Thanksgiving

It's tradition now for us to lure our Utah family down for Thanksgiving. We've been here for 6 of them now...and love our visitors!

This year, the Gibbons came for the feast. Michelle made the pumpkin pies (complete with home made crust). I made the pudding pies (complete with store bought crust). I also made the BEST turkey ever! (at least for me) What was the difference this year? I'll tell you...

One Reynolds oven bag
One cut onion
One cut apple
Sage, Salt and Pepper (applied generously to the apple and onion which were then inserted into the turkey and discarded once the turkey was done)

And Wha-lah! An amazingly tender, juicy turkey! (if I do say so myself. Which I DID, at least 10 times during dinner.)

Of course we had mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls, asparagus and a fruit salad (which Paul did a fantastic job of making--the fruit salad, that is).

I know Thanksgiving isn't ALL about the food! So, we had lots more fun!

Thanksgiving morning began with the traditional Turkey Bowl. Michelle and I (with 7 boys in tote) went to cheer on our hubbies. It was SO cold! We could have used some coats. But for the love of our men, we cheered through our chattering teeth.

After dinner/lunch Andrew, Cooper, Marc, Treyson and Adam renewed their memberships in the Polar Bear club by jumping into the 50 degree pool. Adam even stayed in and swam for a while (crazy!). Those boys were so cold when they got out of the pool. The breeze didn't help. (I still need to get the pictures from Michelle.)

Michelle and I did some girl stuff (Christmas shopping) and the big boys (Paul, Phil, Adam, Andrew and Treyson) did more guy stuff (paint balling).

And every night, 6 of the 7 boys had a big sleep over in the toy room.


We sure love it when the Gibbons come to visit!

Spares and Strikes

were in abundance at the Bowling Lanes Saturday night. I had NO idea bowling could be so much fun! I've always been a terrible bowler! Paul and I went bowling on our first date...The first round (I know that's not the technical name) I bowled a 70. That was slightly embarrassing, especially considering that Paul was throwing strikes left and right. But the second round was the ultimate in humiliation. I bowled a 20. No, I didn't forget a zero. That was it. Just a 20. How can I be "cool" and impress this super hot guy with those skillz?! So, I took bowling at BYU for one of my gym credits. Now I know the technique, but over-analyze all my moves and am still a terrible bowler!

ENTER 4 little boys. And with those little boys come gutter rails. Ahhhhhhh! (angels are singing in the background). Check out the score for "M" (mom, ME).
It was a proud moment. Even if I did have a LOT of help:-).

But check out these little guys! They were so much fun to watch! Even more fun than breaking 100.

He jumped so high the camera couldn't capture his head...

Don't you love that this ball is bigger than he is?! And he did it ALL by himself:-).

I LOVED these little shoes!

This little guy threw with such force that he often went down the lane with the ball.

This guy was "too cool" for pictures.

My FAVORITE boys in the WHOLE world!!!

Bowling will definitely be on our list of great activities to do again...

It's Bed Time...

"Cooper, please flush the toilet." A seemingly safe request, right? Not so in our house. A little water on the floor next to a viscous toilet and...

There was so much blood I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Did he bite his tongue? Did he bite his cheek? Where is all this blood coming from? Oh! There it is! He bit his tongue.

BAD!

The blood is gushing! I finally get a chance to check for further damage and find some. His chin is busted open. Again. This is the same spot that busted open about 2 years ago when he slipped into the pool. So, off to Urgent Care we go...

The bleeding in his mouth finally stopped.

The chin is still gaping open.

The Doctor prescribes stitches.

Six of them.

And a flower band-aid.

Dad prescribes buddies.

One to help Cooper through the Doctor's "prescription". ("Spot")

One to reward him for successfully completing said "prescription". ("Stitches")

Can we skip the Friday night parties from now on?