Thanksgiving 2020!

Thanksgiving was a little different than our traditional meal with family, but it was so much fun! We had a little "Mexico Reunion" with friends! I wish I had taken a picture of all of the food! We had sooo much food! Justin roasted and fried a turkey, we had lots of sides, and like 8 pies and desserts! Since we had so many leftovers, everyone came back for second Thanksgiving on Friday night. The kids played pool, video games, and minute to win it games. 

It was really fun to have a gingerbread making contest, and the kids voted on the best ones! Kennedy and Jackson tied for 1st place! 

    

The highlight of the day was the Diet Center Pumpkin Pie! Justin has told the story of how his mom went through a stage of making Diet Center Pumpkin Pie for every dessert opportunity for a few years, and how disgusting it was! I finally looked online to see if the recipe was published, and I found it! It isn't even made of pumpkin! It's made with rutabaga, protein powder, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice. The crust was a diet center pancake mix, so I just used Kodiak cake mix. Kazie and I couldn't wait to trick Justin into eating it to see if he recognized the pie! We were dying laughing during dinner when ever we even thought about it! When we brought out the pies, we suggested that everyone try some of each one and decide which was the best. Sure enough, Justin took a big slice of Diet Center Pumpkin Pie, and we watched him take that first bite and Kazie, Heidi, and I lost it! Justin was so confused, but he kept eating his pie samples. We finally asked him about the "pumpkin pie" , and told him what we had done. He said he swore that he recognized the taste and was going to tell Kazie later, but he didn't want to say anything in front of me. I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time! 

 

Everyday life...

This is the cute piggy bowl I got from my friends for my birthday! 

I made this fun Nutella star bread one Sunday and shared with the Swains who were quarantined because Kennedy tested positive for Covid19. 

Paul is just a goof ball most of the time. I am so impressed with his initiative and drive when he sets his mind to something. He went and got a janitor job at his school all on his own, and even though he says it gets boring, he likes earning money. He is also helping our neighbor assemble candy bags and getting paid good money for that. We are working on the concept of budgeting still, but Paul has been able to purchase several "toys" on his own and is very proud of that! 

Turkey making assembly line!

 

Sarah's 43rd Birthday!

I started out my day with High Fitness, and I got to choose the play list which is so much fun! I picked all of the hard songs and made it through, so that felt really great! I am truly grateful to have a body that allows me to exercise whether it's at the gym or climbing mountains to enjoy nature! My TRX family gave me some fabulous gifts, because they know me so well! An Ulta gift card, a piggy bowl I had been eying, an apron, personalized tea towels, and Becky C. brought me freshly baked chocolate chip cookies ...my favorite! 

James and I went to race go carts, and luckily we only bought one session because we both felt pretty nauseous afterward! It was really fun though and we had wanted to try it for a while! Then we had dinner at Happy Sumo and got some delicious sushi!

Caleb and family surprised us by stopping by that evening and had cake with us! It was so sweet of them to come over and just really topped off the day filled with love! It kind of sucks to have a bigger number attached to me, but I really don't feel any older. I am grateful for the life experiences I've had, and every year that passes adds more people that fulfill my life even more!

Sweet Alanna made this beautiful and tasty cake all on her own! She had a really good time decorating it with my favorite candies! 

 

Alanna's First Grown Up Hair Appointment!

Alanna has graduated from Cookie Cutters with the cool car chairs and glitter hairspray...on to my hair stylist Nicole for a real grown up cut! And she looks gorgeous! 

 

The Time We were without water for 5 days...

We received a notice on our door about a possible leak in our water main. James immediately turned off the water, and we began to use our water storage from soda bottles we've stored over the years. You just never know how great it is to have running water until that luxury is gone! A few of our neighbors have had the same issue in the past couple months, for some unknown reason. We were finally able to have a company come out to find the source of the leak, and then James, with the help of our boys and Lane, dug out a 7 ft hole! The leaky pipe was sitting on rocks that probably wore through the pvc eventually, and there were two tiny pin holes letting water out into the ground. It was a cheap and easy fix once James located it, thankfully. I will never take running water for granted again! And I am so thankful for James tenacious handy man abilities that have saved us thousands of dollars!

 

James's 44th birthday!

I am married to an old man! I can't believe it! It's been a great 20 years since we met and started dating, but it's gone too fast! But the good news is, I took this old man on a birthday hike to Squaw Peak, which is killer, and he survived! He did yell at me from a distance at one point and tell me "you're trying to kill me!" when it got pretty steep! He kept up though!  It was the perfect day for a hike because it was about 70 degrees, the leaves were still changing, and even though we got lost for a couple miles, we still made it to the top! 

James did not want his usual ice cream cake sitting around for him to indulge in, so we had Miami Vice drinks, and bowls of fruit instead! 

We love this guy for so many reasons! He is always fun to have around and keeps us laughing with his quirky behaviors and "dad jokes". You never know what he's going to do or say when he gets in a playful mood! He is very generous with all of us, but he is happy to wear ratty clothing and drive his 25 year old car. James is extremely tenacious, which might be one of my favorite qualities about him! He doesn't ever give up on the important stuff, and he is continually trying to improve our relationship. He is a bit of a workaholic, but that has allowed us to pay off our house, have a fun little black car, and go on tropical vacations!