Decorating for Christmas

 The kids love to put lights on the house and they look forward to getting them up right after Thanksgiving. Britta mentioned that decorating for Christmas was one of things she was missing most since they celebrated Thanksgiving with Kade's family.

Landon and his kids were over, so he climbed up on the roof to help out.

Denya put the lights on the lower part of the garage, 

while Ryan untangled a long strand.

This part is all done!

It was such a nice, sunny day, in the 50's, no jackets needed. 

Thank goodness for the long pole that makes it possible to put lights on the highest part without having to climb up there. We have some music that plays and the lights flash in rhythm with the music. It's pretty cool!

Lincoln is Grandpa's TV watching and snack buddy.

Austin's family came over in the afternoon and the kids rode bikes for almost 3 hours. Such beautiful weather for November!

Someone's always got the Bird! My kids love to play Rook. I like to think that Blake, Grandpa Taylor, and Grandpa Collins are watching when we play since they all loved it so much.

We got too busy playing games to get the tree decorated. Dagny remembers getting on Britta's shoulders in years past to put the angel on and insisted on doing it even though it was too late to finish decorating. Grandpa was happy to sub in for Britta.

Taking advantage of that height to touch the ceiling.

Denya and I decorated the tree on Monday. We were late getting a flight booked for Ryan and so he had to fly back at 6 am Sunday morning to get a flight that wasn't terribly expensive. Denya is going back tonight, so we got the tree done before she left.

 We found these reindeer that are so cute at Hobby Lobby and decided to get some new ornaments to go with them. I really like the long ornaments. I've learned that different sizes and shapes of ornaments are what make a tree pretty.

I've been replacing my ornaments the past couple of years. Mine are glass and I love glass ornaments the best. They shine and are so pretty, shatterproof just aren't the same, but with so many little grandkids now, glass ornaments just aren't practical.

It was kind of strange not having any kids to help us. The weekend just went by too fast. The older kids are in school and Calista and Everlee are napping.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I love the way it turned out and it might be my favorite set of ornaments!

 Denya had to leave for the airport just when Dagny and Lincoln were getting here after school. Lincoln was so, so sad! He wants Denya to stay forever! So do I! He gave her the biggest, hardest hug!

We finally got a smile out of him! A month can be a long time, but then Denya will be back for Christmas. Yay!

Thanksgiving

When Megan joined our family, she introduced us to bacon wrapped water chestnuts and now it's a tradition every Thanksgiving. Sooo good! Everyone loves them! Delwyn and Ryan got the job of rolling them up, it takes awhile. 

Denya wrapped a few last minute Bingo prizes.

Showing off the great turkey their Dad made!

Landon had bariatric surgery three weeks ago and I wasn't sure he would want to brine the turkey. He still wanted to do it, and I was very happy about that! Once you've had turkey this way there is no going back to regular baking. He is on the soft food stage now, so he can eat a little bit of that turkey. He is looking good!

Ready for our Thanksgiving feast! Carolee Edwards is here and so is Kimberlea's cousin, AJ, so we have 18 adults and 2 babies. We went to the church and got a long table to extend our kitchen table so we could all be together. We are getting to be a big group! I love it! One of my candy corn things to be grateful for was that 3 people joined our family this year. That's the most ever in one year!

One thing Denya is thankful for is technology so we can keep in touch easily. Dagny and Lincoln to Face Time with her, we have a family text group, and she has a friend text group. Technology also allows people to work remote and we love it when Denya can spend extra time with us and do her work without having to take too many vacation days.

Landon is thankful for bariatric surgery and also that he finished his Master's Degree! Taking one class a semester for 5 years was a long road, but he made it!

Wade is very thankful for a new job that has regular hours and no weekends! He's also thankful for carrots because he's a diabetic and has to eat lots of vegetables. He doesn't care for very many kinds, but he loves carrots!

Some other things people were thankful for: 

Ryan--that he's getting a good education

Lincoln--Claire, which prompted Dagny to be thankful for Millie, so sweet!

Melissa--Emma, and their new car that Austin bought in Texas

Austin and Wade both mentioned doctors and medication. Austin has been sick for about 3 years, diagnosed with mesenteric panniculitis, a rare condition that causes chronic inflamation and pain in the stomach. In September he finally got on some medication that helps him feel much better.

I think the jello was Everlee's favorite part of the meal, and I know she's not the only one who feels that way.

Emma is not eating solids yet, no so Thanksgiving feast for her. Just wait until next year and she'll get her share!

Time for Bingo! The kids were so excited to get started!

So fun that some of the kids know their numbers and can play with only a little help. Good job Lincoln!

Calista loved playing with the beans and was a good helper putting them on the cards when Wade showed her where to put them.

I was helping Maddie and she was super excited to win a prize in the third round. She could hardly stand to play anymore because she wanted to open her prize so badly.

Not all the adults like Bingo, I'm thankful for those who do. Keeping the tradition alive!

Kimberlea's family joined in the game and won some prizes.

Always happy for candy.

So excited to win a coloring/painting book!

Wade got the Corn Nuts this year, but he likes them, so all is well.

Denya can stir up lots of lemonade with that spoon, and her chips will stay fresh with those clips! Great prizes!

Melissa made this apple pie from scratch and we were all so impressed! So fancy with the star cutouts in the crust! I can't make pie. The frozen kind from the store is my go to when it comes to pie.

Our pie selection for this year: pumpkin, key lime, apple, peanut butter chocolate, banana cream, chocolate, and chocolate mousse. Melissa also made some apple rollups which were quite delicious!

Emma is definitely her Mama's baby! Quite often she won't be happy unless Melissa is holding her. She was giving lots of smiles this evening!

Claire brought her Mall Madness game that she got for her birthday. She wanted to play with Denya and Ryan joined the fun and he won!! Good shopping Ryan!

So thankful for this family of mine! Families are definitely our biggest blessing. We missed Britta and Kade, but super excited we get them for Christmas!

Delwyn Goes to USU Football Game

Britta has been a little homesick and she got this idea that Delwyn should come to a Utah State football game. Britta has always liked football, and they text each other when they are watching the same football game, college or professional. Delwyn has been pretty excited that one of his kids likes football, and now that Kade is in our family it takes football up even another notch. With a little nudging from me, he decided to go! Flights were pricey at this short notice, so he decided to drive and then Ryan can come home for Thanksgiving with him.

I couldn't go, Wade and Kimberlea asked me weeks ago if I would babysit so they could go to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. The weather forecast in Logan for the weekend was pretty chilly, so I didn't mind that much not going. I'll wait until next year and go earlier in the season when it's not so cold. 

Delwyn took them to Sam's Club to stock up on groceries. They bought this 10 pound package of hamburger to divide up and freeze. Some yummy dinners coming their way!

Checking out Grandma Porras' fire pit in the back yard. The house is in a perfect spot to look out over the whole valley. You can see down into the island, the dam, and at night the temple and the Aggie A are lit up. What a beautiful place to live!

 

No trip to Logan would be complete without a stop for some Aggie ice cream! I love this picture because Delwyn is actually smiling! He is usually so sober in pictures.

At the game! Blair and his girls came over. So fun for Delwyn and Blair to spend some time together and sit in the general admission section while the kids were in the student section. A great time for everyone! Except for the freezing cold. Britta warned Delwyn it was going to be cold, so he took all the winter gear including thermals and a blanket to sit on.

A sad game. Delwyn said the Aggies made a lot of mistakes, but that's the life in sports. Someone has to lose. It was still fun and he was glad he went.

Back to Britta and Kade's after the game for hot chocolate, talking, and laughing. It was a weekend to remember and worth the drive!

 

Bike Ride with Claire

I have been wanting to take Claire on a bike hike for over a month. First she had Covid and was in quarantine for 10 days, then we had two family Halloween activities on Saturdays. I was afraid the weather would be getting too chilly for bike rides, but thankfully we have had a really nice fall so far and today was forecast to be 72, so I decided to go for it. I picked her up and we went to the Cherry Creek Trail in Parker. She's ready to go!

Just a few minutes along the trail is this little waterfall and we stopped to look at it for a bit.

We both put our hand in it and it was SO cold! Claire wondered if it was snow melt. I didn't know the answer. I would think snow from last winter would be all melted by now. Surprisingly, we haven't had any snow yet this fall here in town, but maybe there has been some in the mountains.

Claire is very tricky on her bike. She put both of her feet on the bar and is just coasting. Don't crash! 

There are a couple of bridges on the trail and we stopped again to look at the water.

Several families have put benches in memory of a loved one along the trail. They are usually by trees or bushes and so there is some shade to rest in.

Taking a break. I was glad Claire had some sunglasses because the sun is really bright today.

There are mile markers along the trail. I think we went 10 miles! Peaclock! Quite a bit farther than I was thinking. This is not a loop, the whole trail is 40 miles and there are several places where you can get on. I just planned to go for a bit, then turn around and come back, which is what we did, but I never imagined we would go 10 miles! Good job Claire!

We turned around at this over pass with all these rocks. We (mostly Claire) spent some time climbing around before we headed back. I did climb to the top one time.

Holding up the road! Strong girl.

 There was a big, flat rock at the top which made a perfect table for a snack. I had some granola bars and Claire had some crackers and Halloween candy.

We might have gone a bit too far. One the way back Claire was hot and tired. We took quite a few rest stops. The trail is mostly flat, but there are a couple of tiny hills and we pushed our bikes twice for a few minutes. When Melissa asked her if we had fun, she said, "Kind of, but I'm exhausted!" Haha. Next time I'll keep better track of far we go and turn around sooner. It was a great day, a great ride, and I had some great company! Can't wait until next spring to go for another ride!