Today we…

Listened: to the kids belt out “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Just one more week, and they couldn’t be more excited! Ate: orange cream fudge, delicious caramel popcorn, and chocolate chip pie with vanilla ice cream.  Oh, yeah, baby.  That’s what I’m talking about. Drank: a cold glass of milk to finish off our pie. Wore: matching (well, coordinating) dresses for the girls, a handsome shirt and sweater for Paul, and a cute dress and cardigan for Bridget.  I tried to do my hair in a Gibson tuck for a fun change.  I watched the video and it looked extremely (deceptively, some would say) simple.  It would not stay in for the life of me, which resulted in our being far later to church than we should be. Felt: ready for a vacation! Talked about the weather: supremely gorgeous and sunny!  It’s weekends like this that make me love Albuquerque. Wanted: a jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich.  Simply the best sandwich EVER. Needed: a nap. And the kids were all obliging enough to let us take one, after a few false starts. Thought: about what I needed to get done tomorrow. Gingerbread houses are on the calendar, so we need to get to the store to buy the ingredients for the dough.  Also need to get to Hobby Lobby to get some final things to finish up the play kitchen we’re making.  Kids have a Christmas party for their art class, so I need to grab some sort of present for their teachers, and we’re going caroling in the evening, which means I need to make a few dozen cookies.  Fun but busy day! Enjoyed: talking to our family on the web cam.  The kids look forward to it so much.

Thanksgiving and Bat Paul

We had Thanksgiving at our friends’ house this year.  It’s the first time since we’ve lived here that we haven’t hosted, so it was a surprisingly relaxing day.  We made two turkeys and had a little drama with our oven shutting off. This happens every year, and somehow we manage to forget every year.  (*Insert long story about why our oven is idiotic, doesn’t display the actual temperature inside, and shuts off randomly.)  Note to self for next Thanksgiving: buy an oven thermometer!  Despite that delay, the turkey was delicious and all the sides were amazing.  We brought scalloped potatoes with fennel, which are TO DIE FOR.  Seriously, I think they would be on my list if I had to request a last meal.  The cranberry cream pie is always a hit and specifically requested by Aaron.  One of the guests at the dinner made SIX pies (my favorite was the sweet potato!), so that brought the grand pie total to seven.  Always a good thing. (Before our pie arrived.) The scalloped potatoes from last year.  They looked the same this year, but I forgot to bake them in my pretty white dish. Monique’s lovely table setting.   The adorable kids’ table. Allen, Monique (taking the picture), me, Aaron, Buffy, Joe, Adam, baby Hyrum, and Laurie. Thanks, Monique, for letting me steal these photos!  I didn’t take a single photo on Thanksgiving, even though I had sewn matching turkey shirts for all the kids.  That shot will be reenacted soon, hopefully before Bridget grows out of hers! While we were there, Paul got ahold of a Batman costume and wore it the entire evening.  Carter was nice enough to let Paul have it since it was too small for him, and I think Paul has died and gone to heaven.