Happy Thanksgiving

Today started a little earlier than anticipated as we were awakened by the blasts of our fire alarms. We had the fire station come out, although we could see no flames and smell no smoke. We didn't know what was going on. In the end we think it was the basement construction work that affected the smoke detectors downstairs.

Since we were already up, we got ready for our trip to the zoo for Feast with the Beasts. I made Kent donate his pumpkin this year. In return we got in for free today plus tickets to come back again sometime next year.
It was bitterly cold up there, but we still enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the elephants. Our pumpkin went to the elephant stomp. The little elephant, Zuri, played around with and ate our pumpkin while we watched. It was fun!

There's our pumpkin in the front with the hole cut in the side.

After the zoo the older kids and I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving. Kent stayed home with Josh who has had a fever for the past couple days. At my parents house we had a delicious turkey dinner and then played some Dicecapades (a game Sawyer got for his birthday from his friend this year).

We ended the evening watching "The Chipmunks" movie, and Kent's parents brought over some lemon meringue pie for those who like it (Kent).

It was a fun Thanksgiving!

Halloween

This year we will be out of town for Halloween, so we made sure to get a little trick-or-treat fun before.  On Saturday we went to SoDa Row where they had little toys and games.  Not much candy, but it was still fun for the kids.  

Luke Skywalker started to melt down towards the end.

Costumes from L to R:

Neymar Jr. (soccer player), Luke Skywalker, Angel, and Darth Vader

On Monday we went to the rec center where they had 'colored' the pool a purple color and had pumpkins floating around (if you got there early enough----which we didn't).  Josh didn't want to go, so the older kids had a great time while I read my book.

Happy Halloween festivities!

4th of July

We started our 4th by installing a couple more sprinkler zones in the yard.  Around lunch time we headed to my parents for a cousins lunch/playtime.  The kids got to slip n slide, play in a kiddie pool, or hot tub.  

Josh was attached to the toy bus all day.  They had these same buses in nursery as well.   He loved seeing the bus that Hayden rode to kindergarten and sometimes I could hear him singing in the back afterward and I eventually figured out he was trying to sing "The Wheels on the Bus".

We went home for Josh's nap time and our rest time before we headed to Shelley and James house for backyard fireworks and pizza.  They had a great vantage point and neighbors who did lots of good aerials.   

Merry Christmas

Advent Calendar

I just finished planning out our advent calendar for December, and just in the nick of time!

Here's what we're doing this year:

1. Eddie the Elf is here…can you find him?
2. Decorate the tree

3. Make a paper countdown chain

4. Address and Mail Christmas Cards

5. Dutch Christmas Eve Dec. 5

6. Watch The Grinch

7. Hot Chocolate and whipped cream

8. Grandma and Grandpa read a Christmas story to us

9. Make sugar cookies

10. Mail a package to someone

11. Make paper snowflakes

12. Homemade fondant

13. Watch Shrek the Halls

14. Wear something red or green

15. Ward Christmas party

16. Drive around to see lights

17. Wrap exchange gifts

18. Watch Rudolph

19. Homemade marshmallows

20. Read the Christmas story from Bible

21. Polar Express night

22. Have reindeer pancakes

23. Do something nice for a family member

24. Christmas Eve party!

25. Merry Christmas!!!

Our Halloween

Our Halloween celebrations came early this year, which turned out to be a good thing since the hurricane is going to ruin the real Halloween this year.

First, we watched McKinley at her field hockey game.  Greenwich invited us back for another game since they appreciated the sportsmanship of Wilton.  It was a good skill match up, but Wilton came out on top with a 2-1 victory!  And some of those houses in Greenwich...yowsers!  Nice!



After the game everyone got dressed in the car as we drove to the Wilton town center for their annual "pumpkin parade".  It was really a business to business trick-or-treating.  We lasted for about a half hour before the complaining of tired feet and thirsty throats directed us back to our car.

Scads of kids in town.
Last year there were 1000 kids!

Race car driver



I made the group stop before the car ride home for one more Halloween picture together.



After the town trick-or-treating, Sawyer went to his flag football game (they won!), while I took the other three to the ward Trunk-or-Treat.  McKinley decorated the back of the trunk and won 3rd place for all her hard work.  She had a good time and was very meticulous (must get that from her dad) with how all the candy had to be placed out. 

Sawyer was sad to miss out on the candy, but McKinley gave him some of her 6 pounds of candy.

We are all done with Halloween here.

Next up...hurricane Sandy.

Work Trick-or-Treat

Right after school I took the kids over to Kent's work for their annual trick-or-treat maze.

This year's costumes were:

Hayden---Pokemon trainer

McKinley---Greek Goddess Aphrodite

Josh---race car driver

Sawyer---Pokemon trainer



Josh was not in the mood for a picture.



Memorial Day weekend

On Saturday we wanted to go hiking in the mountains.  But we settled for a picnic up north in Cornwall.  The drive felt ridiculously long this time.  Even more so coming home!  The kids had something to do with that :) 
We found a state park picnic area right by the Housatonic River.  The bugs were out in full force, so we stayed long enough to eat and let the kids run around and hopefully expend their energy...it didn't work.

He already shakes his little legs and arms when he watches his brothers and sister running around.  He can't wait to join them!

On Monday McKinley and I went to the Wilton town parade.  We were accidentally really early and had to wait a long time for the 10:00 start.  I got a little teary eyed when the flag came up that road though, and all the servicemen in their uniforms.  I love America!  The parade also had many of the town sports teams marching, a few preschools, the library, boy scouts and girl scouts.  It was a fun little time.  If we're here next year I'll go again!

Kent headed out that evening for a business trip to Ohio, so the kids and I ate waffles for dinner and had ice cream later.

Easter fun

The kids woke up at 6:00 and were sequestered in their rooms until 7:00 which is a much more decent hour.
They checked out their Easter baskets that had a book, silly putty, a chocolate bunny, peeps and money (a couple dollar bills). I had their new Easter clothes laid out (and ironed!---it was an Easter miracle!)
Then off to church where I had sharing time this week.
After church McKinley planned and carried out a picnic outside. We tossed a football and then did some archery, and read our books.
We finished off the night eating a Roasted Chicken, and then decorating our Easter eggs.

McKinley does pretty well with the bows and arrows.

Kent got the "bunny"!

Josh hung out in his swing for a few minutes before he needed to be held.

We decorated our eggs. Tonight we'll eat them in our dinner (Egg-la-golden-rod)!

Valentine's Day

Our day started out bright and early.

Baby woke up at 5:30 to eat, which I won't complain about since he goes to bed at 7:00 pm. He went right back to sleep until 9:30 am.

Around 6:00 I got McKinley up, cooked some heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes for McKinley, made fruit kabobs for her class party, and then took her to early morning orchestra practice by 6:45.

When I got back home I took Sadie for a "walk"/run. She has some learning to do and I came back home completely wiped out from teaching her.

The boys were up watching cartoons so I made them their chocolate chip pancake hearts with a side of fruit. Sawyer only ate the fruit and then informed me that he couldn't eat the pancakes because they weren't healthy for breakfast. Isn't that the point?! They are doing their healthy food unit at school...obviously. He felt fine about eating his chocolate heart this morning though :)

Once Sawyer was off to school we had to get ready for the playgroup Valentine's party. Hayden had fun decorating a Valentine's box, eating snacks, and decorating a cookie. Then they exchanged Valentine's.

We came home for about an hour, then off we went to McKinley's first orchestra performance. I'll post that later this week. She got a bouquet of white roses from her dad after the performance. And Josh didn't even cry like he usually does when she practices at home.

Kent came to the performance too and surprised me with some roses and a spa certificate. Oh and the latest Twilight movie.


I made the kids valentine's this year and had them printed out. Hayden loves panda bears, McKinley wanted Sadie's puppy picture on it, and Sawyer still likes angry birds.
McKinley had to write compliments to her classmates, so that's what we did for FHE last night for each member of the family. It was fun...to me at least.

And to finish the day off, we are making homemade pizzas at home tonight, followed by the kids regularly scheduled bedtime at 7:00, and then some peace and quiet on the couch watching tv. I may be forcing a little "Downton Abbey" on Kent tonight.

Happy Valentine's!

Christmas Day!

Kent heard the kids stirring before 6:00 this morning, despite the "not until 7:00" rule we placed last night :) He came and woke me up to tell me the kids were awake.
The kids had to line up from youngest to oldest to walk down the stairs and see what was left for them.
They oohed and ahhed then went to check out their stockings. McKinley read the note Santa wrote back to her. I made them sit for a photo before we started opening presents. We took turns opening gifts one at a time. We started with the gifts Santa left for them.

Josh woke up at about 7:00.

My Christmas baby!

So adorable in his cute little jammies.We finished opening gifts around 8:30. I baked the cinnamon rolls I had prepared the night before. Super ooey-gooey! We spent the rest of the morning playing with toys and eating candy.

The hot presents this year:

• McKinley: clothes of course, angry bird, webkinz, littlest pet shops, zhu zhu pets and accessories, art supplies, books, DS game, animal magazine subscription, snow tube.


• Sawyer: angry birds, football PS3 game, Glow art kit, snow tube, nascar, zhu zhu, marble run, football gloves, kicking tee, hot wheels, custom motors, lego nascars, DS game, book, nerf gun, basketball backboard.


• Hayden: angry birds, lots of various Toy Story characters, Toy Story activity book, book and stickers, nerf gun, DS game, PS3 game, puzzle, snow tube, zhu zhu, pillow pets, crayola coloring kit.


• Josh: clothes, bumbo, binkies, and bottles, wooden name train, singing "O" man.


• Kent: clothes, tools, mechanic jack/vehicle lift kit, various books and scrapbooks from the kids.


• Heather: clothes, oven mitt, ring, money, cookbook, cake mix and platter, winter dishes, figurine, calendar, scarf, books made by the kids.


• Family: Kettle popcorn maker, camcorder, Life board game, movies.

The At 12:45 though we took a break to go to church. When we got back we did more of the same, talked to Grandmas and Grandpas, and ended the night playing our new board game "Life" until 9:00.

It was a little too chilly for baby to sit out for this photo.

We had a great Christmas this year!

Christmas Eve

The kids spent the day asking when they could open some presents...all. day. long.

We finally got dinner ready around 5:00-ish. We had Dutch oven style chicken and potatoes. They ate as fast as they could, but then they had to wait for me to finish eating :)
After dinner we played Doodle Dice. The first person to win (team Mom/Josh) got to open their family exchange gift. Second was McKinley, then Sawyer, then team Dad/Hayden. After the exchange the kids opened their jammies from Grandma and Grandpa Korth.We read the Bible and Book of Mormon Christmas accounts, and then we put out the cookies and milk for Santa. McKinley wrote Santa a letter thanking him for bringing presents to all the good boys and girls. The kids got all nestled and snug in their beds. McKinley said she tried to stay up all night to wait for Santa to come. She didn't make it very long.

Kent put out the family presents and then we went to bed to wait for Santa to visit!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Happy Thanksgiving!

and Josh is 6 weeks old today!

This year's dinner is a far cry from last year's McDonald's. I have been cooking all day so we could have a nice turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, homemade rolls, fresh cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and two chocolate pudding pies! Yum!

I made everyone go outside and play a little football, which turned into a little soccer. Later the kids want to have a sleep over together.

It's been a good Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin carving

We carved our pumpkins for FHE tonight.

Sawyer wanted his to be scary. So this is the design he came up with. McKinley made her pumpkins into a cat, a witch and a ghost (pics coming later). She took FOREVER planning out her pumpkins facial designs.

Hayden wanted his pumpkin to be angry. He's kind of an angry little boy. He pulls this face a lot. He looks just like the angry pumpkin doesn't he?

Sawyer designed Josh's pumpkin (on the far right).

It was fun to see all their personalities come through their pumpkins.

Christmas rundown

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids have been sooo excited. On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner of marinated chicken, baked potatoes, rolls, and asparagus. We watched the Polar Express while I made dinner. We were going to play games before we opened our exchange gifts, but McKinley was feeling sick again so we skipped that and just opened our exchange gifts. I made cookie dough and let the kids cut out a few cookies for Santa. Then we frosted them and put them on a plate. The kids all slept in the boys room, and went straight to sleep without a peep.

Christmas morning McKinley and Hayden woke up around 7 and Sawyer got up around 7:20. We line up from youngest to oldest to make the grand entrance to Christmas presents. The kids have to open stockings first, then we take turns opening one present at a time. When all the presents were done we then opened each toys ties and packaging so the kids could play.

The Aftermath

What the kids got and love this year:

McKinley: squinkies, zoobles, zoobles case, Blythe pet shop, clothes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, art sketch pad, scrapbooking materials, zhu zhu accessories, baby zhu zhu pet, Japanese erasers, Miranda Cosgrove CD, tinkerbell DS game,

Sawyer: Criss Cross Crash hot wheels track, color changer bath tub hot wheel track, custom motor hot wheels, Hot wheels DS game, Nascar die casts, hot wheels die cast, motorcycles, soccer ball, clothes, r/c car, tool set, a handmade afghan

Hayden: Buzz, Woody, Batmobile custom motor, Batcave trio set, Toy Story 3 DS game, Indiana Jones legos, Indiana Jones hat and whip, Toy Story game, r/c car, Nascar die casts, a handmade afghan

All kids: Let's Draw DS game, Memory, and movies.

I got some lovely pots and pans to replace the Teflon ones that are scraped and leeching black stuff into our food, a nice juicer, an immersion blender, a hat and scarf, lotion, and some slippers.

Kent got tools for his compressor, and sleep machine, and a certificate for a compound mitre saw. We both got a new mattress and a generator.

It was a fun Christmas, and we spent all day playing with toys, staying in our jammies, and watching movies together.

Merry Christmas

the Christmas cards should be arriving soon...I was late this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with a trip to Plymouth where it all began? Plymouth is about a 3 hour drive from where we live. We stayed over at a hotel on Wednesday night and got a nice early start on Thanksgiving day at the Plimoth Plantation.

Plimoth Plantation is a historical re-creation of the Wampanoag native people and the Pilgrim settlers who arrived on the Mayflower on December 21, 1620. The first winter 1/2 of the colonists died. Who planned a trip to land in America in December?! Anywho...this place lets you explore the different cultures of the people back then. The native people (you're not allowed to call them Indians) speak in modern times and tell you about their people back then and today. They actually build/make everything at the plantation authentically. It was really interesting!

They burn out the trees to make their boats. It takes about 2 weeks from start to finish. Men were in charge of taking life (hunting, cutting down trees, etc.) and women were in charge of making/nurturing life.

Here is the Plymouth settlers village with a view of the cape behind it.

The workers here spoke as if they lived in the year 1630. So everything they said or questions they answered were as if they were those settlers. I wish I could have sat and listened to them longer, but little kids aren't really into holding still house after house.

Next on the ticket was a visit to see the Mayflower II. It is a recreation of the Mayflower that the Pilgrims came over on. The real Mayflower sailed back to England and is gone now.
The Mayflower had 102 passengers on it. My great-great-great-....grandfather Kenelme Winslow's brother Edward Winslow was a passenger on the Mayflower. Kenelme (my ancestor) joined the colony a few years later.

It was a chilly day. I wished I had brought gloves for everyone. Here is the Mayflower II in the background.

And here it is up close. Quarters were tight. Amazingly only 1 person died on the trip, and 1 baby was born. I can't imagine having a baby at sea! Let alone having to live at the colony in December building everything from nothing!

After that we walked over to view the "Plymouth Rock". There was an annual Thanksgiving day Protest going on. Whatever. Until one of them started talking to McKinley and pushing their propaganda on my child, then I was annoyed.

Here is Plymouth Rock. Kind of a let down. It's about 4-5 feet long. Not really the grand rock in the ocean I imagined.

Then we took a drive around Cape Cod, a looong drive. Some of my ancestors are buried in a small cape cod cemetery that has no address, just vague directions. We finally found it near 5 Monument View Road, Dennis, MA (that's for reference if I need to find it again with my GPS).

It is a small square of fenced land surrounded by homes. I had to cut through someones yard to get into it. It is the Old Worden cemetery, aka Homer cemetery, aka Winslow cemetery. But we found it!!

The cemetery was mostly comprised of Wordens and Winslows (my family) and Millers, and Homers.

The headstones are deteriorating which made it very hard to make out many of the names. This is one of my ancestors (one of the Kenelme Winslows) who died in 1715.

Here is a more modern plaque marking the three stubby worn headstones of Peter Worden (Sr), Peter Worden (Jr.) and Mary Worden. They died in the 1630's and 1680's. It was crazy being at the graves of my ancestors who lived over 300 years ago. I can't wait to show my grandpa and grandma these pictures.

After the cemetery it was 4:30 and dark. So we drove to a restaurant in Cape Cod that I had looked up online. There was no mention of being closed on Thanksgiving, but it was. So was pretty much every restaurant in Cape Cod. Darn small towns. So we ended up at McDonald's for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids got to get happy meals though, which they loved. For the record the cup in the picture is hot chocolate. It wasn't very good.

They have an authentic dinner at Plimoth Plantation but it was $60 a person.

That's a far cry from our little McD's dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving!!