The Greatest Thanksgiving Ever....

Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple was pretty hard to beat. We didn’t have money to fly from New Hampshire to Utah to be with family, so we made the best of it in our tiny old apartment. Our oven and stove were half-size so we could only cook a turkey breast. While the rolls were rising, we played croquet on the lawn in the cold, New England rain. We watched The Sound of Music and ate pumpkin pie.

We were thinking this year would finally topple our first year’s Thanksgiving as “the greatest ever.” It sure had a promising start with cousins Christy, Gentry, Mark and Laura, along with Uncles Kevin and Mike, Aunts Justina and Melanie and friend Wyatt in attendance. Nana and Granddad would be hosting a fabulous-as-always meal at their place.

The day started out very nicely with Eole and Christy making the rolls.

And Christy teaching Julia how to braid Eole's hair...and then Eole threw-up. Daniel was sure this was just because she had been coughing a lot. So we got in the car to head over to Nana and Granddad's...and she threw-up again, and again.

While everyone else gathered for what I'm sure was a fantastic meal...

Julia, Eole and Davyn sequested themselves in Nana and Granddad's back bedroom with a throw-up bowl and a movie.

We made an appearance for a family photo where Eole was able to hold it together until "the serving of pies" was announced and she threw-up everywhere. Oh, well, maybe next year will be the Greatest Thanksgiving ever.

It's Autumn Time

We discovered “leaves” this Fall.

And what is more fun than leaves and friends?

Davyn took his first swing

We hiked up to Hanging Rock to see the (mostly fallen) Autumn leaves.

Grandpa Ed and Grandma Jammet came to visit!

Halloween

Being a big three-year old, it's time to start some family traditions! We opted to paint pumpkins this year instead of carving.

Davyn-the-Bear supervised the efforts.

The finished product. Can you guess which one Eole painted? It's supposed to be a portrate of Mommy...very life-like, I can assure you.

Davyn went as a bee this year, and his mommy was his honeycomb.

Eole and her neighborhood friends all dressed up and ready to Trick-or-Treat.

Eole Turns Three

Daddy wanted to make his little girl's cake. He made a batch of pink frosting and had partially frosted the cake when Mommy informed him that Eole's favorite color was actually blue. Daddy, always willing to accommodate, quickly added blue dye and viola: A mostly blue-ish pink cake!

Blowing out the candles

Eole was a most gracious gift-receiver. She excitedly Ooohhd and Awwed while opening all her gifts. Highlights included "Froggio" game from Grandma Jammet and a tent from Nana and Granddad, and...

a trampoline from Auntie Melanie

Daniel Turns 30!

How do you celebrate such a milestone? The stars aligned and Daniel had 4 days off in a row! (love that Peds ED rotation!). Since it was October, we found a lovely beach front condo to rent for cheap, cheap. And since it was October in North Carolina, we had 80 degree weather with sunny skies.

Daniel's traditional Pumpkin Pie cake

Digging a "wind" hole

Davyn and Mommy

Charleston

Once every 8 years, my husband and I get to go on a date (at least that’s what it feels like). For our 8-year anniversary, we headed down to Charleston sans kids (thanks, Nana, and Granddad). Highlights of the trip included:

Our fantastic little B&B, The 1837. We stayed there due to the rave food reviews and it did not disappoint.

We loved shopping on King Street, especially the Honey Shop. It was like wine tasting (not that I’d know) but with various flavors of honey…. “oooh, this one has a nice floral bouquet to it.”

The food in Charleston will not be forgotten anytime soon. Who knew cheesy grits and crab stuffed catfish could be such a great combo?

We loved browsing the open air market with our fresh squeezed lemonades. And if we had the money, we would have snapped up that purse made out of the armadillo.

We walked the art galleries until we had to give respite to our tired footsies at a local café.

We toured gorgeous mult-million dollar Southern mansions and sat on these courting “joggling” boards.

Our final summation: We would recommend Charleston for your 8th anniversary (or 1st, or 18th or any excuse you can find).

My First Haircut

When I was in grade school, it was standard procedure stay at Grandma’s towards the end of summer. The week would end with a shopping trip for new school clothes at The Penny’s in Price and a trip across the pasture to Connie’s house for the new “school do”. Connie was (and still is) the "go to girl" for hair in Huntington. Being that it was the mid-80s, Grandma would request a cut and permanent(people over 70 refer to “perms” by their full name). No, I am NOT going to post a pre-braces, 1980s perm picture…it would sear out your eyeballs. However, it was with great pleasure that I was able to take Eole to Connie’s for her very first haircut!

Connie has upgraded to a new, beautiful house with her little salon right off the garage. If I could have anyone in the world give my girl her first haircut, it would have been Connie.

The Annual Pilgrimage

This past July the kids and I took the annual pilgrimage to Mecca--Utah-- to spend a fun-filled month with family. Poor daddy was left behind to endure his heaviest rotation where he got to sleep once every three days. We flew in to Denver (which cost half as much as flying into SLC…seriously, SLC?? Why you gotta be like that?). Grandpa picked us up and took us on a lovely trip along I-70 with a scenic detour through Aspen.

Aspen is full of chic people, but Eole bumped it up a notch by introducing French Chic as she took off all her clothes and ran through the town fountain. Highlights of Grandma and Grandpa’s town included

Going 4-wheeling with cousins

Running through sprinklers in the pasture

The local waterpark (with Auntie Jen)

A fossil dig in the Swell with Auntie Anna and fabulous cousins imported from Japan Salt Lake City was fun as well with

Climbing trees with more cousins

A fantastic BBQ at Auntie Sue and Michelle’s place

A wonderful priesthood ordination

And hanging out with ALL the surviving cousins we have (to date…). We look forward to doing this again in July 2013.