GIVE THANKS.

We drove to AZ for Thanksgiving break. I can not even begin to describe the excitement my kids had to see their cousins! They could hardly stand it!

I ran the 10K Turkey Trot with my sister-in-laws, Kristen & Jaime. It was great. I have not been running much lately, so I didn't think I would be able to run the whole thing. But once I started it felt so great to be back out and I got through the 6 miles just fine. Kristen got us matching pink sparkle headbands for the race. They were VERY BOLD! It was so fun to have something that pulled us together, and made it easy to spot each other in the mass amounts of people. :) Thanks Kristen!

Thanksgiving day.... Scott's family w/ Grandpa Dean & Harriet.

Us. 

 Me & Kristen. 

Scott's aunt had a train for the kids to ride on. They were a bunch of old oil containers on their side that have been painted and were pulled by a 4-wheeler. The kids got a few rides around the block and LOVED it! 

Lillie & Jackson. These two had a BLAST together. They were inseparable. 

 Clara. Abbie. Wes. 

These are the only pics I have, I got them from Scott's mom. I forgot my camera, I HATE WHEN I DO THAT! We had so much fun.... shopping, playing outside, swimming, date night, helping Garrett with his website/app (www.tgicybermonday.com), celebrating Penny's 1 year birthday, running the Turkey Trot, and the list goes on and on.

I am thankful for:

1. My Man. He is amazing. 

2. My kids. They keep me sane, even when they are the ones to put me in the nut house on occasion. :)

3. Our crazy Dental School life. I will never take for granted where we are right now, I will never complain about Scott being away from us, or our small school budget. It took us way too long to get here - and I am grateful for ALL that we have & will experience. 

4. Our families. We love each and every one of you... and miss you all like crazy. 

5. Our friends. We have been blessed with many amazing friends. 

6. The Lord. The Gospel. Our Ward. Our Callings. Where would we be without these amazing things in our lives? We are so blessed to be part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

7. My health, my husbands health, and our kids health. It's scary out there. I know far too many people with health problems, and though I know anything can happen, and we are not immune - right now we are healthy and strong. And for that I am thankful. 

8. Food. Chocolate. Water... I love food. I crave chocolate. Water makes me feel healthy. :)

9. California. We love it here, and although I doubt we will reside here permanently, I am so grateful to experience the California lifestyle. 

10. The internet. Without it, my journaling would be minimal and I would be a terrible friend. Facebook and blogging make my life easier. Pinterest makes crafting and cooking more fun. And online shopping completes me. :)

My Parents Visit.

The visitors continued this past weekend. My parents came out and spent 5 days with us. I love when people come, but it is soooo depressing when they leave. Now our house is once again quiet and lonely... my kids are already bored out of their mind.

When they arrived, they come just in time to spend the afternoon with my kids while I went to the clinic at Scotts school to begin an "Implant Process"... basically I had a molar pulled, and my roots were filled with bone from a cadaver (gross!), and now I have to wait a few months to see if my bone accepts the bone graft, and from there they will "implant" a new tooth. Its a long and "NOT FUN" process. In the mean time I am left toothless, it's in front too, so don't expect any big smiles in our Christmas pictures. Ok - not really - its in back, and you can't even tell - but it sure does feel weird when I try to chew my food.

We went to the L.A. Arboretum. It was fun and of course beautiful. But I gotta be honest and say that I will prob never go back. But now I have done it and can check it off the good ole Cali Bucket List.

I love this picture, because I know exactly what is going on...
Jackson is mad that Clara has a stick and he doesn't. He is trying to convince Clara that she really doesn't need a stick, so that as soon as she ditches it - he can have a grab at it. But Clara is way to smart for that, and she keeps it for herself.

We watched our friends dog... G.V. He was so EASY, and the kids had a blast with him! Clara was so sad when she came home from church and kept calling his name, only to find that he had gone "home".

Sunday my mom had a Tea Party... for all the ladies, no boys allowed.

We got all dressed up, made fun hats, ate cucumber sandwiches & cupcakes, and talked like English Ladies. It was SOOO FUN. This will be a definite tradition with all the girls...

Clara loved wearing all the jewelry. She referred to my mom and I as "Lady". And we finished the Party off with some singing and dancing to Clara's two favorite songs, The Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty.

Thanks Mom & Dad for the fun weekend. Please come back soon.

HALLOWEEN!!! halloween.

At the start of Halloween, I was like YES! HALLOWEEN! But by the end I was ugh... halloween.

I know, lame parent right? But in all honesty... this years halloween was EXHAUSTING.

I planned a party and sent out the invites at the beginning of the month. Then my family came in town, so all planning & prep out the window. Then my family left and I had 2 DAYS to be ready for:
- Moms/kids costume party
- School Costume Party & Parade
- Ward Trunk or Treat (which I volunteered to make not only a pot of Chili, but a Pie too!?!)
- Friends Couples Costume Party (at my house!)
- And then of course... the actual day of HALLOWEEN.

And to add to it... my kids are SOOO indecisive when it comes to costumes. Which I am 100% sure that they get that from Scott because let's just say he's not the "easiest person" to plan a couples costume with! ;)

So.... now that everything is over and done with... it was all a HUGE success! Everything was a blast! But YES I am more than happy that it is over with.

 Halloween night we went trick-or-treating with some friends. There are a couple different areas out here that are considered "Halloween Streets". The City blocks of the street to cars, and donates candy to the houses to give out to the kids. All the houses go ALL OUT! Some of the houses had haunted houses, some did tours through their backyards that were FILLED with decorations, lots of lights, music, and spookiness! It was pretty awesome.

 Jackson was SOOO excited when we came across this DARTH VADOR (or as he calls it, DARK VADOR... because he is dark... duh mom?)