Thankgiving and everything else...

So I am kinda stinking at this blogging thing lately.  But I feel like I don't have enough time for anything and I would rather hang out with my kids then blog about them, so...

Nov came and went and we were super busy.  We pulled Marcus and Addy out of soccer bc they were not playing (everyone really harassed me about it--hinting that if I don't teach them now to follow thru then they will never learn--seriously!  They are 3 yrs old!)

Katie did great.  She loved soccer and really pushed herself to progress.  She didn't score any goals this year, but she really went after the ball, and wasn't afraid to hip check if needed (and she was the smallest kid on the team).  We are thinking in Spring she can be the goal scoring machine.

Addy cheering Katie on

Then Uncle John when on a mission-Oklahoma City here comes a Dalia!
We are so proud of him.  We met the family in Raleigh to go to the temple with him and then had a big family dinner.  It was a good thing we all went bc the kids were all sick the weekend of his farewell so I made the trek to the mountains by myself.

 Katie had a speaking part in the primary (kids) program.  She memorized it with no effort and spoke up when she said it at church in front of everyone.  The funniest part was Addy...she was around while we where practicing, I would have Katie read her part and then tell her to say it without looking.  Later I overheard Addy saying the part to herself, seriously word for word.  When I walked in on her and told her good job, she said, "and mom I can say it without looking" and covered her eyes and repeated the part.

Mark turned the big 30--yeah, we love him!  We got him an ice cream cake, it was the twins idea, I tried to talk them into one for their birthday but they insisted on a cake and cupcakes.  But, when Mark's birthday rolled around they would not let an ice cream cake go.

I didn't think it was as good as I remembered but the kids sure liked it.

Katie learned all about Thanksgiving at school.  She dyed her own Native American costume and made a headdress and necklace.  She told me all about everything that happened on the first Thanksgiving.  The preschool version is so pleasant.

Anyway...

We spent Thanksgiving this year with my family on Dufuskie Island.  In my mind it was a hassle to get there (I think I was the only complainer) but once we arrived it was well worth it.  I arrived Monday with the kids and Mark came down Weds with my brother Joey and his family.


Rest stop on the way down

We drove a few hours from Charlotte and parked the car and then took a ferry to the island.  The kids were so excited to ride a boat.  To top it off, my brother Tripp and family were on the ferry with us, so the cousins were excited to see each other.  (And Hannah came with me so that she could help me keep the kids from falling overboard.)  On the trip to the island we were joined by dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the boat.  I don't think it could have gotten any better.

We were met at the docks by Scotia, Bryan and Caleb on golf carts to take us to the house.  As I was walking down the ramp pushing the stroller of bags, Katie's backpack rolled off and into the water.  All of the workers on the dock stared at it, no one did anything...I seriously thought they were going to make me jump in as I watched it starting to sink.  Finally, some guy got a hook and rescued it right before it went under.

The kids disappeared within mins of walking into the house full of their cousins and aunt and uncles.  

The first two days there the weather was amazing.  The kids played in the water in their bathing suits (I was a slacker and didn't take any pictures of this).  The island had some really cool tide patterns so there were times when we had a ginormous beach to walk on.  There were also dolphins everywhere.  On Wed when Mark got there, Marcus and I took him down to the beach and the dolphins where swimming as far out as the kids had been playing the day before.

When Mark arrived the weather cooled downed a little but it was still warm enough to enjoy the beach.

Hannah, Me, Addy and Marcus

One day we took Marcus and Addy (Katie was with cooler people) out on the golf cart for a ride.  We ended up on a golf course that was closed for the season.  There just happened to be a golf club and a golf ball in the cart.  We had a great time hitting the ball around, until Mark decided to show us how strong he was and hit the ball into the pond, that was the end of our illegal fun.

(Let me just insert here how much I hate blogger sometimes, it just deleted a whole paragraph for no reason, and while I am complaining, I will just add that the reason it has taken me so long to get this post and the future ones out is because it took me 3 tries to get these stinken pictures on.)

Thanksgiving day was great, we all made something, so there was lots of good food.  It was a little interesting though because we were on an island with no grocery store so there was some creative substituting going on to make up for the ingredients we forgot. 

Katie brought her Native American costume to show everyone.  She was so excited but when it came time to be the center of attention she got suddenly shy.

some of the grandkids and younger siblings

The greatest part of the trip was that Marcus had boys to play with the entire time.  There were no tutus (not that we brought any to the beach anyway) or princess crowns (those either); just pure sticks, cars, balls, jumping from couch to coffee table to couch, and pool table and pool sticks (I wonder if anyone will be able to actually play on that table again).

There were some really cool tree stumps and roots on the beach, so our last day we took some family pictures.  If we had planned ahead a little we would have done it with better light.  Oh well, thanks anyways Chris for taking them.

Carson and Katie

Oh and did I mention that we got to spend so much time with Mark that we almost forgot that he works a job that is always trying to steal him away. 

Halloween 2011

Halloween this year was a little rushed...and not so organized.  Ok, ok I am never really on top of things, but with the move this year I am still feeling so far behind.  

A week or so before Halloween the kids painted the pumpkins from their farm trips.  

Then there were parties at both schools that I was able to attend with the kids.

 

Marcus wouldn't put on his costume and I didn't have Addy's yet-so she went as a ballerina

 

 We went to a Halloween party at a friend's house.

A couple weeks ago I was at the grocery store with the kids.  We saw this ginormous pumpkin and the kids asked if we could buy it.  I put it in the cart and all three kids stopped talking they were so surprised, I guess I tell them 'no' too much.

 

 Big strong Daddy

Katie was the only one who wasn't grossed out by the seeds.  Addy's and Marcus' faces were so funny.

The kids think Mark is so cool because he can carve a pumpkin.  He went into Katie's school this year and carved the pumpkin for her class.  Katie was so proud.  (If you noticed that Katie has on different clothes in the final picture it is because the poor girl got sick in the middle of everything.  She was so concerned about still being sick on Halloween.)

 (Halloween shirts)

And now,

the cuteness we have all been waiting for...

the cheerleader, the princess and spider man

 

Katie asked me to dress up this year, it was last minute but the kids were so excited when I said I would.  Next year we will talk Mark into joining the crowd.

Mark came home early to go trick or treating with us!!!

Marcus was the trick or treating pro this year.  He was running from door to door. I did have to bribe him to get the costume on, but once he realized that people were giving him candy because he had it on, he stopped whining about it.  We brought some extra bags to empty the kids candy into and Katie and Addy gladly lightened their load, but Marcus refused to let us touch his candy.  He would not even let us help him carry his pumpkin.  By the end of the night he was almost dragging it because it was so heavy.  But the only way we got him home is because he couldn't carry it anymore (and because we told him he could eat some).

 

The only thing better then getting candy for free is counting and eating it!

Mi vida

Some random moments in our life . . .

Last week when I dropped the kids off at school everyone was standing in the hallway with lunchboxes in hand.  When I tried to walk Marcus and Addy to their classrooms everyone looked at me expectantly, like I was doing something wrong, I was so confused.  Long story short, it was field trip day.  They had sent the notice home, but somehow that notice missed Marcus and Addy's bags.  I had a long list of things I needed to get done that day but decided to go with the kids on their field trip instead.  They were going to a farm for some fall fun.  There were some fun animals to look at, a wagon ride, and a pumpkin patch.  They had these great slides that the kids (and I) had a blast going down.

one of the slides

 

They told the kids they could each pick one pumpkin, so Marcus loaded his bag with as many as it would hold.

We are all settled in our house and are really enjoying our neighborhood.  One of the reasons I love this neighborhood is because we are within walking distance to the local YMCA.  It is like a big family, within days of joining they knew all of our names.  They have great childcare where I can drop the kids off to workout.  I put all three kids in soccer this year.  I think it might have been a mistake to put Marcus and Addy in.  They are stinkers during practice--they keep distracting each other.  It doesn't help that they don't quite understand that the objective is to take the soccer ball from other kids and then kick it towards the goal.  They keep getting mad when someone takes the ball from them.  Addy did score a goal during a scrimmage at one point.  We have high hopes for next year.

Katie on the other hand is doing awesome.  She is a feisty little thing on the field and isn't afraid to get in there and get the ball.

Another thing we have been enjoying is the weather (it is perfect) and the park across the street.  Everyone hangs out there after school, so we have met all sorts of friends.  Marcus has been practicing on his new bike and is doing pretty well.

 

Katie has been bugging me to cut her hair short so we finally got to a salon and (against Mark's wishes) chopped it all off.  Katie was so excited, and it didn't take Mark long to come around to her new short-haired cuteness.

Katie and Addy doing their most favorite thing, coloring and drawing.  Katie has started writing stories and drawing pictures of everything we do. 

Katie had a birthday party to go to so Marcus and Addy and I decided to have a little fun, we went to Earth Fare and ate dinner.  The kids were so excited to push the little carts through the store.  We put our food in them and went outside to eat.

If they look a little crazy in the picture...they are.  Marcus and Addy have so much fun together, they are so hyper together and totally feed off of each other.  Of course when you add Katie to the mix I feel like I am loosing my mind.