick or treating this year, and were SO excited. They literally sprinted from house to house. We struggled just trying to keep up with them! At one point, Makenna (along with 2 of our neighbors) got a bit ahead of Hudson, and while running after them, he yelled, "Wait for me...I'm a fighter pilot!!" It is so fun as a parent to be able to experience the excitement of Halloween again through the eyes of your children. 

When we got home, Makenna sorted her candy into piles, which is something I always loved doing.

Hudson rolled around in his...

And Clara learned to wave for the first time!! Cute girl!

Trunk or Treat

After spending the afternoon making cookies at my mom's house, we spent the evening at our Ward's dinner and Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited to wear their costumes, see their friends, and begin collecting candy.

Hudson - the fighter pilot, and Makenna - Dorothy

With some friends

Playing games

Handing out candy

Clara - a butterfly



Pre-Halloween Activities

We have had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year, and the main event isn't even here yet. It all started with a couples party that John and I attended. My younger brother had a gorilla suit that I borrowed, and we went as King Kong, and 'Ann Darrow' (the girl he kidnaps in the movies). Since the gorilla suit was too small for John, I wore it, and John got to be the girl!! HAHA! We had a fun time getting John ready!

Our next Halloween activity was Thursday when Makenna got to dress up for her dance class. Makenna has been planning on being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz since last Halloween. She even asked for all Wizard of Oz stuff for Christmas last year. My mom and I made her a Dorothy dress, so that it would be just like the real movie version. I literally finished sewing the buttons on an hour before her dance class! I am so happy with how it turned out, and most importantly, Makenna LOVES it!!

Makenna with one of her friends

The next day, my mom had all of the grandkids over to decorate Halloween cookies. First we made roll out cookies, and then while they were baking in the oven the kids got to frost and decorate 3 dozen more cookies that my mom had ordered. They made a huge mess, and had so much fun doing it! We also had a little craft for them to do, and then all stayed to enjoy lunch. I am so grateful that we are able to live near family, and that we can get together on a more regular basis. The kids love hanging out with their cousins.

Testing out the frosting...

Great-Grandma Gloria holding Clara (And no, she doesn't have orange hair...just being festive!)

After the kids decorated all their cookies, and were hyped up on sugar, my mom played a couple of very rambunctious games of ring around the rosie with them. The kids get wild when they are together, and have a blast!!

The Zoo

I have been neglecting my blog lately. September was a crazy month for us, but things have slowed down, so the time has come to catch up on a few posts.

We love the zoo in Omaha, and a yearly membership is a must-have for our family. I remember going to the zoo growing up, and it is so fun to take my kids there now. We made several trips to the zoo this summer, often with cousins or friends. ConAgra also sponsors a day at the zoo every year, where they provide lunch for all of their employees. Here are a few pictures from some of our visits.

 Climbing on the lion.

All of the Omaha cousins (minus the 2 new babies)

On the train