Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving in an interesting way this year. My mother-in-law and her husband would be coming to town, but not until two days later (Saturday) because she is a nurse and had to work on Thanksgiving and the following day. So! We decided to just wait until Saturday to have our big feast.

I still wanted to make Thanksgiving Day fun, so we decided to put up our Christmas tree and other decorations that day and enjoyed having Michael home. Sadly, Kate wasn't feeling so hot that day (I realized the next day that she probably had the flu - poor girl!) but we were still able to have some fun.

For our "Thanksgiving dinner" we went to Waffle House. There aren't a ton of places open on Thanksgiving, so this was a good option. It's almost always open. ;-) Plus, we have fond memories of eating at Waffle House when we lived in Nashville. Matthew LOVED it.... and Kate probably would've as well if she had been feeling better. (She had no appetite.)

And then a couple days later we cooked up a real Thanksgiving dinner. :-) Michael did a lot of the turkey by himself (go Michael) and Kathy brought up pies, stuffing, a relish tray, and potatoes, so my life was actually made pretty easy.

Michael's plate cracked me up. Can you tell what his favorite Thanksgiving foods are? Ha.

And a couple more Thanksgiving-y pictures..... Kate during her autumn dance performance for parents, Matthew with his friend Caleb wearing their turkey hats they made at preschool, the kids in front of the thankful tree we made, and my littlest turkey being his cute self. :-)

Movie Theater Date

I've mentioned before how it's important to both me and Michael to have meaningful one-on-one time with our kids. One of the ways we do this is by taking turns taking one of the kids to go get a treat. (Matthew likes to pick out chocolate or get an ice cream cone, while Kate's favorite thing to do is go get a donut...with sprinkles.) :) Joshua will join in the going-to-get-a-treat dates in a year or so. :)

Anyway, one Saturday in November I decided to take Matthew out for an extra special date to go see a movie. He had actually never been to a movie theater before! I had been waiting for a good, age-appropriate movie to come to the theater before taking him but there has actually not been a ton in the last couple years! Seriously! Most catered to the age group just above Matthew, or I heard that they weren't very good, and I didn't want to take him just to have him get bored and want to leave. However, when the Peanuts Movie came out, I knew that would be a good option. Matthew has always been a fan of Charlie Brown.

Michael helped him get ready for his date and did his hair and everything. ;-) Then we were off!

We made a quick stop to Target first so that Matthew could pick out a treat for the movie. This was definitely one of his favorite parts of the date, ha!

And then we headed to the movie! He thought the whole thing was super cool. He wasn't a huge fan of the seats since he isn't quite heavy enough to easily keep the folding chair down, but sitting on his mom's lap for the second half of the movie helped with that. ;-)

(don't worry, I took this before the previews even started)

It was so cute and fun. He loved the whole experience (as did I!) and every time we drive by the theater he yells, "Mom! This is where we went on our date!" Love this little man.

Oh, and he can tell you exactly when Finding Dory comes out. I think it's safe to say we'll see that one in the theater too!

October

I mention every October how much I love October. It is the start of better weather and lots of fun activities.... and as soon as October hits, I start to remember that I really love where I live for half the year. ;-) (Okay, I love where I live most of the year, but it's a lot easier to have a good attitude about the weather when my skin isn't melting off.)

Anyway! We kicked off the season by decorating for Halloween. The kids were thrilled with all the fun new "toys" that got pulled out.

One thing we love about October is that we start doing nightly walks as a family to check out everyone's Halloween decorations. The kids absolutely love it. Even Joshua!

I thought this picture of Matthew and Kate holding hands on one of our walks was cute-

We love checking out the Halloween decor and costumes in all the stores. Shopping trips become a lot more fun in October!

I took my traditional baby-in-a-pumpkin picture with Joshua. :-)

I even took the kids to the pool one last time! (It is still pretty darn warm for most of October.)

Park days become the norm again. It's the best! This was actually Joshua's first time in a swing. (He became old enough for one as soon as it became too hot for the park, so I didn't get him on a swing until he was almost 7 months old!) I loved watching how much he loved it!

Michael turned the big 3-0! I would've loved to throw him a party, but he really didn't want to have one. He just wanted to keep it low key. On his actual birthday he took a half day at work and we went bowling and ate lots of yummy food. That weekend, we got a babysitter and went on a date. We love this guy and everything he does for our family!

Kate started another session of her dance class and this session is extra fun because they use lots of seasonal props. During this little performance she dressed up as a monster and a pumpkin. So cute!

The boys went to one more Diamondbacks game for the season! I didn't go to any games this year because taking Joshua didn't sound fun, but hopefully next year we'll all go. :-)

Michael got promoted to a blue belt in jiu jitsu! He got promoted and then immediately (as in, like, an hour later) competed in a tournament as a blue belt... against a guy who had been a blue belt for quite a while. He was definitely expecting to lose, and he did, but he actually was a great competitor and only lost to ref's decision. Pretty awesome!

Michael and his coach-

And of course, the Arizona State Fair! So fun! We ate way too much totally unhealthy and delicious fair food, rode some rides, took the kids to the petting zoo, and enjoyed the OVERCAST day! (It is rarely overcast here, so it felt like heaven.)

Matthew had a field trip with his preschool class to a pumpkin patch and me, Kate, and Joshua got to tag along too. It was super crowded that day but so much fun!

We had a blast at our ward Halloween party, and Michael competed in the pie eating contest. He didn't quite win, but it sure was fun to watch. :-)

At the very end of the month my parents came for a visit and stayed through Halloween. We loved having them here! 

My dad was put right to work and he (and Michael when he wasn't working) built us a patio shade for our backyard. I love it! And the kids loved "helping."

On Friday morning while my dad was slaving away and Michael was at work, me and my mom took the kids to a super fun park I'd never been to before. They have the cutest little rides and my kids are still asking to go back.

I made my parents take our family Christmas card picture for the fourth year in a row. ;-) They are great sports - especially since it is only getting harder with so many littles! During our photo shoot my dad caught this little gem:

More "gems" - ha!

And then Halloween! Joshua was a biker, Kate was Cinderella, and Matthew was a pirate. Matthew and Kate were hilarious trick-or-treaters. Not shy at all - they'd practically yell, "Trick-or-Treat!" and were so excited at every.single.house. Love these funny kids!

(Joshua got to stay home and help pass out candy).

Checking out their loot:

And that's it for October! Whew!