.thanksgiving 2013 and than some.

.i have been SO bad at blogging lately. but i promise you, i will have a TON of video and pictures around christmas time. 

.until than, let me catch up for now. 

.i figure a little "info" about everyone, with pictures will be enough right?

.andrew- he is CRAZY busy. he worked almost 20 hours in two weeks right before thanksgiving and has been working crazy hours ever since. he worked 50 hours last week, and informed me that up until christmas he will be working 50 hour weeks. i just keep telling myself "2 more weeks and we get a 2 week break"

.me- i am just being a stay at home mom. and ready for thursday to pass. we have a big relief society christmas program we are planning, and it pretty much me and one other lady planning it all. things are really coming together, and i am thrilled to see how it all turns out, but also will be thrilled for it to be over. i finished all the christmas shopping, and have everything sent off.

.brooklynn- she is a sassy thing, but also so much fun. she talks and talks and talks and loves to ask you tons of questions. if she is trying to get my attention and I dont answer he right away you will hear, " mom...mom...TASHA!" she does the same thing with her dad. she loves nursery and they are doing such an awesome job teaching her songs. some of her favorite songs to sing at the moment are i am a child of god. snowman (she says toe-man. hilarious). book of mormon stories. wheels on the bus. she has others but i cant think of all of them at the moment. we also have taught her "what certain people say" so when we ask what does gpa say, she throws her head back closes her eyes and snores. it hilarious. when we ask what gma says she says, "im your gma!" (gma westensee says this when they are younger and we facetime. uncle tyler says, "i need a girlfriend" and uncle evan says, "im on a mission." ill try to get video.

parker- this kid is growing like crazy. he is one size smaller in clothes and shoes than brooklynn. i get asked at least once when we go out if they are twins. he is talking too, but not nearly as much as brooklynn did. he loves "christmas trees" and will say it. he is really good at communicating what he wants, but pointing to what he wants and say, "this" or that". he is at a fun age, but also a hard age. he loves to play with his sister, but he also loves to play by himself and plays for a really long time by himself. half the time you dont know he is even in the same room as you because he is quietly playing. this kid EATS. he LOVES to eat. he is OBSESSED with his blanket. and carries it everywhere and will not go to bed without it. parker loves to sleep. he takes one nap during the day for about 2.5 hours and sleeps from 8:30pm until 9-9:30am. its fantastic. 

.we have just been enjoying time together when we get the chance, and making memories. we love to hear from uncle evan in argentina on mondays. it starts out our week great. andrew is really enjoying teaching the deacons, and has another scout camp soon. 

.we are loving the holiday season, and enjoy watching the little things make our kids light up. we hope to go through a drive through christmas light ranch, and hit up snow world at seaworld. but time is limited. we are beyond thrilled to be able to see gma/gpa in utah for christmas. brooklynn asks everyday if its time to get on a plane and go to utah. soon. its coming quickly. im not ready for the cold, but im ready for my kids to see their family again, and for the memories to be made. i would be lying if i said i wasnt excited to have "hubby time" :)

.i took NO pictures on thanksgiving. fail. we had 2 families over for thanksgiving dinner. we all split up the dinner course, and it was fantastic. turkey.green bean cassarole. rolls. corn. honey glazed carrots, jello salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, pies, brownies, cinnamon rolls. delicious.

.im hungry just thinking about it.

.it was low key. at my house. we felt grown up for cooking thanksgiving dinner on our own. the kids played upstairs. we had people over for almost 5 hours. it was fantastic. i DID have my tree up before thanksgiving because i wanted to enjoy it.

.and because...

.andrew said i couldnt have one. so when he was at scout camp, i bought on. used. online. from a local garage sale. $25 bucks pre lit i was happy. and when we set it up, brooklynns eyes lit up and said said,"oh wow, im so happy! thanks mom! thanks dad" and hugged us. and than i looked at andrew and said, "it was totally worth it. parker boy screams "christmas tree" every morning when he sees it.

.decor i went cheap this year. although we had deals with out flights. still $300 isnt cheap when you are trying to buy christmas presents for everyone. so dollar store it was. brooklynn decided which stocking belonged to who, and has not changed her mind once every time i ask her. 

.we all watched the civil war game. oregon ducks vs oregon beavers. go ducks!

.we had friends over AGAIN a few days later, for the BYU basketball game. (yes, i am LOVING watching some college ball). b was IN LOVE with treyden and loved loved loved holding him.

.i found b a ski jacket at a second hand store for $8 bucks. brought it home, washed it up. and tried it on her. she is SO EXCITED to go skiing with daddy and uncle derek for christmas.

.we are doing the 25 days of christmas. a bunch of ladies in the ward got together and made the kits for $15 dollars each. TOTAL STEAL. all wood ornaments so we can use them again and again and we each get to paint our own set. the first day was about the star, and the second about the shepherds.

.in nursery they play, have singing time, play, have snack and a lesson, and than story time. can you tell it has rubbed off on b. she LOVES reading stories to parker.

.we have loved the 25 days of christmas. for every ornament there is a small paragraph from a talk. a video,  and a scripture for each day leading up to christmas. we havent been very good about doing every day this year...but luckily my kids are young. i cannot wait for next year when they are just a bit older. 

.one day parker woke up with his cheek totally red. only one cheek. poor guy.

.dinner swap. one night was chicken alfredo. it was deliciously fattening. we ate and ate until our tummys were about to burst. SO good.

.b LOVED coloring. she does it for probably 2 hours a day (spit up)

.gymnastics gym one friday for free time. i get asked ALL THE TIME if these two are twins. doesnt help i dressed them alike this day.

.so we went shopping and i was holding parker the entire time. i put him down for maybe 1 minute to try a coat on b. when i went to pick him up i realized his eye was split open. my ONLY thought was that when i was holding him and bent down to grab something from the bottom rack, i nailed his head on the top rack. poor guy. he didnt even cry or anything.

".what you looking at?"

."dont you dare mess with me."

.usaa christmas dinner. it was HUGE and big and fabulous. it was great to get out with the hubs and have a reason to dress up (besides sunday when im not even an hour in and have snot, crackers, and marker on my dress from kiddos)

.this was JUST the dinner....tables were filled so we had to eat in the bleachers. 

.watching zz top at the party.

.alamo dome. where the spurs play is where it took place. 

.i got a text from my friend lindsay who was watching the kids saying she solved brooklynns sleeping problems. i was thrilled to hear what she had to say....until she sent me this picture....yea, no dog for us. 

.we got bored having to stay inside while the repair guys was here....we might as well make the best of it.

.christmas present from the hubs. i am beyond stoked. even though i have nothing else to unwrap under the tree i am sooo excited to use this baby for holiday goodies.