Happy Thanksgiving

Did anyone else's Thanksgiving begin looking a little like this?
Ours did.

But it quickly (ok not really so quickly) started looking like this...
(Marion Berry)

(Pecan)

Both completely from scratch!!
Not too bad considering I am NOT good at pie crusts and that I have NEVER done a lattice topped pie before. (don't look too close)
So what do you need besides pie to make Thanksgiving complete?
Some may say, "What else is there?"


But I discovered a few cute faces that added to the joy....

There were many more faces, I just thought these were some of the cutest ones. Hee Hee!

I also discovered a bit of LOVE is a very nice touch.

We were so happy to have Grandpa Stratford join us this year.

Then of course there is the TURKEY!!

(decorations are a nice touch- right?)
So we added a few more festive touches..

How about some beautiful Thanksgiving Art Work?

Of course you need a lovely table setting made with love by grandma.

with a few traditional touches...
With all those details in order it was time for the FEAST!

Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes and Gravy (mom), Green Bean Casserole (Kenzie),

Yams with Marshmallows (Deanne), Jello (Melanie),

Rolls (Brittany, Kenzie, Melanie, and grandma Waite).

Oh so TASTY!!! Oh so FULL!!!

So what do you do while waiting for your tummy to make room for PIE??

Lounge around...

Sleep...

Or maybe create a COZY FORT on the landing of the stairs? Grandma's full tummy must have made her confuse as to what holiday it was because she pulled out a few presents for everyone...

The grown-up kids got some new Christmas ornaments for the season

and the grand kids all got festive pajamas! They of course were all coordinating amongst the families. Madi and Kevi got red, Mav and Slater got green, and Trace, Ty, and Tate got blue.

In fact the T3 crew loved theirs so much they put them on as soon as we got home that night!

We also had a simple yet wonderful Family Home Evening (prepared by grandma) all about.... yep... THANKSGIVING!

We sang some songs and told some stories and then we each got to throw the stuffed turkey around and tell something we are thankful for.

It definitely helped reminds us of the meaning of the day... Thank You MOM!

Then... we were finally ready for....
PIE!

Apple (Brittany), Pecan and Marion Berry (Dee),

2 Pumpkin (grandma Waite) and a Banana Cream (Melanie)

DELICIOUSLY PERFECT!

I am grateful to have such a wonderful family. I am also grateful that our family has a

FABULOUS CABIN that is available for all of us to create so many memories at.

We loved being with my side this year and look forward to being with Dan's family next year.

I hope everyone had a very

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Now it is on to CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Our Tyler Keith Jacobs turned

5 years old

November 22, 2009!

It is always amazing to me when another year goes by. I never can believe that my baby is as old and as big as he is.

So to honor how much he has grown, here are a few favorite pictures I recently found.

Tyler was 7 months along when mom and dad decide to take him on a week long canoeing trip in Yellowstone. I feel lucky our canoe never tipped. I would have been the whale being dragged behind the canoe because there is no way I could have hauled that belly back into the boat.

Then our beautifully perfect baby decide to come 2 weeks early via C-section cuz the little stinker got confused as to which way was up! (He was Breech)

Oh how I LOVE his electric BLUE EYES!

(This picture is when Tyler informed me that his "underwear is DOOMED")

And now my little baby has turned into this

CRAZY, TOUGH and...
...and incredibly HANDSOME little man...

...who has been anxiously waiting for his big day all month long!

For as excited as he was for it, I could not get out of him what he wanted for his birthday.

All he could tell me was that he wanted BEER ROCKS and SALAD for dinner and a SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS CAKE or maybe a SPIDER MAN CAKE! He also really wanted to go to

CHUCK E CHEESE ...of course (which we plan to head to one night this week).

At the Kiddie Kollege Preschool they always celebrate their B-days on or as close to as they can and the BIRTHDAY BOY or girl gets to bring a treat to share with the class. So on Friday, per Tyler's request and designing skills, he got to bring these cute little triple chocolate cupcakes with neon blue vanilla butter cream frosting of course decorated with stretchy lizards.

I did grant his wishes for dinner and made scrumptious BEER ROCKS and SALAD.

... which he said over and over, "This is the BEST BIRTHDAY DINNER EVER!"

Dan said he wanted to make Tyler's B-day cake so this is the masterpiece he created.

(Triple Chocolate Fudge cake with Cream Cheese Frosting)

I was pretty impressed.

But because we were having both sides of the family over for his party

(an upwards of about 30 people)

I made a few cupcakes.

Tyler seemed pretty pleased with his cakes.

As is tradition, we watched the Tyler Movie first. This is a DVD that we make for each of our kids 1st B-day. It is a compilation of pictures and video clips put to music celebrating his first year of life. We have found these to be such treasures and the kids really LOVE watching their own special movie all about them. Makes mom cry every stinkin' time!

Then it was on to the PRESENTS!

He really was spoiled this year (as is every year). Unfortunately my camera battery died so I only got a couple pictures of the craziness!

This is DASH INCREDIBLE!

(he has been asking for a Dash action figure for over a 1 1/2 now)

Sooooo glad we finally found one for under $30 bucks on EBay. Seriously ridiculous.

We only paid $6 + $3 shipping... I still that was crazy for basically a McDonalds toy.

He was ECSTATIC! And that is what counts- right?
He also got humongous framed poster of Dash in action from daddy.

Because of the Dash theme going on here I thought it might be nice of me to fix Tyler's Dash costume. The zipper broke and Tyler has been begging me for over a year now to PLEASE FIX IT. I procrastinated because I had never put a zipper in anything and I felt very intimidated. BUT somehow I figured it out and he seemed quite grateful.
He got some amazing books (I always love those gifts), clothes, dart guns, movies, Lego Star Wars for the XBox 360 and several "FRITTER TOYS" as cousin Madi called them. Yes, that means he got a whoopie cushion and this other toy with buttons you can push to hear sounds of all the different kinds of TOOTS! How lucky?

Tyler seriously chuckled over these. His family sure does know him well.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR GENEROSITY and SUPPORT for this

INCREDIBLE LITTLE GUY!

WE LOVE YOU

TYLER KEITH!

BOYS!

So... I live in a house full of boys. Yup. I am the lone lady of the house and more and more I am getting harsh realizations of it. Some of the obvious ways you can tell that I am alone are:

There is absolutely NO PINK... ANYWHERE!

(not that I mind too much.. never been a huge pink fan... although that is starting to change...)

We have bedrooms colored in blues, reds, greens and browns.

They are FULL of transformers, super hero paraphernalia, action figures, monster trucks, four wheelers, sports cars, balls for every sport, etc....

There are ABSOLUTELY NO DOLLS! (stuffed animals pretended to be babies- maybe)

But No princesses or Barbies!

We have a load of dress-ups however... just no jeweled crowns, or high heel shoes, glittery dresses with lace and bows, or sparkly make-up.... just Spider man, Superman, Buzz Light year, Iron Man, Ninjas, Dash Incredible, Warriors, and Knights with accessories of swords, shields, helmets, magic wands, web shooters, utility belts, and the occasional sling shot (gotta watch out for that one).

We do have an adorable little pretend kitchen that I had such visions for. Tyler did love it for a while and Tate is starting to catch the vision. But most of the time the food, dishes, pots and pans just get thrown all over the basement.

Oh and it is very LOUD! There is much running wild, wrestling, teasing, and a few knock out drag down fights (working on that). But all in all we are a very LOUD family.

There are a few other items I find spread around the house that you might sometimes find with little girls but I just find them COMPLETELY GROSS!

Dried and crusty Snot Rags! Why is it so hard to just throw them away?

Dirty clothes that somehow NEVER make it INSIDE the laundry basket. They are either on the floor or resting on top of the lid. They're so close... WHY?

(Yes, this is a constant find from the BIG BOY in the house)

Little (and Big) Stinky, Sweaty Socks in the middle of the floor.

But I think that the most obvious give away that this is a HOUSE OF BOYS is this lovely fixture...

Yes it does appear clean and sparkly at the moment... I was trying to get proof that I really do clean them.
WARNING: You might puke in your mouth a little when you see this!

The picture is a bit out of focus (sorry) but that big yellow puddle glares at me every stinkin' day! Not just once a day but seriously after every potty usage!

In fact this picture was taken right after I had cleaned up 2 other puddles earlier that morning and then a certain boy (who seriously has no aim) used said toilet again. Did you catch that? This was the 3rd offense of the day therefore requiring a 3rd cleaning of the day!

Seriously... who cleans their toilets 3 times a day? I do think once a day is a great goal to have but 3? Come on!

I'd love to say that because of this I make my boys clean their own bathrooms but on the times I have had them help me... I was somehow still gagging in my mouth.

So.... moral of this story:

I live in a house full of boys.

Please be forgiving if you decide to come by on a whim (which I do really love people dropping by). You may...no... you most likely will find a few yellow puddles. I am sorry. There are only just so many times I can pull out the rubber gloves and heavy duty disinfectant cleaner. I really do try to keep my house clean. Promise.

I repeat: I LIVE IN A HOUSE FULL OF BOYS!

I want S'more Muffins!

I tried out this tasty recipe for S'more muffins and OH MY!

DELECTABLE!

(I don't this this picture really does it justice)
Can you see the marshmallow creme just oozing out? Now imagine perfectly melted milk chocolate chips with a hint of graham cracker.

Seriously just melts in your mouth.

I had 2 of these babies for dessert last night and that was almost too much... Almost.

Another one "BITES" the dust...

At this rate, we'll have one rich little boy and 2 poor parents!

I remember back in the good ole' days when I only got a quarter for each tooth I lost.

Now it's a DOLLAR?

Seriously.

What a Mess!! ... or is it?

These little bookshelves may not look too messy, but it tends to drive me crazy. You see, first of all many of the books are missing from their correct spot on the shelf and YES they do have a correct spot. It really makes me feel good to have all the books catagorized by subject, sizes, authors, etc..

However, most of the time this is where I find the books...

There is always a pile on Tate's bed.

A few scattering a trail through the hallway.
And many more just left in small, sometimes large, piles all over the house.

WHY must this be?

Because my boys LOVE BOOKS!

I know I have mentioned this before but seriously this is how I find them all the time.
My big boy included.

Some of Tate's VERY favorite books are:
(this would be THE FAVORITE-Thank You Grandma Jacobs)

and a few of these...
So do I mind the mess? Absolutely not!