Give Thanks!

Every year, it's seems like I need Thanksgiving more or more.  I need to be constantly reminded of the blessings I have in my life -- which are so very plentiful when I pause to reflect.  And I need to eat amazing food.  And be surrounded by amazing people, aka my family.  And after that, nothing seems to matter.  Nothing!

We had a special treat for Thanksgiving this year -- FAMILY!  We were so excited to have some of Anthony's brother & sister -- and all 10 members of their families -- come up from Dallas.

For the cousins, they were ecstatic to be able to have a "sleepover" holiday celebration.  In Dallas, we all lived close enough so families would return home at the end.  Now -- we got to spend 3 whole days together -- morning, noon, and night.  And it was a blast!

Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever get out of the kitchen trying to feed so many people on Thanksgiving.  But I had some amazing helpers -- and togehter we labored and made a delious Thanksgiving dinner.  

Afterwards, we topped it off with a hike around the lake in our neighborhood.  While it was a beautiful day, it began to get quite chilly so we opted not for the 5 mile version, but the kid version that lasted a few blocks -- maybe a mile.

But the kids collected leaves on the journey and turned them into these adorable crafts.  Seriously love how they turned out.  I LOVE how creative they are...

But then it was time for pie.  And games.  Lots of Apples to Apples to be exact.  My parents & siblings joined in for the festivities too.  My mom was going a bit out of control with all the excitement and game playing.  I've never heard her screech so loud.  But that's when you know you're having fun.  I even managed to squeeze in some quick Black Friday shopping late late at night too.  What a day!!

On Friday, we pretty much did nothing.  The kids enjoyed playing nonstop-  either in the basement, outside in the freezing cold, or just chilling.  We ordered food from our favorite BBQ joint.  Can't come all the way to KC w/o it!

And for special treat, we roasted marshmallows in the fire and made s'mores with a, secret ingredient.  Okay, I'll tell you.  But it'll be our little secret.  Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  Try it and you'll never go back.

We also played some crazy games of Tap, Tap, Oink (well, I should say Cassidy and Anthony played).  But I have to admit, the best part of the whole entire time -- was putting the kids to bed and enjoying some adult time.  Quite -- something we never get to experience when we got together in Dallas.  Cheryl whipped out the good chocolate and real treats -- and together we played more and more games.  Until Michael started laughing like a girl and kicked our behinds.

And before everyone said good-bye, we took the family into Kansas City to check out a few of our favorite places.

Union Station -- All decked out for Christmas

KC Railway Exhibit -- Model Trains and lots of them.  In Dallas, we'd always go to Trains at Northpark, but this was so much bigger

Tanner's favorite train exhibit, of course, was the Lego model train -- built entirely with Legos.  When Tanner thinks something is silly, it's a donut.  And if it's super silly, then it's a chocolate donut.  Don't ask my why, that's just what he says.  And guess what we saw -- Santa snoozing in a chocolate donut!  Seriously, this was made just for him.

They also had a few fun things for kiddos to do, like a wooden train track and metal train rubbings.

Then, we hopped, skipped, and jumped, just in time for kids creativity center at 

Sometimes, I wish I could be a kid again and go here every day.  I'm not very creative, but this place is inspiring.  They have the coolest art supplies and stuff to make anything and everything.  Totally free, thanks to Hallmark for sponsoring.

Most the kids loved the outer space room with dark lights, fluorescent markers and melted crayons to create their art. crayons

And if you look closely, it's not just for kids.

And these two little cuties were such troopers!

We had a crazy fun time together and hope we'll get to do it again...soon!

Halloween Highlights

Yup, when everyone is posting about Thanksgiving, here I am still thinking about Halloween.  That's how we roll around here.  One day I'll be caught up.  But until then, I hate to miss sharing all the fun we've had.

For Halloween, Tanner was a Captain Hook pirate and Brooke was Tinkerbell Fairy.  It was a last second when I realized our original idea of Firefighter and Dalmatians wasn't going to work -- closer inspection of Tanner's dress-up firefighter jacket revealed a huge gaping hole.  But these costumes ended up being so cute -- and providing hours of playtime -- so I can't imagine it any other way.

Tanner loved dressing up as a pirate and took the role very seriously.  Seriously!  He never once came out of character -- even when it meant putting his hook down for collecting some Halloween candy.  And you'd here him talking in his best pirates voice, "Aye, Aye, Matey!", "Oh, shiver me timbers!", or "Time to head back to the Jolly Rogers!"

He even brushed up on all his pirate moves by watching the old musical "Pirates of Penzance" on Netflix.  During the entire movie, he was dancing along whenever the pirates sang and danced -- and when he wasn't looking, I even caught it on tape!!

Trick or Treating

When we went trick or treating, Tanner was just taking his time (like his typically pokey puppy self) just looking around and admiring all the costumes, decorations, and chaos of it all.   He noticed every single thing around him, and could still tell you who had the witches brew or spider web front porch.  That's what I love about him.  He takes his time to basks it all in -- and enjoy every part.  Well -- most of it.  He refused to go to the really scary houses -- the kind that played creepy music and had stuff jump out.  Can't say I blame him!

 I tried to remind Tanner to say "thank you" after collecting a piece of candy.  He was quick to remind me, "Mom, pirates don't have manners!  They don't say thank you!"  Ummm, I guess he's right.  Maybe we read this book too much.

Brooke loved tagging behind in her stroller.

Our neighborhood goes all out for trick-or-treaters.  Tanner came home with multiple full-size candy bars.  And it wasn't just for the kids.  Multiple times, we were offered "adult beverages" and Jell-o shots.  When I was politely trying to say no, Avery pipes up, "Oh...I LOVE jell-o!  I'll take one!"

But every year, I'm reminded of the time when Tanner was just over a year.  Someone between opening the door and screaming “Trick or Treat”, Tanner would make a mad dash into the people’s home.  And just keep running.  It was quite cute and embarrassing all at the same time.

Pumpkin Carving

Tanner enjoyed getting his hands dirty...at least a little but.  More than anything, he wanted a pirate pumpkin.  This is where I let Anthony's amazing dentistry skills come in handy -- it's always his job to work the magic.

I think he did a pretty good job.

Brooke and I's job -- on the other hand -- is just to smile and look cute.

The more the merrier -- we had a whole gang of family join us for the special event

The Knickerbockers

The Smiths

Scarlett's Daddy -- Thaddeus -- was able to join us for the weekend.  

Along with super-Scartlett pumpkin.  Tanner thought this was so awesome!

Oh - and Scarlett joined us for trick or treating too -- from the comfort of her stroller.

Just look at that chunky monkey!!

I never realized until I saw them both together & close up -- Q has my mom's pretty green eyes

Trunk or Treat

We went to a church Halloween party as well.   Kids and candy equals shear madness.  

Anthony and I dressed up as a Dentist and Tooth Fairy.  Really creative, right?

Happy Halloween everyone!

Down on the Farm

One of my favorite things to do is visit Deanna Rose Farmstead.  It's right smack in suburbia close to our home -- and it's free.  It's a little bit of everything -- playground, animals, petting zoo, and tons of exhibits teaching you all about life -- and farming -- 100 years ago. 

And if you're Tanner, he'll just tell you as it is -- it's awesome!  We had fun filled days this fall doing all sorts of stuff. 

Riding a Tractor

Despite all the other cool stuff, this is always their favorite.  He could race around this little rack forever. 

Tanner's one mission -- not to let Q catch up to him :)

Quincy didn't seem to mind not being able to reach the peddles either. 

But then again, that's what's moms are for.  

Going for a pony ride

Feeding the baby goats

The baby goats are so cute, but don't let them fool you.  When it comes to bottles, you better hold on tight cause they'll snatch it away in seconds.  Just see for yourself...

And I thought Brooke was one fiesty.  She has nothing on these goats. 

Catching a Fish

They give you a tin bucket with a handful of worms and leave the dirty part to you.  Oh, the things us mothers do for our kids!  I really wasn't expecting to catch anything -- and when we did -- I wanted to freak out too -- except for a different reason.  Without my wonderful husband, it meant I had to somehow mangle that hook out of it's mouth.  I tried talking another kid into it, but he didn't want any part either.  Luckily, the fish was nice and cooperated much better than I expected.  We fed it another worm for good measure and threw it back and gave away the extra worms we had. 

About a week later...Tanner had this sad look come upon his face.  When I asked what he was thinking, he solumnly said, "Mom, I think we hurt that fish."  Turns out I don't think either of us is cut out for fishing.

Milking a Cow

 I found it interesting that even a small, young cow can produce 10+ gallons of milk in just a few minutes.  Sometimes I feel like Brooke comes close to nursing that much, she's such a little milk addict.   

I'm pretty sure that my mom asked more questions and was more fascinated than any other kid there. She even claimed to be a farmer's daughter, but I think she meant farmer's granddaughter.

Mining for Gold

Seeing these two together, you would have thought there really was real gold in there.  

The kept uncovering tons of cool gemstones.  My mom is the these kids biggest fan, she gets so excited about everything. 

Feeding the Animals
Brooke enjoyed it. She was all up in their business.  Grabbing and poking as fast as she could. 

Quincy was loving it too

Tanner, on the other hand, wasn't having much to do with it.  He wanted to sit and eat his own lunch. 

And when we finally agreed to try going into the feeding area, he just threw down his food and jetted towards the exit.  Sometimes, close is a little too close.   

Now...we just have to wait until April for them to re-open for the year.  Already looking forward to next summer :)