Thanksgiving 2010

Oh how I love holidays!  The food and family and naps and help and extra time with Ben and all the recreation - it's just so great.  I don't even really like Turkey, stuffing, or mashed potatoes; but I love the holiday anyways for all the fun it offers.

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at Mike and Sarah's.  They were excellent hosts and we had a delightful time.

Smoochie, smoochie!

Kimmy, Christy, and I stayed at the house 'babysitting' my mom most of the week.  It was pleasant to just play with the kids and chit-chat.  They are such great aunts!  My life is so much easier when they are around!!  I hope I can return the favor one day :)

One afternoon we went to the park for some baseball and tennis.  We had the best time!  It has been years since I've played Joe at tennis.  We're both extremely competitive.  The problem is he has talent, too; and that's something I'm lacking.  I tried to put up a good fight, though.

Julie played a little tennis, too.  I thought it was going to put her into labor.
 Her due date was yesterday.  Still no baby, though.  

These two totally love each other.  This was a candid moment I caught.

My dad is so good and helpful with the grandkids!
He's always offering to help!  Thanks Dad :)

I have officially decided that Thanksgiving is a man's holiday.  They play football and then watch football while the women cook.  Where's the justice in that?  Well, I decided the payback comes the day after - Black Friday.  I have never dared to go shopping on Black Friday but this year my sisters, Dad, and I headed down to Ellenton Outlet Mall where we had a blast and tons of success.  It was so different to shop without having to stop to change diapers, make bottles, and control meltdowns.

But, before we went to Ellenton we stopped at Fort DeSoto for a sunrise photo shoot.  The sun rises between the two center spires of the Skyway Bridge twice a year and it happened to be on Black Friday this year.  It was great fun!    

Oh how I love holidays!

Life Lately 11.24.10

Is it really Thanksgiving already?  Time is flying by!  Speaking of flying...we bought tickets to go to Utah for Christmas today (Dec 22 - 27).  This will be my first white Christmas.  In our five years of marriage Ben and I have always spend Christmas in Florida.  In fact, this is my first ever Christmas away from 'home'.  It will be different and maybe even a little hard for me but I'm sure we'll have fun!

In other news, Ethan turned two last week and Sadie had a blast at his birthday party.  The most favorite item at the birthday party was the pinata. 

 

The aftermath

Sarah made these cute ornaments with the kids. 

The cake - yummy!

 
Some other noteworthy information - my mom had surgery on her shoulder this past Monday.  They cleared out inflamed tissue which has been causing her pain.  We really, really hope this will help her feel better!  It's really sad to see her uncomfortable so much of the time.

Also, I was recently released from my calling with the Young Women at church.  Now I make the ward program and I am the public affairs specialist.  It was bittersweet to be released.  I really enjoy the youth but it was impossible for me to successfully do my calling and support Ben in his calling at the same time.  So, it was probably necessary, but a little sad nonetheless. 

And that is a little about our life lately.

Tickners

Have I ever mentioned the Tickners?  Well, let me tell you about them.

It all started about three years ago when they moved into the Hudson ward.  Katie and I were assigned to be visiting teaching companions.  She was pregnant and I was pregnant and we were both naming our children Sadie and neither of us could change the name because we already had quilts with the name embroidered.

Katie is oh so interesting.  I really didn't know what to think of her for a while.  We went out to lunch once and she proudly announced she had had a rhinoplasty (nose job).  She also declared she was trying to quit swearing before the baby was born.  I laughed, thinking she was kidding, but I think she may have been serious.  I'm still not sure. 

Katie is also interesting because she is married to Warren.  Warren is a surfer, landscape designer,and field hockey player who was born and raised in South Africa.  He is calm and collected; Katie is crazy and impulsive.  They are a fascinating pair.

Well, about a year ago when Katie's parents were in town I was visiting with her mom.  Her mom, Betty, asked where Ben was from.  I replied he was from Heber City, Utah.  She explained that they had family in Heber and we both remarked what a beautiful, picturesque little town Heber is.  She commented how their family has a beautiful view of the whole valley, and I replied, "Oh, Ben's Mom's house is the way." Come to find out we were referring to the same family member we just didn't realize it yet.

Later that evening Katie called and me and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Ben and I are cousins"!  Actually, her dad and Ben's dad were cousins.  Not just cousins - they were next door neighbors, college roommates, and inseparable best friends.  Katie and Ben have family reunion photos where they are in the same picture together. Katie and her family had even spent the night at Ben's house when he was little. 

Isn't that amazing?  Part of the reason I feel we moved into Hudson ward was to get to know Katie and Warren.  We've become close friends, and I think we're really good for each other. 

Recently I took some maternity pictures of Katie with Warren and Sadie Tee.  These are the Tickners:

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Sadie Hearts Dogs

Sadie is definitely an Animal Person.  Of all of God's creatures she loves dogs the most.  Lucky for her we own a dog - well, we have shared custody of a dog.  I think that counts.

So, she and Shadow have become good buddies.  She follows him around the house hugging and petting him, and he tolerates the attention for two minutes and then goes and hides.

Lately, Shadow has had some competition.  The neighbors across the street just had puppies and she L.O.V.E.S. them!

Do you feel a little bad for this mom? 

There is also the dog Dora.  It's her friend's dog.  This dog weighs 125 lbs. and Sadie has no fear of her.

However, I think her heart remains true to good ole' Shadow.  She sure loves that dog!

Eclectic Pajamas

This past Saturday I was taking pictures with Sarah so Ben did bedtime by himself.  I had a good laugh at 3am when I woke up to find Jax dressed like this:

 What is funny about this outfit?

1. The top is a newborn set up PJs that Ben couldn't get buttoned
2. The pants are Sadie's size 18 months pajama bottoms
3. Underneath he had a long sleeve onesie of Sadie's - size 18 months.  (Although, the onesie fit him surprisingly well)

Then on another evening Ben was in a funny mood and dressed Sadie in these pajamas:

Funny items about this outfit include:

1. That shirt (the top shirt in the first picture) was mine when I was growing up and it's way too big for her.
2. He buttoned the onesie on the outside of the leggings.
3. The shirt is one of Ethan's that is actually too small for her and has a tie on the front.
4. The leggings are not PJs at all; they go to a dress set she has.
5. AND, as a side note, she was actually wearing Jax's smaller diapers underneath those crazy PJs.

This may have been Ben's really subtle way of saying it is time to do the kid's laundry.  What do you think?

Happy Halloween

Holidays get better with each passing year.  I enjoy Halloween more as an adult than I did as a child.  It is a blast to watch Sadie's enthusiasm, curiosity, and reaction to each new holiday.

On Saturday (10/30) we went to a fall festival / pumpkin patch / corn maze in Sarasota with my family.

Ethan shown above on a ride.

Sadie has no fear of animals.  She loved petting the goats, pigs, donkeys, and sheep.

I think this is a sweet picture of my dad and Sadie, no?

The kids especially enjoyed the butterfly exhibit.  Sadie giggled with delight the whole 5 minutes she was in there. 

My mom, Sarah, Jax, and I went browsing through the crafts while the crew below went through the corn maze. 

That evening we had our ward's Trunk-or-Treat party.  Sadie was pretty hesitant about going up to strangers, but once she realized they had buckets full of candy she loved it.

Ben pinned a printout of a quarter on his back as his Quarterback costume and I was a pumpkin.

On Halloween we planned to take Sadie Trick-or-Treating to our direct neighbors homes and then sit out front and visit with passerbys - so as to appear friendly.  A few friends also came over to visit - the Cricchios and Tickners.  Sadie loved trick-or-treating and we ended up going all the way up and down our road.  We had such a great time!

Cricchios, Tickers and Johnson shown above.

Jax fell asleep two minutes into the walk.

Happy Halloween!

Can't wait until next year :)