Thanksgiving 2010

we hosted thanksgiving at our house this year and all of my immediate family flew out to missouri to be with us (mom, mark, hannah, chris, kamber, shane, and porter).  we also had some good friends and their kids join us.  it was a full house. the food turned out delicious.  and i hope everyone had a good time.  this was our thankful tree, thanks to my good friend lisa who brought it with her and let us join in the fun.  we wrote down things we were thankful for and put them on the tree.  it was fun to read them and a great way to get in the right mindset.

mom and mark, chris, and the girls.

grace really wanted to wear that dress over her clothes. so she did.

a benefit of dan having keys to our church building?  being able to get in and borrow chairs for the day - we had 15 people total.  next year i'll have to think more about center pieces and such.

food prep.  i could not have hosted thanksgiving without my mom's help.  i called and emailed her a bajillion times during those last few weeks about grocery lists and recipes.  hannah came to my rescue and was the one to rinse the brine off the turkey.  i tried to do it wearing gloves and couldn't help but shudder every time i touched it. she'll make a great nurse. :)

in the end, everything came together and tasted great.

on the menu:

turkey (brined the night before and roasted full of aromatics and slathered with herb butter, carved by mark)

slow cooker stuffing - thank you lisa it was great!

sweet potatoes with brown sugar and orange zest - courtesy of my mom 

garlic and bacon green beans

mashed potatoes - dan insisted on real, not instant and made them himself. delish!

gravy of course

corn for the kids

jello jigglers - didn't quite turn out like i thought but the kids liked them

holiday jello salad (strawberries, pineapple and bananas in strawberry and lemon jello - best jello ever)

homemade lion house rolls. as in some of the best rolls ever, sold in a box at costco now. they were the hit of the meal mom - way to go!

homemade cranberry pomegranate sauce - in honor of you dad!

 the only thing i'd have to add next year would be strawberry freezer jam

for dessert we had pumpkin pie, razzleberry pie (marie calendar knows what she's doing with that one!) oreo pudding pie and pumpkin cheesecake (thank you lisa!).  we were so full. which means thanksgiving was a success.

i was so stressed leading up to thanksgiving, never having had to contribute more than a pie or batch of potatoes at a thanksgiving dinner before.  i was worried about having all the ingredients, enough serving dishes, room for everyone to sit and eat, let alone sleep (my mom and mark did stay in a hotel).  but it turned out great and everyone helped so much - it was awesome.  it was great to be surrounded by family and have the shortridges with us as well.

as for the rest of the trip - i took very few pictures.  we played games and hannah, chris and i watched you tube clips until it was way to late.

i turned 28 and my mom brought party favors for the occasion.

i enjoyed celebrating with family which tends to happen each year since my birthday is always right around thanksgiving. dan surprised me with some boots and even bought 6 different pair for me to choose from.  i just laughed when we had to return all the ones we didn't keep at the store.  good thing dan doesn't get embarrassed easily.  props to him though - it was something i wanted and needed and he totally surprised me. i got some things from other family members and was very, very grateful. 

we went bowling as a family and then out for dinner with the adults to Sophia's, a southern european restaurant that was incredible. i can't wait to go back!

my mom summed up the trip in the farnsworth fold, our extended family newsletter that gets emailed out once a month:  "For Thanksgiving we all traveled to Missouri to be with Marie and Dan. Chris and Hannah flew out of Salt Lake despite a blizzard in the area the night before. Kamber, Shane, and Porter flew out of Phoenix, and Mark and I flew from Vegas. We all arrived in Kansas City within 15 minutes of each other! Hannah and Chris were in a different terminal and for a few minutes were afraid they had landed at the wrong airport. We all fit into one rental car and drove 2 ½ hours to Columbia. We had a ball! The cousins loved seeing each other and having plenty of adults to read to them or play with them. While we were there, Marie supervised a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, we played games, went sightseeing, saw the movie Tangled, raked leaves, replaced their water heater, went to a mall’s carousel, created memory boxes for Lansing and Dallin, went bowling, adults went out to dinner for Marie’s 28th birthday, and we all went to church together.

Thank you Skinners!!!!!"

thank YOU mom, for making the effort to come visit us and making it happen for the whole family.  it was so much fun and we created so many good memories.  we were also very happy that kamber and shane made the trip as well and it was great to have the three little cousins together!

Steph's First Visit to MO

 we were so glad to host a visit from stephanie back in november.  she took some time off work, left her husband at home (he had work and school) and flew out to visit us.  the girls were SO excited to see her.  we had an eventful trip to the airport with several stops to get the DVD player working and then grace getting car sick.  after steph had to wait an extra hour, we finally got to st. louis and picked her up.  we headed straight to the arch and stopped for a quick minute.  grace had no extra clothes to wear after throwing up so she hung out in a diaper.  then we drove around for an extra half hour looking for an einsteins bagel shop - darn pregnancy cravings!  poor steph probably thought we'd never get to our house!

steph watched the girls in the afternoon so i could frost 200 cupcakes for our YW in Exellence program that night and then i was gone for the rest of the evening while she spent time with dan and the girls. 

a cute picture of the girls before we went somewhere, to do something.  

(that's the problem with back blogging - you can't remember details.) 

 trip to shakespeare's for dinner.  the girls love playing with pizza dough while they wait for their pizza.  unfortunately our crust came out burned. steph - we'll have to go again when you and robert come so they can redeem themselves.

 while steph was in town we set up madison's twin bed and moved grace from the crib to the toddler bed.  it was fun for her to see the girls so excited for the new transition and with the new bedding.  she helped me pick out a new color for their walls.

 grace going to bed in her "big girl" toddler bed for the first time.

 and madison in her "big girl" twin bed for the first time.

the girls kept her busy - she read stacks and stacks of books.

steph was a trooper.  i was in the middle of my first trimester and if i wasn't in the bathroom i was sitting somewhere, exhausted.  we did manage some shopping with a trip to the mall, target, toy r us and old navy and the girls took her on their favorite thing, the carousel.  we drove back to st. louis as a family and on the way to the airport we topped to visit a friend from college.  steph didn't experience as much of columbia as i would have liked due to rainy weather and me feeling sick but regardless, it was great to see her and the girls absolutely loved it.  we're looking forward to next time when "bob" will get to join her. :)   

Grace Turns 2

november 1st delivered us a two year old little girl.  we made the day all about her and i hope/think she had fun.

 after dropping off big sis at preschool we picked up birthday balloons and a donut with sprinkles for breakfast.  grace stayed in her pjs most of the day - her choice.  we played games, colored, and read books.

sisters.  i love when they look at each other like this.

demonstrating the new age.

out to dinner at grace's favorite restaurant... McD's. the girls love it and since it was freezing outside and they could play on the playground it seemed like a good option, though i did feel like a bad mom having fast food for grace's birthday dinner.

opening presents.  i don't know who was more excited, madi or grace.  g&g skinner were nice enough to send madison her own present to open.  thank goodness the girls have grandparents and aunts to spoil them because we chose to do things cheap and simple- play dough re-gifted from Christmas last year, a tutu so when the girls play "ballerina" they don't have to take turns with madison's skirt, and a piggy bank.  in case you forgot  or didn't get to see grace's reaction to the piggy bank, watch it here.  i've seen it about 50 times and it still cracks me up.

grace LOVES cupcakes and couldn't wait to chow down on hers.

our two year old.  

and i can't believe how much she's grown since last year. 

(or how blonde my hair was)

grace is a little ball of energy and we joke that she's getting us ready for this next little boy.  words to describe grace: alert, attentive, observant, stubborn, spunky and feisty, full of adventure and mischief but tender hearted and affectionate at the same time.  she LOVES books, has her favorites memorized, and reads them to herself.  she constantly surprises us with her memory and vocal skills and is very dynamic and expressive. 

grace loves going to nursery, hates when madison leaves to go to school, and already can't wait till she turns 3 so she "can go to school like a big girl too".  she likes to be anywhere her big sister is.  she loves playing hide and seek, tickle monster, and old maid and loves playing make believe if she can be a sharp tooth (from the land before time) or the "abomible" snow monster (from the old clay-mation rudolph).  grace knows every disney princess and thinks she is a princess too. she's often found wearing layers of her favorite skirts/dresses over her regular clothes and loves headbands and necklaces.

grace's smile and big brown eyes make it hard to be upset with her for more than a moment and her crazy hair matches her personlity perfectly.  

she sure is full of life.  

we love you grace!  

I Could Post About Thanksgiving But This Is MUCH More Exciting

our first one has blue eyes,

our second one - brown. 

i wonder what we'll get 

this third time around?

either will be fine by me.

ETA: June 10th

Wedding Weekend Whirlwind

things i loved about the trip to az/ut for kamber and shane's wedding:

 washable markers hooked to a carabiner by their lids -  meaning no scrounging around on the floor finding dropped markers for this mom.

 two little girls who shared one seat the whole flight - they were troopers.  
(every time grace looked out the window and saw the wing of our plane she'd say, "look mom! i see another plane out there!")

 our welcoming commitee in AZ.

happy faces all around.

**not pictured -my incredible grandparents who willingly drove me and my girls from AZ to UT so i wouldn't have to brave the roads all by my lonesome. 

the differences between girls and boys.
girls who play with flowers and stuffed animals and a nephew in the background playing in the dirt... in the garden... with his truck.
(my mom's backyard in cedar)

freshly cut sweet peas.

snuggling cousins and porter sneaking his tractor underneath the covers.

more happy faces.

spending some quality family time, limited as it was, with final preparations for the wedding.

 the 200 chair covers just needed square knots, not anything fancy schmancy. i can do square knots.

madison as a flower girl.
(photographer unknown)

the wedding ceremony.

their first kiss as husband and wife.

how grace attached herself to grandpa mark and wouldn't let go for anything.
and my college roommates who figured out how to manage grace's crazy hair and make it look adorable.
(photographer unknown)

fluffy dresses and fall leaves at the cabin.

delicious food and a beautiful reception.

awesome parking attendants aka. my college roomies.
(you guys sure worked those vests and walkies!)

best. in-laws. ever.
seriously.

and our attempt at a family picture before driving back to AZ.

i planned on feeling mixed emotions going into the wedding weekend and mixed they were! it was hard to see and be a part of the hustle and bustle of preparations when i so clearly remembered getting ready for kamber and dallin's wedding a few years before.  things like kamber getting her hair and makeup done, leaving early to have pictures taken... memories just came flooding back... standing outside the mesa temple and madison just 2 months old.  but then there were  moments when kamber would smile at shane, and i realized i hadn't seen her smile like that since dallin was alive.it made me so happy for her; truly happy.  watching shane with porter was just as wonderful - porter calls him dad.  it's bittersweet and incredible at the same time. 

at one point during the reception, i was sitting at a table outside the cabin with my sister in-law and roommates when i saw a group of girls visiting - some of dallin's very best friends (brooke, christine, and lindsay).  i was overcome by the reality of the situation and who was missing.  i ventured over to say hello and as soon as i was within arms reach i lost all composure and the tears started free falling. lol. not what i had planned at all.  they were sweet and understanding and patient.  we visited for a few minutes and then i pulled myself together and said good bye.  it was comforting to see them there. they loved dallin, they were supporting us, and especially kamber.  i am grateful for the sacrifices they made to be there! 

what a weekend it was - crazy busy and packed with friends and family.  i'm so grateful i was able to be there and only wish dan could have been with us also!  i am grateful to my grandparents for driving us up, and the skinners for driving us back.  i am grateful to my family, hannah, chris and my mom, for their willingness to do hard things and still choose to be happy.  they are such examples to me!  i am grateful for porter - for his smile and energy and zest for life.  so much like his dad.  i am grateful for shane - for making kamber happy and being in porter's life.  i am grateful for his open-mindedness in this unique situation and for what he contributes to our family.  we are lucky to have him. 

dallin said once, "kamber might be the happiest person i know and that's one of the things i love most about her." 

despite the heartache kamber's felt and the trials she has endured, she is still a happy person.  it's a testimony of her strength and faith.  i am grateful for her - for her smile, her laugh, and her ability to enjoy life. i am so happy for her and wish her and shane and porter the best!

"Piggy Bank!!!"

grace turned two a few weeks ago and while i have yet to post about it, i couldn't resist sharing this short clip.  how fun it was to give grace exactly what she wanted for her birthday - though i wasn't prepared for her reaction.  i love this girl! 

Glasses

madi got them yesterday and she's as adorable as ever.

back in july, we noticed her right eye occasionally crossed. worried, we scheduled an appointment with her pediatrician. he referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist and after waiting 3 months we finally got in. turns out madison is far sighted. extremely. it's common for kids and they grow out of it as they get older and with treatment so the prognosis is good. (madison's prescription is +5.0 in one eye and +6.5 in the other - for documenting purposes.)

madison was so brave with all the tools and techniques they used to check her eyes and when they dilated her eyes, she kept shaking her head, trying to get her eyes to start working and focus, i think. madison looked devastated when we told her she was getting glasses and bit her lip to keep from crying. poor girl! it was so hard to watch. i had so many questions, confused about why madison has such incredible fine motor skills when it's been so hard for her to see up close.

in the end we all came to terms with it and anxiously anticipated the day her glasses would be ready. we were told madison's prescription is so strong that often kids get headaches and nauseated as they adjust to seeing better. madison's been quite the trooper and hasn't complained once. she was taking abnormally high steps for the first 20 minutes or so and it was cute and sad and funny all at the same time. as we ventured out into walmart to pick up a few groceries madison stopped, pulled her glasses down, looked around, pulled them back up, looked around, and did that 7 or 8 times in a row, obviously noticing the difference in being able to see.  when she tried to drink out of a cup for the first time and it bumped her glasses she said, "this doesn't work anymore," and i showed her how to do it.

to be honest, i've been dreading this adjustment and the changes it might bring.  i kept worrying about madison and how this might affect her since she already tends to be shy.  but madison has taken it in stride and while still being a little bit bashful, i can tell she secretly loves everyone telling her how cute she is and how her glasses make her look like a princess. i'm so proud of her willingness to be a good sport and have a good attitude about it.  she's an example to me!

(sneaking a quick look above her glasses.)