Thanksgiving, Family, and The Zoo!

I think that's everything I need to post about since I'm shamefully behind. The day before Thanksgiving, my mom called to say that we should have a little get together to play games. I thought, "Okay, this is always fun. Let's do it!" She also mentioned under her breath that she had a surprise. I assumed this meant she made me some chocolate temptation or that my birthday present had arrived. So, we arrived at the "party" with all of my siblings. Dean and Mary with their kids, Mom and Dad, Mandy and Trent and their little boy, Libs and Maddie, Danny and Emily and Sam, and....Monica. Oh yeah, did I mention my surprise was Monica!!!! Her and Madeline kept it a secret that she was coming. I guess it was snowing and Mad told mom and dad that she had to pick up a friend from the airport. They DID NOT want her to drive in that weather, so mom went with her. I guess she was tearfully surprised to see Monica there! Everybody was shocked to see her. Except Madden played with the vacuum the entire time she was here. It was so fun to have her. Of course, we missed Brad as he spent Thanksgiving in Cali. I'm pretty sure we went to my parents' every night to see her. Fortunately, they had enough food for us to mooch on for dinner as well! Thanksgiving was too much! I gained two pounds, Tyler gained five pounds, and his work out buddy at the gym....16 pounds! We have not gotten over that! In addition to our gluttonous weekend, we were able to put up our Christmas decorations. London was so excited that she bounced around the house during the entire process. She is such a crack up. Our kids are growing so fast. The other day London was begging for wet wipes. She's slightly OCD and I know that she hates any tacky feeling on her palm. I told her absolutely no more wet wipes and shut the bathroom door on her because I had to go! A second later I yelled, "LONDON!!! WHY IS THE TOILET SEAT STICKY!?!" She calmly stated, "I was trying to tell you. I need a wet wipe because Madden grabbed a banana and wiped it on the toilet seat." I felt thoroughly chastised and laughed at the whole thing! Her and Madden are still best friends and usually partners in crime. I have had to take all of the ornaments off the bottom of the tree because Madden tears them off, and London will rearrange them! Both kids are in a jumping phase. They'll say, "One, two, three, JUMP!" London will actually get off the ground whereas Madden does a full squat and stands quickly up. It's so anti-climatic but, hilarious. Tyler's mom and step-dad are in town from England so Grandma and Grandpa Barnes took everyone to the zoo! I had no idea they did lights and Christmas decorations. I believe they even had Santa there but, there was a 45 min wait. No Thanks! You can't tell, but there's a reindeer in the background of this next pic. London was so excited the entire time. Her and I were running every which way trying to get in everything we could. Ty had a good time playing with his cousin's kids as well as all the other kids! He's such a child! At the beginning, Madden was kind of grumpy. He'd eaten an entire kid's meal so you'd think he would be happy. Nope, he was kind of stoic and mopey. I even gave him a kiss, and he ignored me. Once we got into the park his eyes went huge! He even tried to grab the lights and bite them! We saw snakes, crocodiles, a reindeer, bugs, etc. But, the best were the tigers! There were four of them circling around this bridge. At one point a tiger went right up to the glass where Tyler was holding Madden. It steamed up immediately and terrified little Madden and me! I'm pretty sure that Tiger saw Madden as a snack! The zoo was a fun time. Here I leave you with a video of our jumping children. Enjoy!

Time Flies

Wow, my kids are growing right before my eyes. (FYI, this whole post's pictures are basically of Madden playing with the vacuum.) I can't even say how hilarious, joyful, and humbling being a parent can be. London is full of her new words and observances. She laughed hysterically the other day by herself. Tyler and I were totally confused and asked what she was laughing at. She said, "Madden's bum is tangley!" We were again confused until Ty said, "Do you mean Madden's bum is dangley?" She laughed and laughed. I guess she's discovered differences in boys and girls but, apparently those differences are identified as "bums." We could not quit laughing. Madden is getting to be such a little boy. I took him to his fifteen month check up and his weight was in the 50th percentile, height in the 70th and his head.....96th! I had no idea he had such a huge head. I was totally shocked because the last check-up his head was in the 40th. I guess they change really fast. My birthday was yesterday and I had a fabulous day. London and Ty woke me up with a handwritten card from London. He told me later that it was the biggest test of patience! I received some lovely smelling perfume, a purse, a quilt, a chandelier for London's room, socks, a shirt, and shopping spree! Oh, and Dean gave me peanut-butter bars. See! Could that day not be better. After the gym, I took the kids to my Mom's where Madden gave kisses aplenty and played with the vacuum (His new favorite toy. He IS obsessed.) Ty and I went to Harry Potter to enjoy some one-on-one time. It was so fun! He let me shop after the movie and the next thing I knew, it was 7:30 p.m. and my sweet husband hadn't said a word about my excessive shopping! We ended up skipping dinner to go get our kids and my parents. I guess Mandy and Trent had been waiting to wish my "Happy Birthday" but, I took so long shopping! At least they played with my camera! Sweet Gabe and Madden were playing like they were best buds. I'm hoping I'll do better on updating the Thanksgiving festivities! I hope you all remember the most important things in your life and are grateful for every single blessing you have! Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

I'm pretty sure this is the best year ever for costumes at my parent's party. Everyone looked awesome. I walked into my parents house and saw that Madeline was John Stockton. Unimpressed, I looked at this black stranger and thought, "Oh, that must be Karl Malone.....is that Libby?!!!" Yes, it was Olivia. She looked hilarious and won the ultimate prize. I think Madden was not quite sure whether it was his aunt or a stranger who sounded just like her and vaguely resembled her. I bet you're laughing at her right now just as I am. Mom and Dad were Donny and Marie. London asked my mom who she was an she answered, "Marie Osmond." London said, "Oh! Marie Osmond lost fifty pounds!" There's a sign that maybe she pays a little too much attention to the Nutrisystem commercials! Danny and Emily were spies while Sammy was an elephant. Unfortunately my lighting was really bad in that picture. Sorry guys! Dean and Mary were a caveman and cavewoman. Mia was a firequeen (not the devil). Luke was a Power Ranger and Ginger was a poodle. Mandy was Cleopatra and Trent was Caesar. Gabey was our little bumblebee. Lastly, our little family included London as Mulan, me as a geisha, Madden as a a froggie, and Tyler as a Ute fan. My Dad and brother's were really unimpressed with his costume. His shirt said, "I pored beer on Max Hall's mom." Mom had really fun ideas for the party that just couldn't happen because of the rain. Those plans included s'mores and pumpkin carving. But, everyone was able to dip their own caramel apples in chocolate and toppings. They were sinful. Dinner was delish, dessert was at an excess, and the company was awesome. Even though London only went to three houses, she was thrilled! She thought that her and I were absolute twins. She kept saying, "You look just like me!" Madden was, of course, sensitive and pensive most of the night. I couldn't even get him to smile for a picture! I'm pretty sure this was almost a moment of tears. Almost!

Make up, Costumes, and Trunk or Treats!

We had a ward Halloween party the other night at the church. London was so excited to get in her Mulan costume and get her make up done. She probably asked me fifty times if she could have her make up on now. Finally, I got her in her costume and her make up (Have you ever put liquid eye liner on a three year old?!) and she looked so dang cute. I put on her make up first because I was concerned I would spill on the costume. I should have thought about smearing make up on her clothes when actually putting the costume ON! Madden was a little frog and a sweetheart. Ty and I were laughing so hard at the pictures we took of London. The party had loads of rolls and soups as well as candy and donuts. I made whole wheat rolls and fortunately they were all gone. I would not want to deal with all of that food. I was, however, able to mooch free donuts and pumpkins post-party! I thought they did an awesome job at the decorations and they had a little carnival for the kids prior to the trunk or treating. London was so silent! She was very subdued and shy walking around. We discovered that she has an awesome arm and aim from the bean-bag throw but, was pretty introverted the whole time. Finally, during trunk or treating she said, "Mom, can you take me home now? I'm tired." Shocked and feeling sorry, I took her home. London started to cough that night and has since been trying to kick this sickness. Poor girl. She had looked forward to it all day and didn't even want to tell me she was sick. Madden seems to progress every week. He teases Tyler by calling him "Mama" and yells "LUNUN!" when London's making him mad. He even lost his temper at me and yelled/growled at me while punching the floor. It was hilarious! Well, that's all folks!