Why is it that whenever Mike and I get an idea in our heads of doing something that we think our kids will enjoy, we don't remember all the other times that the thought and the outcome don't really match up? We did it yet again. We had the great idea of putting up the Christmas tree which, ok we were gonna do anyway, but thought that this year our kids would really like helping and think it was a really fun activity. Well, the only thing that Landon thought was fun was throwing Abbie's underwear and all of his dinosaurs on the tree while Mike and I were putting up the lights and Abbie thought it was more fun to watch shows, than to help, therefore we have the posed picture of her. She was threated with death to hang ornaments on the tree so that we could get some "cute pictures.' All of the ornaments ended up within the same two feet of each other and there are still decorations the boxes (that are still out mind you) that need to be put up. Will this all be worth it by December 26th? Merry freakin Christmas!

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! This is what our weekend looked like. We had a great time on Thanksgiving day with some friends from the ward. I just wasn't the same as being with family though. Anyway, we ended up coming home without any leftovers. I personally was ok with that, but as you can imagine...Mike was NOT! He went straight to the grocery store on Friday and bought the fixins for an entire Thanksgiving meal and cooked all day. We sat down to nice dinner that night at about 8:30. We have been eating it all weekend. As you can see, we also spent the weekend putting lights up on our house. I am so glad to have a house to put lights on this year! It was actually Mike's idea, and he was the one who wanted to get the extra stuff for the windows. I know, I know...shocker right? They turned out really pretty, and the kids were so excited.

Check out my Slide Show!

The Joys of Having Dad Back

Is there anything better than Saturday morning doughnuts and chocolate milk? Yes, having Mike on a rotation where we actually get to see him. As you can see. I'm not the only one who is glad!
We do love those doughnuts at our house though!
Landon just eats the chocolate off the top and then gets another one out of the box.

Permanant Headache!

Ok, so here is the progression of Landon taking his coat off after coming inside. He is Mr. Independant these days, and that is putting it lightly. We usually don't start off too bad. He begins to take the coat off, thinking that it won't be too difficult...
He is now starting to realize, "hey, this is harder than I thought it was going to be, but I'm REALLY stubborn so no, I will not give my mother the satisfaction of helping me, even though she is asking every 5 seconds "can mama help?"
This is where the crying begins. He is now at a crossroads. He has taken the coat off by himself before, so he knows that it can be done, but this time it is definitely not working! He still will not let me help!
Frustration takes over and the fits of hysterics begin. Still will NOT let mom help!
There is no calming him down now. All I can do is offer hugs and support from the sideline. This can go on for minutes, but the child will not let me or anyone else help. If we did just step in and help or do it for him, he literally would not settle down for like 30 minutes. Oh, well at least I still have on sane child...oh wait....

This is what Abbie picked out to wear to school today. It's a lost cause at my house!!

Happy Halloween to everyone! I know it's a bit late, but oh well. We had a great time carving pumpkins with Mike home for Family night on Monday. Yes, I know...Mike and the mustache (sp?) It's scary. Luckily, he shaved it that night. Abbie was so hilarious with the pumpkins. She had been excited all day to carve them, but for those of you who know Abbie you won't be surprised to hear that once we got them opened up she was gagging because of the smell and plugging her nose while she scooped out the guts with a spoon. She would not dare touch the seeds or anything! It was pretty funny.
I know, kind of lame, but I forgot to buy the cool stencil ones at the store that day, and I was not going back. Abbir drew hers all by herself. Can you guess which one it is? ha ha.
( Ok, Nicole I am totally not surprised that Maddie and Abbie had the exact same costume are you? )Here are our cuties on Halloween night just before trick-or-treating. We had a ball going out with our neighbors. The kids got a lot of candy and some of the houses even had treats for the adults. Pretty cool. The kids looked great...unfortunately........
This .......and

This is what they looked like when we actually went outside. Yes, we had to do the old coat over the costume thing. We do live in Minnesota afterall!