Thanksgiving Day

I never have pictures of Thanksgiving. This is one of the flaws in my plan to always be the one to take the pictures so I don't have to be in any said pictures. I am usually too busy cooking, cleaning, setting tables, and hopefully getting a shower to bother with things like taking pictures. This year I thought I had handled the situation. I asked the males in my household (I only have a few of those) to take pictures of Thanksgiving. The shorter males were really excited about this and happily agreed. Doug consented and I thought I had pictures taken care of. I handed over the cameras. Out of sight…..out of mind. It is amazing how three days of cooking can come down to a 30-45 minute rush at the very end. Turkey came out of the oven, gravy was made, vegetables were cooked, and side dishes were warmed. Between carving the turkey, answering the phone and door, and generally keeping the calm in the house; Doug became too occupied to take pictures. I got a few from the boys but they include an empty table and close-up pictures of the Thanksgiving decorations around the house. None of people working in the kitchen. None of friends trading holiday greetings. None of family and friends enjoying a much slaved over meal. Nope just unset table and wooden pilgrims.

Family Pictures

I feel so lucky this year to have found someone to take our family pictures. Over the last three years I have gotten use to having Sabrina Atwood take our pictures that I didn't just want to go to Target to have them done. After much research, I was able to find Allysonkaye Photography (http://allysonkayephotography.blogspot.com/). It is a partnership of two women that photograph family, groups, kids, etc. A few e-mails and I have a session date. Then comes the choosing of the clothes to be worn, let's just say it was easier when they put on what I pulled out and they had no opinion. The Saturday arrives and everyone is excited. Hair is brushed, more important teeth are brushed, clothes straightened and off we go. Not knowing the area well, I ask the photographer to suggest a location that would work well. She suggests the Springs Mountain Ranch State Park. It is a beautiful area with great textures with fence, pastures, brick buildings, red rocks, and trees. It's ideal…..too bad we are not allowed to take pictures there for reasons still unknown to us common man but no worries big brother is looking out for us. A quick change of plans and we head to one of national parks just down the road. I have decided this years pictures will be called "The Lost" year. Look at some of the facial expressions in these and you will see what I mean.

Notice the dazed and confused look on some of these faces.

Yep, he's a handsome stink!!!

He's kinda cute too.

And this one couldn't be out done by the brothers.

I love this picture....all except Nate's face. I'm threatening to send it out as our Christmas cards this year anyway. Maybe next year he will decided to SMILE!!!!!

Then again, maybe he gets his smiling thing from his mother.

But then we have moments like these......

All of my Men

Proof that we do hold hands......hehe

Yes, some of us do look a little lost but I think this maybe this years winner.

Nate as the Girl!?!?!?!?

Every Cub Scout Pack Meeting one of the dens is in charge of the skit. This month was the Wolf Den's turn. Their amazing den leaders got the boys excited to do a sock puppet show. They worked all month building a puppet show stage, decorating backgrounds, and writing a skit. The boys decided to do Indiana Jones and the leaders added a Thanksgiving theme. Next was to assign the parts. No one wanted to be the girl. Nate finally gave in and said he would do it. In fact he was pretty excited. He practiced his squeaky voice all week (driving me nearly crazy in the process). He got to design his own puppet too. He decided that the girl from Temple of Doom should be his girl. After some crazy calls and three different stores, we had blond curly hair, red dress, sequins, and flirty eyes. Nate did great!! You could hear all his lines and he was really animated. We are not sure where this personality came from but it does add a lot to our family.

I thought the puppet turned out great.

Good morning Mommy

For me there are definitely better ways to wake up in the morning than others. I am a self proclaimed non-morning person. I believe no one should have to be up before 7:30 am. Taking a half an hour for your eyes to adjust and your brain to start to function should be a Constitutional right. And if you want a civil response to anything, wait until 9 am. Having said that, I realize that the world does not work on my schedule and I have trained myself. I can be up and productive in the morning but how I wake up makes this easier or harder. This morning was great.

Danny is still at the age of bad dreams. It doesn't happen often but when it does he heads to the master bedroom. Sometimes he makes a bed on the floor, sometimes he just climbs in with me. This morning I open my eyes to see his crooked smile, bright blue eyes just opening, and hear in the sweetest whisper "Good morning Mommy." There is nothing better. You can't help having a great morning when that happens.

Train Fun

I have a love – hate relationship with toys. I didn't start out this way. When my boys where younger there were fun toys to be had and they were usually pretty happy to play with each other, but as they have gotten older everything has changed. The toys are not as fun. They usually are cheap and break within the first few minutes of play. The toys usually have something to do with fighting and that is always good for family harmony. But every once in a while you land on a toy that builds family unity, doesn't break, and is really fun. In our house it is Geotrac. Once every two or three months my boys work together to build the best track they can. In true boy fashion, they try to build it longer, higher, and bigger than last time. Over the years the tracks have gotten more complicated and taken up more space, but it is worth the sacrifice of square footage if my boys learn about team work while having fun.

Do I sound like that???

It's always interesting to hear your words come out of your kids mouths. This morning as the boys unloaded the dishwasher I hear Danny say in a very frustrated voice: "All dis is not put away.....it's just shoved. Dis isn't how we put things away."

I'm so proud

Veterans Day

I have been blessed with a military heritage. In our family we have had men serve in all branches of the military and in many different wars or conflicts. I have had examples of families that have stayed at home and waited for loved ones return. I have memories of my grandfather taking his grandchildren aside while he explained the importance of Veterans Day as he sat next to shell casings that he had as tokens of his service. Let us enjoy the day together as family, but let us not forget why we have the day "off".

For those who are interested in finding ways to say thank you here are some great ideas. I have been able to use the thank you as seen in the Gratitude Campaign (http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/) and felt it's lasting effects. I am recently involved with Soldiers Angels (www.soliersangles.org) as a way to say thank you to our deployed men and women. Or you can just take a moment today go to http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html and send a postcard to military member.

Air Show

The Aviation Nation Air Show was this past weekend and I really don't think there is anything our family loves to do better than go to an air show. I even suck it up, staying outside all day to enjoy the performances, talk to members of the military, and see some really cool planes. (We have established that I'm not an outdoor girl, right???) This year we really had a blast because the air show was held on Nellis AFB. This allowed us a few privileges such as being able to park on base (Doug was saluted by the base guard. Does that ever get old?), getting to go through the Military ID entrance line (which did move faster), and actually knowing what the military personal were talking about when they explained procedures (I actually followed some of the alphabet soup). If you ever need a shot of patriotism, attend an airshow.

Heritage Pass

Our favorites the Air Force Thunderbirds

The highlight of the day for me was being able to meet and having the boys picture taken with one of the Tuskegee Airman.

I know that Veterans Day is tomorrow and believe me there will be a post, but this weekend was a great experience for our family. It gave us a physical reminder of all that has been sacrificed for not only our freedoms but the freedoms of those in other countries. For decades, men and women have answered the call of our country to serve. Putting their lives on the line not only for their loved ones but for those they will never meet. For those who believe in their mission and those who criticize. For those that respect their rights and those that take them for granted. And the craziest thing about these men and women is when you say thank you they reply that they were just doing their job.

Even though they say it was "just doing their job" a thank you is the least that I can say. Thank you to all who have made my life possible. Thank you to the countless wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, and children that have waited at home while their loved ones have been in harms way. Thank you to all those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.



My servicemember

Beauty and the Beast

Last night the whole family had the opportunity to experience Beauty and the Beast. It was a great performance of local talent. We were able to sit center stage, four rows back. The boys were in turns excited and scared of the wolves that roamed the audience. Matt laughed so hard during the pub scene that I thought we would have to start CPR just to get some air into him. Nate sat on the edge of his seat through most of the performance so he wouldn't miss one movement that any of the actors made. Danny didn't like the Beast in the beginning but was so sad at the end during the fight scene. What a great experience to share with the boys. I had so much fun watching the reactions on their faces as they watched the play. This is an experience we must repeat. After the performance, the cast came out to have pictures taken with the audience.

The afterglow of a great performance

Nate wanted to have pictures taken with everyone. Belle was first on his list, he is always one for the pretty girls. Next was Lumiere who struck a pose. Without a moments hesitation Nate strikes the same pose. Last was Gaston with another pose. Do you think we have a future actor on our hands?????

How the Holmes Do the Outdoors

Last Saturday I decided that it was time to get out and explore the great outdoors. This from a girl that really does not enjoy the great outdoors, but when you have three boys what are you going to do? Through the grapevine I had heard that if we took a 30-45 minutes drive to Mount Charleston we might be able to see some fall color. Considering the fall color in the desert is the same color as we experience in the spring, summer, and winter I jumped at the chance however slim. Over the last four years I have "fallen" in love with fall and to miss it this year was a sad thought. So off we went with our picnic lunch in search of fall color. But once we arrive it was quick to see that we were a week or two too late. No leaves to be seen. Even without my much desired leaves we enjoyed a picnic lunch and many photo opportunities.

Proof that my boys do get along

We love it when Nana visits

Handsome boys

After our trip to Mount Charleston I thought it would be fun to take Nana out to Red Rock. My thinking was a nice meander through the Scenic Drive. Doug's idea was to the "car" four wheeling. Guess who's plan we went with. Let's just say Doug was driving and off -roading it was. After an hour of bumping, bouncing, and jostling we were stuck on a rock. A large rock. By this time I was thoroughly sick of the outdoors and very grateful for the kindness of strangers who knew the terrain and had wenches (not just me complaining, but the real ones that could get you off of rocks). Add rain and falling temperatures and I don't I think I will be in the outdoors anytime soon. My only real regret is that I was too agitated to take a picture of the "car" stuck on the rock.

But you do get some great pictures when you go "out of the way"

Halloween

Halloween has come, gone, and I am finally posting about the goings on. I've decided that after experiencing the event I am usually too tired to blog about it. All I want to do is sleep it off. But enough of my personal ramblings.

The day really started out the night before with Nana flying in to enjoy the week with us and me baking cakes for the Cub Scout cake auction that would take place at the Ward Halloween Party. Halloween dawned and it was up to me to make a bunt cake look like a pumpkin. I don't think it turned out too bad, if I do say so myself.

Later in the day Nana decorated the Ghosts in the Graveyard cake. She did an amazing job down to the licorice trees. We were happy that the cakes were bid on later that night and we didn't have to bring them back home.

Along with Halloween, big things were happening with Matt. He got his first Military ID. For those of you not in the know (and I include myself in this number), once a dependant reaches the age of ten they are required to have a military ID. Since the boys had Friday off (Nevada Day.....don't ask, I don't know) we thought this would a perfect time. Little did we know that the last day of the month and a day that all the kids have off from school is the worst time to try to get anything done in the military. We have learned our lesson. After two and a half hours of waiting, Matt is a card carrying member. HEHE!!!!!

It was a rush back home to attend a Halloween party that the boys had been invited. We were inexcusably late, very late, too late for polite company. Thankfully we had very forgiving hosts and the boys enjoyed some time with their friends and I enjoyed a few minutes down.

After that it was time to get ready for the ward Halloween party. And here are our costumes:

Nate as Darth Vader (he has been begging me for years to dress up as this), Matt as Anakin Skywalker, and Danny as Captain Sparrow

Doug's squadron went bowling for a team building activity and shirts were made for their "bowling team". They were the Voluntolds....which is a term that we have become very familiar with in the military.

Last but not least is me as the harried mommy. Decorating cakes, applying make-up, running around, and now making a pot of chili to share at the ward party got in the way of my usual need to dress-up for Halloween.

On to the party. There was great backdrop to take pictures in front of, cakes were auctioned, dinner was served, candy was handed out, but I must admit the part that was most fun for the kids was the bubble wrap dancing. They placed bubble wrap on the floor and allowed the kids to dance, jump, and pop to their hearts content.

Everyone waiting their turn to pop the bubble wrap

Fall Festival

Friday was Goynes Elementary Fall Festival and man were the boys excited. Not only did they get to dress up a week early in their Halloween costumes, but there was trick-or-treating, games, a spook alley, and hayrides. And we did it all. Ok, maybe not the donut eating game or the picture booth, but we hit the rest of it. I overheard comments like "It was sooooo gross" and "That's ok, I didn't do good at that game either." After almost three hours they boys couldn't decide what part was their favorite. All I got was the whole thing was "GREAT". Can you tell they had fun!!!!

Boys on the hayride

Brotherly Love

There's a Bobcat in My House

Nate was awarded his bobcat in Cub Scouts this evening. He was so excited to have his name called and to put his pin on Mom. I asked Matt to take pictures and ended up with one. So the others had to be staged. Can you tell which ones?

Nate putting his pin on me

Nate being awarded his Bobcat

Gilcrease Orchard

We went to do our pumpkin picking last Saturday. I had heard from a few different sources that Gilcrease Orchard was the place to go if you wanted a "pumpkin picking" experience. The Orchard is a year round orchard that you can pick fresh produce. Right now you can find apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, and such. I must admit, the real lesson I came away with was if they can grow that amount of produce in dirt that is more like dust then I have no excuse for not having a garden. The pickings were slim but the boys persevered and were able to find three small pumpkins. This was definitely for the experience and we will be picking up a pumpkin at the store to carve. We had a great time and by the end were covered with dirt. Nothing that fresh apple cider didn't fix, though.

MOM!!!! Is this a good one

Our tribute to fall in the desert

Matt's Birthday

On October 12th Matt turned 10!!! Oh my, no more single digits for that boy. As a mom, I had a few hard moments. Just think, at 10 I only have nine more years to teach him to clean up after himself, treat others with love, cook a meal, have a testimony, iron a shirt, stand for truth and right, and always try his best. These are only a few of the hundreds of things that will help him be the man that I know he can become. But I am blessed because Matt is always excited to learn and master new things.

Enough of the serious stuff, on to the party. Sunday was low key with a dinner of ribs and baked potatoes. No traditional cake here, all he wanted was mint ice cream. I, of course, could not let it go at that. So we had Grasshopper Pie with crushed Oreos, mint ice cream, and hot chocolate. Presents included the much begged for Ipod Shuffle, a camera, the book "The Candy Wars", a cookbook, and a joke book. The boy was in heaven.

Matt can't wait until after church to open "just one present"

This is all we see of Matt these days or should we say hear.

Last Saturday we had his birthday party with friends. Matt has decided that he is too old for a "kid" party, so he choose to have his friends over for a movie, pizza, popcorn, rootbeer floats, and as much candy as they could stomach. By the way, nine- and ten-year-olds can stomach a lot. The movie was "Speed Racer" (very possibly the worst movie made), the pizza was Hungry Howies, and the candy was plenteous. They all seemed to have a blast!!!

I was told not to decorate but you just can't plunk bags of candy on the table. Can you?

The best idea is to stay out of their way

Sitting around watching the movie.......or not

This is the best picture of what happens when you give kids candy.....lots of candy