"Pass the sweet potatoes please"

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving Day. I wish I had taken more but I was busy slaving away in the kitchen. This year we went to Noonday and met up with Aaron (older bro), Drew (twin bro) and his family, along with my mother and step-dad. Amy (sister) and her family could not make it down from Wyoming but I heard they had a nice feast up north.


This year marked Bryan's first year to carve the turkey! We were so impressed with his cutting skills.












I put an apron on Aubrey and I think she really enjoyed "being a big girl." She kept it on a lot longer than I thought she would. We will probably give her a big girl task next year so she can feel useful in the kitchen. This year she really just wanted to pull pots and pans from the cabinets.







Aubrey and cousin Alyse had a great time together as well. It is so great to watch them both grow and really get excited about seeing each other. They call each other "Aubwey" and "Lyse." Every time they meet up, they will give each other a big hug. This is a picture of them after getting tired out from jumping on the bed.





Also, Drew and I both had the idea for me to pose this picture that he had taken 2 Thanksgivings ago when I was pregnant with Aubrey (left) - I am one month less pregnant in this year's Thanksgiving picture (right) than the one Drew took of me two years ago.
-------Thanksgiving 2005-----------------Thanksgiving 2007--------

I just have to say that I am thankful for God's many blessings in my life!

Give Thanks Always...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a good one!
I thought I would share a couple of crafty thanksgiving items I have come across recently. First, my friend Heather made the cutest little candy turkeys out of reese's peanut butter cups, candy corn, twizzlers and marshmallow cream to hold it all together. It was such a cute idea and SO SWEET!
Next, I wanted to share that my awesome friends took me to brunch at Glory Bee Baking Co. for my birthday a few weeks ago and then we were off to the Mud Hut to decorate some pottery. I really had a great time hanging out with the girls and getting to be creative. They went in and bought me a turkey platter that I got to decorate. It was so much fun!
Thanks Beth, Laura, Vanessa (aka - Redmon Galls) and Heather for good times always!

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20 (KJV)

Mulching MUST GO ON!

I was determined to mulch today!
I had five bags of mulch in our garage for over two weeks and it was high time I did something about it. I am sure that some of you can relate as a moms or dads in that things you want to accomplished during the day are sadly dismissed when you have a clingy, or whiny, or sleepy, or hungry or sick child in which to tend. Hands down, your child is your first responsibility am I right? Well, today I was determined to get my mulching done dangit!
I had it all planned out, I was going to mulch and plant some flowers while Aubrey played with sticks and rocks out in the yard. It was a simple plan and I had high hopes that it would actually work, but Aubrey had different ideas. She didn't want to play with all of the fun rocks and sticks, she wanted to hang on me. It is something I love normally but would not work while this pregnant lady was tending to her yard. I began to get frustrated and wanted to give up...but NO, the mulching MUST GO ON!
Hmmmm, what could we do? I went in for a glass of water while I pondered this dilemma. Just then, I hear Aubrey running in saying "watch Dora," "watch Dora." Ah hah, eureka, she can watch Dora outside on her portable DVD player we got her for her 1st birthday (which incidentally has been a great gift for us as well).

So to conclude my story, there was my precious child out in the garage happily watching her show while I was able to accomplish my task. I was very pleased and learned that sometimes if you want to get things done, you just have to be a little creative.

"I'm in a hurry, I don't know why."

Our neighbor's son (about 3 yrs. old) offered to take Aubrey for a little ride around the block while we took Buck for a walk. Aubs absolutely loved it! It was pretty adorable listening to him describe to her thing's that were in people's yards as he drove..."Look, there isa pumpkin!" He gave her the grand tour of our neighborhood.
She didn't seem scared at all and probably wanted to go faster. It is pretty funny because she road in another 3 year old boy's jeep just last week. It is cute when they are young but I have to tell you, Bryan and I are not looking forward to that when she gets in her teens. (note: Aubrey is wearing her favorite shirt here)


Here is a little video clip of their adventure:

Another time, in NOT another place

Drew and I have officially spent every one of our birthdays together except our 16th (that was because I was in Tennessee at Nationals for volleyball) We have sworn to always meet up on our special day no matter where we lived or the circumstance. Here are a few pictures we have taken through the years at our mom's house. I know there are other pics of birthdays at her house but I have not been able to locate them.
It has been interesting that he has always been my right hand man in the pictures AND that we have always stood in the same spot. Check them out!

Twins at 28

Twins at 25

Twins at 22

Twins at 20

Twins at 15