ⓝⓞⓥⓔⓜⓑⓔⓡ

There's now a chill in the air and I think its safe to say that winter is here. I usually wait 'til closer to Thanksgiving to bust out the hot cocoa maker and the Christmas songs but the kids have pushed me to do it even sooner this year. So by mid November we were drinking our hot chocolate every morning, watching Mickey's Christmas and listening to "santa songs" in the car. And to be honest I didn't mind one bit. Luckily this month slowed down a bit but we still found some fun things to do before the crazy Christmas-time rush.

Nov 5th: We had a little tea party at perennial gardens to celebrate Bella's one year anniversary of begin diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. She's been a tough cookie through it all and it's been a sobering experience for me to watch her and her family go through the trials and sacrifices and hardships of heath issues and especially those of a child. We love Bella and the sweet friendship she shares with Caitlin!

 Nov 6: Cason's Bday! On his actual birthday we went to their house for a pizza night and watched Planes Fire and Rescue. Then on the 8th we went to his planes birthday party, complete with a bounce house and all the Dusty stuff you could want! We love Cason!

Nov 9-15th: Paul went deer bowhunting in Kansas. It was freezing cold and unfortunately came back without a deer. Although he did shoot a turkey-- his first kill using his bow. We both decided a week was a little too long to be gone with limited phone service. 

Nov 12: I took the kids to Disney on Ice with the Meads and McCulloughs. They featured Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, Cars and Toy Story so it was pretty much a win all around! Our seats were awesome and the kids were in awe. They loved seeing all the characters. I splurged and got eh $12 cotton candy which also had a foam Lightning McQueen hat with it that made the whole thing worth it... Nolan loves it.

Nov 13: We got our first snow! We've had a coupe skiffs since then but nothing major. the kids were SO excited to get out there and play in the snow!

 Nov 14: Cassie's first Young Ambassadors show. I took Caitlin for a little date and we both enjoyed all the singing and dancing. And of course Cassie did an amazing job!

Nov 15: Meads threw a Mustache Party for Chris' birthday! We played some really fun games and had yummy food. And of course admired the mustaches.

MWF all month: I did a 6 AM Bootcamp class this month at the Cedar Hills community center. Honestly don't really know what I was thinking signing up for a 6 AM with a baby who doesn't sleep through the night. It was really hard to drag myself out of bed. At the class we did a lot of heavy weight lifting which I wasn't as used to so it was interesting to mix things up a little. I still have a long way to go before I am back to my pre-baby weight and shape.  

Nov 17th: Caitlin got to bring Maverick in to school for show and tell! She had been asking to a few times to we decided today was a good day. She actually got to have both brothers come and she was ver excited and proud to show them off. When I first got there she was bringing all her friends over to see him and saying "This is my baby" then when the actual show and tell time came she got a little more quiet but still told her class about her baby and how she helps with him. She is such a great big sister.

Nov 19th: I got to go to the Hunger Games movie with Jamie, Missy and Christine. It was a really fun girls night!

Nov 22nd: We had planned to take the kids to the BYU football game but woke up to a very rainy day so we decided to forgo the game and took the kids to a movie instead! We saw  Disney's "super hero 6 movie" and it was darling, we were all very entertained.

Nov 23rd: We had an open house for my cousins Sydney over at my grandparent's and it was fun to get together with everyone. I'm very proud of Sydney for completing her mission and being such a great missionary! 

Nov 27th: Thanksgiving! We had dinner at the Mead's this year with the McCullough's and also the Bevans (from Paul's work). Everyone brought things and everything turned out so amazing! We felt like real adults and so proud of ourselves. We had some crafts for he kids, ate dinner, then some took naps, some talked and played games. Unfortunately Paul got really sick the day before and spent a lot of time sleeping and resting. 

Nov 28th: We went up to Deer Valley for a little family getaway to stay at The Chateau. It was gorgeous! Some snow around but still 50 degrees and sunny. We stopped at the outlets for some Black Friday shopping, then got checked in and went straight out to the pool! The kids LOVED being able to swim. Then we all took a nap and got some pizza and watched a movie with popcorn in our room. They gave us a room with 2 queens and also a whole family room/kitchen/eating area with an additional bed. It was so dreamy. Beautiful weather in a gorgeous setting and undivided family time. We had so much fun together.

Nov 29: Paul's cousin Katherine Gottfredson got married in Ogden. We went (from Deer Valley) in the morning and left the kids at the Gottfredson's house with sitters while the adults attended the luncheon and sealing. Then we went back to DV for another swim and naps. Then once more to Ogden for the reception! It was a long day with lots of driving but fun to see family and be a part of the wedding. Stewart and Lorraine came into town for it so we spent as much time with them as possible.