November 2010, Catching up...

Monday, November 8 was a great day and we didn't even have to spend money to have a good time. Duane had worked on call (24 hours) the day before and came home at about 8:00 in the morning. He was able to get a full nights rest with one minor disturbance so the day was ours! To make it all the better, Albany had it's first snow this day. We had a lot of fun playing outside off and on all day! Kalvin just couldn't get enough of it and he kept reminding me that snow meant it was Christmas and that it was time to get his "boom, boom"(Grandma Barbara had picked up a Christmas gift for him while we were in Arizona and we decided it'd be a good Christmas gift. Kalvin will not forget about that bazooka gun till he gets it.)

The snow that day was simply amazing! It only got about 3 inches high on the ground and was pretty wet, but they came down in huge puff balls and were fun to catch in our mouths. 

So, I really need some snow boots. By the end of the snow day I had slipped 3 times and the last fall was not good. I was holding Tristen, walking down some cement stairs and slipped on my no-traction, $5.00 Walmart special boots. Tristen immediately screamed and I was certain that I had broke his leg because it was under my body after I fell. I frantically jumped up and ran into my friends house to inspect. His leg looked hurt, but not broken so I wobbled to my car and was very sore the rest of the night. The next day was worse. I had landed on my side just above my hip bone and my arm. Here you can see the booboo on Tristen's foot and the bruise on my arm though it really doesn't do justice for what it felt like. I could barely get around the next day and laid on the couch a lot of the day. Day by day it got better. Within a week I felt much better.
Sadly, within a week, my back started hurting again. It was as though it came back at the same rate it left and the last couple of nights Duane has had to rub my back for several minutes before going to sleep.

(I love how in this picture, you can see Kalvin's feet flying through the air in the background. I think he was jumping on our clean laundry.)

 

Speaking of laundry, I have been so bad at it the last few months! Yikes! After spending a couple hours, I finally finished folding these clothes and discovered two more loads clean laundry waiting for me downstairs. AHHH!!! It never ends!

There were several of us mom's who'd got together because our husbands were all gone helping tear down a garage for a sister in the Branch one Saturday morning and we went out for a walk.

So, one benefits to living in a smaller city than the Phoenix Metro area is that after holiday's the clearance items stick around longer because there are not as many people rummaging through things. I bought SO many Halloween costumes for so little $$. I got most of it at 90% off!

 We've been working on the attic. We try to work on it over the weekends. Tristen's favorite job is to help take up the 2X4's.

 
There is a school within a 1/2 mile of our house that has an indoor ice skate rink and they dump the extra ice outside. Kalvin always notices it as we drive by. Sometimes, we'll get out and play for a few minutes.

After Kalvin's way cool Halloween costume, he decided it was fun painting boxes, so he asked to paint this one.

 He called it a spaceship.

 Tristen likes wearing it for a few seconds at a time as well.

Our next door neighbor had the coolest birthday party for their girl, Maddie. It was a carnival theme, they had a clown put on a magic show, rented a popcorn maker, had a cotton candy maker, made crafts, had pizza for everyone, and Kalvin LOVED it! They sent him home with a goodie bag. Among other things, he got a clown nose and goofy glasses. Very fun for a 3 year old!

 

Sometimes the boys love each other and share chocolate milk.

 Our roofer put sky lights in (though here he's just cut out the roof). Wahoo! They'll be just above our bed. I'm looking forward to looking out at the stars at night. This is a trial run to see if our "Someday master bed room" will have them.

 

Tristen thought painting was fun. 

 Fun to EAT!

 Thanksgiving this year was nice (although having someone ask if I was pregnant after dinner was not the greatest feeling). We ate at the Branch and at a friends house. The night before Thanksgiving a friend from the branch through a Pie Night Party. It was great fun. We made our first ever pie; pecan pie. It was deathly unhealthy and equally delicious. Pecan pie, my favorite! If you want the recipe, you can find it here (several people at the pie night told me this was their favorite pie there).

 For anyone who likes pumpkin pie, but is not totally fond of sweet potatoe pie, make this sweet potato recipe. It did take time to put together, but Duane did a fabulous job with it (as usual).

Kalvin and Sonnet are snitching from the mashed potato bowl before we began.