Turkey Day

Hi friends! We had a lovely Thanksgiving. My dad, Shelby, and Jake were our featured guests this year. The kids and myself had a full week off from school and Kirk decided to take the rest of his available vacation days as well. It was a lot of fun and I'm grateful for the quality time we were able to spend together. My turkey received his usual special treatment and turned out wonderfully. I had a lot of help preparing the rest of the meal from two wonderful chefs, namely Charli & Olivia, which made it a pretty stress-free week for me. It's hard to believe we are already into December. I haven't started any shopping yet and honestly I'm lacking any motivation to even get started. We are going to decorate our Christmas tree this weekend, so I'm hoping that helps me rediscover my typical overjoyed attitude about Christmas and all its magic. This is a pathetic blog post, but I mostly wanted to share our Thanksgiving pictures. I'll try to add some descriptive captions because I know all my amazing and dedicated fans are deeply saddened by my lack of eloquence. 




This little turkey had a Thanksgiving performance at school and was surprised to find out she had quite a few of her people watching from the audience. It's so convenient that her best buddy, BYA, works at her school. Plus, she had Aunt Taylor & Uncle Jordan in the audience to not only watch her perform but also join her for lunch afterward. They spent some time with Max in his classroom too and it made him feel pretty special. Max's teacher thought it was pretty cool of Uncle Jordan to participate in the silly dancing and to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce during story time. This day acted as a "final farewell" of sorts for the kiddos to Taylor and Jordan before they moved back to Idaho and I felt like my heart was shattering the entire day over it. We are going to miss them so much! They are the best aunt and uncle, it's no question they are going to be amazing parents.

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This is one of the notes clipped to our gratitude tree I started a few years ago. It is my favorite one of 2016 and it belongs to Lyla. This was her first note of gratitude created all on her very own. I didn't have to prompt any ideas for her. She made it by herself, only requiring help with spelling. It says "mom making lunch" and it made my heart happy that she is really understanding the concept of being grateful....because there are definitely some days I question if anything I'm doing will prevent my kids from being asshole adults. Ha! Also, how awesome is she doing with her penmanship? I'm proud of my little smartie pants.

This is Max's super cool hair cut. He went with Kirk right before our family photos so they would be looking fresh. Also, a sneak peak of Lyla. I wish I could share the rest, but you must wait. 

Uncle Jake creating his masterpiece Thanksgiving appetizer. I enjoy watching his methodical cooking methods. And my dad enjoying his LATE Thanksgiving feast. Sadly, this is the only picture I shot of him or Shelby during their visit. FAIL.

TWINS! Max attempting to match Jake was hilarious to me.

Thanksgiving Day Feast, along with photos I force my people to be in.

We also visited the Renaissance Festival. I was laughing because we haven't been to this festival since the last time my dad visited Texas. I like to tease him about this activity being his idea, but truly I find the whole event to be fascinating. I feel like it's a lifestyle I could really dive into if I wasn't already committed to this family thing. Hahaha! At least Max agrees with me, just look at him go to town on that steak on a stick.

My Peeps!

My mom and Jake left us yesterday after a five day visit in Texas. As always, we had so much fun and replenished the memory bucket until next time. We all went to an Astros game together on Saturday evening. My mom splurged on some really great tickets and we had a blast! We haven't taken Lyla or Max to a baseball game in a couple years, so it was fun to see how much they have evolved compared to our last experience. I had the realization it's getting easier to plan adventures as our kids become more and more flexible as they grow older. There was once a time we had to plan activities to revolve around the schedule of these little munchkins, but it seems we are finally moving away from that. It's fun having "big" kids!

I suppose I can't give Max the big kid title quite yet, considering we did have a crisis situation at the very end of the ball game. As he melted into a puddle of hysterical sadness on the floor of the public restroom, I imagined all the diseases he had to be contracting and begged him to hold on a little longer. There was no saving him. It was already too late. So, I decided to relocate him outdoors to a grassy area and give him some space to release all that emotion. I just stood there and waved at strangers as they passed by. "Oh, hi. Yes. That's my child. His apparent exorcism was taking place near the toilet just minutes ago, so believe me this is much better for us. Carry on." Anyway, like I said, it seems we are moving away from planning around their schedules, but I guess we aren't out of the woods quite yet. It was late and the game was almost over, so I'll give him that --- but I can't wait to tell him this story when he's older. It was an award winning performance.

We had more fun times including foot spa night by Lyla, endless shopping, swimming time, football and taco day, Top Golf, and my mom was also able to visit our school. I can never decide whether to call it school or work since it's both, so in this instance it's school. Anyway, it was nice to give her a glimpse of our new daily schedule and the kids enjoyed showing off their classrooms. She even read a story to Max's class. It was adorable! 

My mom is such an amazing grandma and I'm so grateful my kiddos were able to absorb some of her loving energy for a few days. Lyla's Barbie collection has been gathering dust for the past couple months, but I think Lyla remembered how good Grandma is at playing Barbies because the moment she arrived it was game on. I really enjoy my mom's Barbie technique because she bounces back and forth between full on dedication to the never ending game and bringing Barbie into real life scenarios, such as Barbie has to blow dry her hair, make the bed, pour some coffee --- then she returns to Lyla's script. Ha! It's pretty great.

As for little brother Jake, he is an excellent uncle. My heart explodes every time I watch him interact with Lyla and Max. I can't even explain the reasoning, but he has exceeded any expectation I ever had for all the silly uncle-ing abilities I made up in my head. He is the best brother and I'm so lucky my kids get to call him their uncle. My favorite Jake rant from this trip was a surprisingly convincing argument about how real water bottle companies in this country are selling us water that doesn't even hydrate our bodies. Yes folks, non-hydrating h2o. I was giggling, but feeling somewhat skeptical after his lengthy speech. However, knowing it would push his buttons, I claimed this conspiracy theory was nothing more than a first world problem and told him he sounded like a "spoiled millennial." He said, "If by that comment you mean I think for myself, then I'll take that as a compliment." Haha! I love him. He is a riot. I think it's obvious how much I love teasing my brother, but I can't help it. It's been the easiest form of entertainment in my life for the past 24 years. However, as much as I love to harass him about practically everything, I hope he also knows how much I admire his wisdom and overall outlook on life. He will always be one of my favorites, cynicism and all.

I miss them already. I dropped them off at the airport and cried like a baby, because that's what I always do. I wish I could keep them here forever. I know some people may think I'm nuts, but I really think our culture made a wrong turn having families separate from each other as soon as we emerge into adulthood. Why do we do that? Where did all this pressure come from? I think we should reside in the same house, perhaps build a small village, and keep the happy times going forever and ever. I want less stuff and more people. And I'm reminded of this every time I have to say goodbye. 

Grandpa Paul aka Boise Police

There are always happy times in store whenever my dad decides to visit Texas, although we insist he's due to bring Shelby along with him next time. Lyla seems to think Teddy [the dog] can simply sit in his lap for the duration of his flight next time as well. 

My dad likes to maintain his reputation as a low maintenance house guest, even pointing out that his newest tag line is "all I need is beer money and a coat." He claims he is going to print it up on t-shirts and make his fortune. He also put a spin on the notorious phrase about coffee by coming up with,  "don't even talk to me before I've had my first energy drink." I'm still laughing over that one because not only is it true about him, but it doubles as a mockery to all coffee drinkers like myself. My dad is the perfect blend of sarcasm and honesty. He never fails to make me laugh. He would probably be mad at me for exposing his ideas to the world, lucky for him I only have three blog followers. 

We visited Santa during his visit, which is the second time it's worked out for the old fellas to be in town at the same time. Lyla wore a crown to the mall --- as I mentioned earlier, all that ego building from Grandma Paula over the past few days has really gone to her head. Anyway, she removed the crown as we approached the Santa display and  I asked her for what reason. She said, "Oh, I don't want Santa to know I'm a real princess." I'm curious what her thought process was...maybe princesses don't get presents or something...I'm not sure. It was a funny moment, regardless of her reasoning. She requested some privacy upon sitting on Santa's lap and insisted Max wait from a distance. She asked for a Barbie [borrrring!] and Max requested a "little teeny tiny batman." It's pretty cute when he asks because he uses his thumb and pointer finger to illustrate exactly how tiny he means.  I don't think Santa will have any problem fulfilling their wishes this year. I'm fully anticipating the year one of them asks for a pony or some other absurd purchase. That will be fun. It will likely happen to me next year now that I called Lyla's request for a barbie boring. C'est la vie!

My dad made us the best pork tacos known to man, along with the most amazing green sauce that I could drink from a straw if it didn't light my mouth on fire. He joined us at gymnastics on Wednesday before we had to take him to the airport to return home. Max remains oblivious, but Lyla's reaction upon watching grandpa enter the airport doors was absolutely heartbreaking. We really really don't like goodbyes. 

We have full hearts & our stockpile of treasured memories has been replenished. We have so much gratitude for all the people in our lives who love us enough to travel such a great distance to see us. It happens so much more than I ever expected. I'm going to take the next few days to restore the normal functions of our household & detox from the insane levels of butter in my system. It also occurred to me that in the midst of all the commotion Max officially turned two & a half, meaning he's due for a well-check up. We will get that checked off our list, along with a couple other maintenance items before the end of the year. We are looking forward to one more set of house guests before our final countdown to Christmas. As cliche as it may be, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year! 

Note: I just realized the title of this post may seem puzzling. My dad, being the prankster that he is, always answers the phone as "Boise Police" when we call him. Lyla is onto his tricks now, but the first time he answered this way her eyes opened wider than you could imagine as she quickly passed the phone back to me. Lyla has since started answering my cellphone as "Houston Police," with a little encouragement from me, of course. I suppose the inherited habits of constant mischief carry on...

Thanksgiving 2015

I can't believe Thanksgiving was already nearly a week ago. It all happened too fast. We were so lucky to have ten full days intertwined with visitors, including my brother, grandparents, & my dad. I am always so happy to have so much family all under one roof. There were many late nights and moments of endless laughter. My grandma's laugh alone is contagious enough to bring me to tears, regardless if something is actually funny or not. These are the memories that matter to me the most. 

My brother was the star of Lyla & Max's world for the first few days, as he was our first arrival of the visitors. He happily complied with all of their pretend games & didn't even swear at us when I instructed the kids to jump on his bed in the morning. I would normally let guests sleep as long as they wish, but not Jake. And he expects that sort of [loving] torture from me, so you don't have to feel bad for him or anything. I mean... his t-shirt that reads "my life vs. your vacation" says it all. Lol. Plus, he eventually became immune and was able to sleep through the harassment. That's pretty incredible, if you ask me. 

As much as I like to tease my little brother, I am so grateful for his existence. I had a lot to do to get ready for the big feast and he helped me immensely with prep work & keeping the kids occupied. My brother passed the torch soon after my grandma arrived and he returned to the land of beer drinking and rambling about politics. I admire his vast assortment of opinions about the world and enjoy watching him poke at people, especially my dad. He also made an impressive appetizer known as "armadillo eggs" --- proving his culinary skills are on the rise!

My grandma deserves an award for the number of hours she dedicated to pretend play. I think it becomes a chore for most people after spending more than an hour in Lyla & Max world, but not grandma. In fact, I think she possibly enjoys it more than they do. They made up a ghost game, renaming the kids as Casper & Casperina. This continued for hours until Lyla finally said, "Grandma, can you just call me Lyla again?" We laughed and laughed about that. In the downtime of playing ghost games, she convinced Lyla to refer to herself as any of the following: Princess, Queen, Royal Highness, and Majesty. Between that and Lyla learning the phrase "talk to the hand," I think she might have a rough time returning to reality. I don't care though, it was worth it.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together, followed by a dinosaur movie at the theater afterward. It is a very cute movie. I think I cried twelve times, but that may have been due to excess wine consumption. We also visited the giant Christmas tree on Market Street. It's super cool and I would recommend both activities to anyone! My dad arrived the following day, adding more fun to our party. We transitioned right into the Christmas spirit shortly after Thanksgiving by putting up the tree & decorating gingerbread houses. I think to make up for the fact that the rest of the year will be spent apart. We got to hang out with my dad for a few days after everyone else departed and I'll touch more on that in a subsequent blog post. 

And in no specific order whatsoever, below is one million photos of our fun. I felt including some captions was necessary on this particular smorgasbord of a blog post. I robbed photos from several different photographers so that's my only explanation for the random blurry shots. Nonetheless, enjoy!

 This is the strange, yet wonderful tradition I carried with me from Idaho. 

I'm not joking about this being a thing. Here is the 2015 Utah/Idaho version.

I love & miss all those faces so much.

Apparently taking a family photo is too difficult, 

so here are three separate photos with my peoples. 

And here is Jakey, making his impressive armadillo eggs.

The exhausted cooks. Grandma & Steve really got a kick out of this one!

Christmas tree decorating...

The next few photos are more fun times with Uncle Jake!

Video chats with our Idaho family on Thanksgiving Day.
Technology can be pretty great sometimes!

Post-Turkey Day shenanigans. 

I'm actually not sure when I took this photo, but it's adorable.

Grandpa Paul helping glue the gingerbread house.
He had to step away when it came to the decorating part

and nobody would listen to his ocd suggestions. 

Typical forced photoshoot by me.

THE END!