Thanksgiving

One of the biggest perks of our new house is that it can comfortable host a lot of people, which is why we ended up getting to host part of Jon's family for Thanksgiving. There are too many people scattered across the country to get people all in one place, but we got to have Daniel's family, Stephen's family, Mom & Dad and Jacob & Joanna. So 20 people total! Aaron and I did some serious shopping to prepare for our guests:

(And this was only round 1)

But Jon's not prone to letting his family stay here rent-free. In order to pay for room & board, he enlisted everyone in our massive yard project: lining and mulching the landscaping. It was DESPERATELY needed. 

Aaron was super helpful.

He generously shared his rake with Joanna so he could use the big one.

The huge pile of mulch. 

Yes, we used it ALL. 

I didn't take many pictures while everyone was here, but we had a lot of fun just hanging out together. One night there was a rousing game of charades, which is always fun when played with toddlers and four-year-olds.  

Claudia, Brianna & Catherine watch the action

Eowyn doing a really impressive puppy-dog charade.

But only Claudia could guess correctly.

I failed at taking pictures on Thanksgiving (too much cooking and craziness). The only picture I got was this coconut creme pie, which was AMAZING. We had family, a ton of food and a ton of leftovers, which is exactly as it should be on Thanksgiving! 

We Are Thankful For

Angels!

Jon had one last week-long trip to Dugway. After all the 2-3 week (or longer) trips, one week should have been a piece of cake. But it was a hard week and I was feeling overwhelmed. And I may have whined on social media. The next day I heard a knock on the door and found one of the sweet Activity Day girls from my ward on my doorstep delivering a simple-prep meal the girls put together. I was so touched that they would think of me!

Another knock and my friend Melissa was there to help clean and set up beds for our Thanksgiving guests. That evening there was a third knock and my friend Bente was there with her daughter, Kaia, who volunteered to help play with/get kids ready for bed. I was overwhelmed by the love I felt from such awesome people. I don't deserve to have all these angels watching over me, but I am so grateful for them.

Feasts!

I LOVE Catherine's preschool and all the fun things she gets to do. For Thanksgiving they had a feast and invited parents/grandparents to attend. Catherine was so proud of her work for the feast--she made a teepee centerpiece and her class helped make the muffins. I'm so glad I was able to be there with her (thanks to Melissa for taking Aaron so I could attend--no siblings allowed). 

Catherine & Mommy selfie

This is her class singing their Thanksgiving songs for everyone. Catherine initially refused to go up, but Miss Crystal lured her up by promising that Catherine could stand right by her. So this is a picture of the back of Catherine's head as she stands next to Miss Crystal (so thankful for wonderful teachers).  

Cars!

These are Christmas presents for cousins.

But they were also excellent entertainment during a long shopping trip.

Good thing toddlers have short memory spans...

Family Pictures

When we bought my fancy camera, it was with the idea that I would be able to take family pictures instead of paying to have someone else do them. Despite not caring to be photographed when pregnant, my friend Melissa convinced me that we needed to have a joint Blood/Knox family photo day and take pictures for each other. 

We headed to a local Christmas tree farm before church (one of the few benefits to 1 pm church) and hoped for the best. I was very happy with how everything turned out! We are so not professionals, but I am more than happy with our pictures.  

Photo dump time!

This kid has got to slow down with all this growing up.

Love his smile!

Catherine was not very interested in cooperating for pictures. 

Shocking.

"Say cheese!"

Big blue eyes

Looking very proper

Aaron was also not interested in getting his picture taken: 

"I am way too cool to smile, Mother."

Those cheeks...I'm in love.

Of course I would get a great smile AFTER I put his dorky jacket on: 

(Always the hood. He insists).

My three babies

I LOVE this one! Melissa did a great job!

What? A picture of us without kids? 

Also, I like to buy long shirts and pretend they're maternity clothes. 

Cheaper, plus I can wear them next year when I'm not six months pregnant! 

Our family: 

Pose #2: 

(I love Catherine's pose)

Now for some behind-the-scenes shots: 

Aaron loves Anna!

Catherine gets dumped in a Christmas tree: 

She loves her Daddy: 

But she hates looking at the camera: 

Anna's job: keep all the kids from falling in the pond: 

Catherine's job: dance in the sunlight and ask Mom why she keeps taking pictures: 

Looks like Knox/Blood family pictures will have to become tradition!

Bowling with Daddy

Our family was invited to a birthday party for the girl next door. My kids were ecstatic to find out it was at a bowling alley. Seth had a great time making friends with everyone who would talk to him, and Catherine loved pushing her own ball down the alley (sloooooooooooooowwwwww...so sloooooooooooowwwwwwww). But it was Aaron who really loved it. At first he just wanted to watch, but after the third time I had to chase him away from the bowlers, I realized he was ready for a turn. 

Discussing which ball he would like (Jon let him choose every time)

Giving it a push

Watching the pins fall

He LOVED it. And Jon was a great dad, very patient with him. Guess we need to go bowling more often! (And I need to take pictures of my other two children. Sorry, children). 

The Green Bean of Doom

I was a very picky eater as a kid. VERY picky. And I grew out of it sometime during college. So I never stressed about the fact that my kids were picky eaters, figuring they would grow out of it, too. But when we hit the point where they were refusing to eat foods they had eaten for years, I decided we were done with this game. New rule: they are required to try the vegetables at dinner. It was traumatic at first, but I figured they would quickly realize that I wasn't kidding. Seth did. Catherine...Catherine likes to do it the hard way.

It started with a one-inch piece of green bean. She refused to eat it. Daddy put cheese sauce on it. She thought about eating it, then decided against it. She was warned that she would be getting nothing else to eat until her green bean was eaten. Which meant she skipped dinner, dessert, and breakfast. 18 hours of not eating. 

Finally, she gave in. After a brief moment of "losing" the green bean and claiming to have eaten it (Mom is not a fool), she was ready to go. She had her juice at the ready to wash down that horrible green bean taste: 

Hooray! She survived! 

We still have our battles occasionally, but the kids are learning to try new things.

Can't say they LOVE their vegetables, but we'll get there!

November Aaron

Day After Halloween

Alternate title: Mom Don't Even Care

Milk is good.

Water is good, too.

Water and milk at the same time? Winner!

Total iPad junkie

This is Halloween

My dad has started a family pumpkin carving contest. This was our second year and the theme was Tim Burton. I did have big plans, but after carving three pumpkins by myself (and with Jon still out of town), I just didn't have it in me to carve another. Luckily Seth decided to help me out:

I think I'm definitely a contender for first place.

Jon's flight got him in early Halloween morning (just after midnight), which was great for trick or treating but useless for the couples' party the night before. We had another brilliant idea ready to go, but instead I went by myself with a picture of who Jon was supposed to be. Lame. Next year we'll win that trophy back! 

After Seth's ridiculously late soccer game (who schedules a game for 3:15 pm on Halloween???), we headed to the Knoxes for some soup, trick or treating and games. 

Catherine finally decided on costume #3: Cinderella

Seth went for the robber again: 

The robber was sad because he had somehow forgotten 

to wear his shoes and had to borrow Gabe's.

Aaron went as Sam again.

Which meant we put his cape on over his regular clothes and called it good: 

We've decided that Aaron should always wear a cape and run around.

It's possibly the most adorable thing we've ever seen.

We brought cookies for everyone to decorate, but after all the trick-or-treating Catherine was the only one interested in decorating one. But she was quite happy to do it by herself and to have unrestricted access to the sprinkles: 

Everyone else was content to carry on the great Halloween tradition of playing Mario Kart: 

This may have been the highlight of Jon's Halloween.

The Princess's Preschool Party

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was so excited for her preschool Halloween party and trick or treating field trip. But she slept in and the queen had to wake her up (never a good thing). Then the princess made a mess of the queen's eyeshadow while getting ready for the party. She burst into tears when the queen lectured her and insisted that she would not be attending the party that day. 

The queen found this hard to believe. But after repeated questioning, the princess still refused to put on her costume. Instead she sat on the futon and played on the iPad:

But finally the idea of the party outweighed the sulkiness and the princess decided to get ready. She showed up just in time for the trick or treating 

The prince and the queen tagged along, but the prince was only interested in the cars passing on the street behind them. He was really hoping to see a cement mixer, but was disappointed in his quest. 

The queen had tried to warn the princess that it was chilly and that she should probably wear a shirt and pants under her costume. But the princess insisted that she was Elsa (Elsa-Ariel?) and that the cold never bothered her anyway. Turns out the cold DOES bother her and makes her disinclined to cooperate. 

Eventually the princess found a warm patch of sunlight. She quickly laid down (yes, right on the sidewalk) and found a rusty piece of metal to play with: 

The prince was intrigued and decided to join her: 

The fiasco party ended with a class picture on the steps. It was hard to get a good picture with all the other kings and queens trying to take pictures of their princes and princesses. 

As all good stories should, this one ends happily ever after, with the princess enjoying her ridiculously overfilled Halloween bag (and even sharing some pieces with the prince).

The End.