Thanksgiving in Tahoe - The Highlights

long time, no blog

It's been a while since I've had a free moment, I don't actually have one now, but I'm making one since my blog still had a Thanksgiving background. Between Christmas, Primary, Hair Clip orders, PTA and having three kids and a house to run, I've been a little preoccupied. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the busy-ness. It means I am able to work, willing to serve and happy to love. How thankful I am for this blessing in my life...busy-ness.

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day seven

I am thankful for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday ever! It is the only one entirely dedicated to food. Who could resist a delicious Thanksgiving meal? Not me. My (well, Stacey's) Sweet Potato Souffle is amazing and a Thanksgiving meal wouldn't be complete without it! I can't imagine going back to sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping or yams and apples. Blahhh.

I love the opportunity Thanksgiving gives us to be really thoughtful about the things we are thankful for. This year we are headed to Lake Tahoe with our friends and I am truly looking forward to the good times we will have and, of course, the delicious food! I love Thanksgiving!

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day six

I am thankful for Costco.

Costco has been a new found love for me this past year. I don't generally need a 5 pound jar of pickles, but if I did, I could get them there. The fact that they have samples of delicious items to share allows me to distract my children long enough to get the shopping done. The kids enjoys the Costco shopping, usually because they can get a Costco Dog at the end of the trip. It works out for everyone. I get my shopping done and then we can all eat lunch for about $4. Here are some of my favorites:

• Artichoke Jalapeno Dip (a must try for everyone out there)
• Stacy's Naked Pita Chips (to be eaten with the aforementioned dip)
• Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon (6 individually wrapped pieces for $12)
• Sonoma Chicken Salad (not your healthiest choice, but oh so delicious)
• California Cuties (delicious little oranges)
• The 48-pack of Kirkland toilet paper (thanks, Kim, I am now a believer)
• 2 Movies tickets for $14.99 (they are $9.00 each at the box office)
• Costco Dog and drink bargain

You just can't beat a good shopping trip to Costco!

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day Five

I am thankful for the internet.

Nerdy? Probably. Dorky? Most definitely. True? Absolutely. I cannot function without the internet. I honestly don't know what I did before Google. Need a map? Internet. Need a plumber? Internet. Christmas shopping, invitations, encyclopedia, banking, long lost friends? Yep, you guessed it, internet. It is so helpful, useful, friendly and it just makes me smile. I check my e-mail more than your average Joe and I am ok with that. Thank you, computer, I am grateful for your internet abilities.

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day Four

I am thankful for my family.

Mom - for never making meatloaf.

Dad - for the clam chowder with "Eagle Brand" milk.

Devin- for introducing me to Ferris and Princess Vespa.

Keri - for dressing up in foil with me for our free burritos.

MIL (Nellie) - for appreciating my love of a good restaurant.

FIL (Lary) - for the adventure on the lake.

Kate - for making my hair beautiful and not taking creative liberties.

Clint - for driving to BYU so many times to make sure I didn't forget him. I didn't.

Gavin - for not being over 8 lbs at birth.

Carson - for only 45 minutes of labor.

Cambria - for being a girl.

Sydney (the dog) - well, hmmm, I guess I am grateful that my children now pick up their toys and shoes so she doesn't chew them up. Thanks Sydney.

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day three

I am thankful for my health.

By being grateful for my health, I must be grateful for other things as well. I shall now list those.

• I am grateful for Weight Watchers for making sure I always fit into my pants.
• I am grateful for the Drive-Thru Subway so I can eat "out" and not have to get fries.
• I am grateful for Kalah, my Turbo Kick instructor that makes me work harder than I really want to.
• I am grateful for my kids that make me play with them and for the dog that makes me run around the block 17 times.
• I am grateful that my kids will eat carrots and broccoli and that they are healthy too.
• I am grateful for 100 calorie packs of cinnamon muffins and 98% fat free hot dogs.
• I am grateful for the Ann Taylor Loft sizing scale. It's a bit skewed, but it sure makes you feel skinny!
• I am grateful for Clint, who let me join the YMCA a few years ago even though he wasn't sure I'd go. It was definitely worth it!

There are so many people with so many health problems and I am grateful to have escaped them so far. I feel totally blessed to have a healthy and strong family!

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day Two

I am thankful for the US Navy.They make it possible for me to feed my children and live in a house. They continue to fight so I can go to church where I want to, vote how I want to, and wear what I want to. They have given me the opportunity to live in some great places and some not-so-great places. Because of them, my circle of friends has grown, my favorite place to live has changed, and my patriotism has increased. Everything that the Navy has done for us has led us to this point and everything that it will do for us will lead us down the rest of our path. I know we will be fortunate to live in some more great places and meet some more great people. It's a life that we have chosen and I'm so happy with where it has taken us. Thanks U.S. Navy, you're good people.

WEEK OF GRATITUDE - Day One

I am thankful for friends.

All my friends, old and new are so important to me and I love them all. They make me smile when I want to frown and make me laugh when I want to cry. Moving every year or two has its challenges, but I am so grateful that there are nice people everywhere who are willing to add a new friend to their lives at the moment that I need one. To all my new friends, thank you for adding me in. To all my old friends, thanks for sticking around. I am a people person and without you, I may cry a little more and laugh a little less.

Thank you for having ladies nights and including me. Thank you for your sense of humor and your love of a good chick flick. Thanks for watching my kids and going on double dates with Clint and I. Thanks for laughing when I try to be funny, thanks for not laughing when I'm not. Thanks for the trips to the museums, the beach, the store, the restaurant, the park, the movies, the pool. I love you and because of you, I am grateful.

Ribbon Crazy

My friend Abbey and I have been on a mission to make cute hair clippies for our girls. We've done it and now we're going out of control!! She posted some up on her website, so if you're interested, let me know! We're craftin' crazy!

Cambo Picasso

I let the kids do arts and crafts the other day. The boys wanted to make suncatchers and Cambria wanted to make a snowman. Here are the results:

Free Digital Scrapbook

I just made my first digital scrapbook and, thanks to Oprah, it was free (before shipping)! You can make one too, but you have to do it TODAY! The coupon expires tomorrow. Click here and go to it!

Kiddos

My super talented friend Susanne took these for us this week. You can view more of her stuff here.

Carmel Photo Shoot

What do you get...

...when you ask the kids to take a picture of the moms?

After many failed attempts, success!

Cambria's new picture

Tagged by Sarah

I'm not much of a tagger, but you know I can't resist a blog challenge!

What I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Crying over the 7 pounds I gained after 1 year of marriage
2. Bowling on a league with my MIL, cause I'm a super champ bowler
3. Trying to wish the snow away so I wouldn't have to dig out my car
4. Still figuring out how I was really supposed to be in charge of making meals
5. Watching network TV on our 23 inch console, because we were way too broke for cable

5 things on my to-do list today...
1. Get all my stuff done for Super Saturday
2. Finish my Prop 8 calls
3. Figure out how I am really supposed to be in charge of making meals
4. Sweep and mop the entire house...I miss carpet!!!!
5. Perhaps find a last minute babysitter and sneak a date with Clint

5 favorite snacks...
1. Garlic bread
2. brownie sundaes (I know it's not a snack, but it's delicious)
3. dark chocolate cherry granola bars
4. popcorn
5. cheese

5 jobs I've had...
1. Babysitter extraordinaire
2. Farmers Insurance
3. Accounts Payable - Kitchen and Bath Ideas
4. Domestic Engineer - Hoskins' House
5. Blogreader - I do it like it's my job, so don't knock it

5 things I would do with a million dollars...
1. Buy my dream home in San Diego, I already know the address
2. Vacation all over the place...Hawaii, Australia, Jamaica, Virginia...
3. Buy some awesome cars, a house cleaner and laundry folder
4. Share the wealth with my friends and family who need it
5. Make a time machine and go back and invest in Microsoft

5 things that made me laugh this week...
1. Watching Cambria flex her butt while laying on her tummy at the beach
2. The dog chewing up the book on how to train your dog (more to follow)
3. My fabulous experience at the hotel
4. The fact that I still think I am young enough to stay up till midnight
5. The fact that I slept till 7:15 a.m. and smiled that I got to sleep in

5 people I tag to answer these questions...
1. Aundrea
2. Katie
3. Ginny
4. Chrissey
5. Sarah B. (Can you feel THAT love??)

Grandpa the Great

Clint's Grandpa is our last link to that generation in our family. We love him and wish we could be with him! Thanks to the techno age we live in, we can send him this message instantly! We love you Grandpa!!

Pumpkins and such

Last Monday night we went to the Pumpkin Patch. The kids picked out all different pumpkins and had so much fun!

Wildfires

I dropped Clint off at the airport this morning at 5:00 and headed home with the kids. We had to stop and be redirected because of this. It must have just flared up because we watched it go from pretty mild to crazy burning! It was a little scary! I think my picture is better of the actual flames than the one on the news website. I should sell it!

Loads of DisneyLand Fun

Going during October was so so festive! They had pumpkins everywhere and I do NOT envy the crew that has to pull that off every year. I imagine a similar decorating extravaganza occurs at Christmas time. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters was one of our favorite rides... ...but Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootout was the best!

DisneyLand

You may say, why would they all dress alike? I wasn't trying to be cute or matchy-matchy. I'll tell you it's one of our best tips from the trip. I read that you should color coordinate small children so they are easy to spot. Well, by color coordinating our whole family, it was absolutely fabulous. If Clint and Gavin went on a ride and had to come find us, they looked for the red shirts. I also looked for their red shirts and it was so easy to spot. I wouldn't recommend white or yellow, well, I actually wouldn't recommend any other color at all, but it was such a great idea and I am so glad we did it!

Hotels.com, friend or foe?

Just thought I would pass along some quick information on our hotel that hotels.com forgot to post about it, a Ramada. Keep in mind, all this is completely complimentary!

1. "Language Immersion Program" -For one square mile you will not find anything on a sign that is in English. So whether you need a dry cleaner or a place for breakfast, you better bone up on your languages, because this program is not for wimps.
I am sure glad they translated that, or I would have NO idea what that meant.

2. "Live Nightly Entertainment" -Each night you will have the opportunity to listen to some fabulous karaoke tunes belted out by some local vocalists. This will be located directly below your room in the restaurant portion of the hotel. It goes until 1:30 am, so sing as loud as possible! Oh, and did we mention, there won't be American songs to choose from, you're in Little Saigon, so the local muscial selections reign.

3. "Friends to Last Longer Than you Could Hope" -When you are ready to jump in the shower, meet and greet your new friends. They're tenacious little fellows, so don't even bother trying to wash them down the drain. Luckily for you, they will gladly come home with you and be week-long companions.

We enjoyed all these little perks, we hope you can too!