Here is the recipe for my mom's wonderful Bran Muffin Mix -- with a few tweaks of my own (in italics).
6 Weeks Bran Muffins
2 c. boiling water
2 c. raisins or dates or a mix
1 c. chopped nuts
5 tsp. baking soda
1 c. shortening
2 cups sugar I used 1/2 Splenda, 1/2 Sugar
4 eggs
1 qt. buttermilk
5 c. flour I used whole flour
1 Tbsp. salt
4 c. All-Bran cereal (the twigs, not the buds)
2 c. Bran Flakes
Put the raisins, nuts, and baking soda in the boiling water and set aside. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in buttermilk, then flour. Add salt.
In a large (we're talking LARGE) bowl, mix All-Bran, Bran Flakes, and raisin/nut mix. Add buttermilk mix. Stir just to mix thoroughly. Spoon into well-greased muffin pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
To use over 6 weeks, keep mix in refrigerator and scoop out as needed WITHOUT stirring.
Make it and love it. And have a bit of my momma in your kitchen. Lucky!
07 December 2011
Sometimes...
Sometimes I just want to keep everyone home from school, snuggle up on the bed, and watch movies all day long. This is one of those days. I'm looking forward to Christmas break!
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06 December 2011
December Daily - December 6th/ABCPD Christmas Party
You can guess how we spent this day, right? :)
I stayed up till 1:30 last night so I could get the mashed potatoes made and tidy up the upstairs, so I was feeling pretty on top of things today, actually.
Lily opened the fridge and had a nice surprise to share:
Attack of the roll dough!! They sure were tasty, though!
The girls got off to school with minimal drama (and piano practiced!) and I helped the boys with a few little projects, then rolled out and baked the rolls.
While they ate lunch, I got the bathroom cleaned, floors vacuumed, and the kitchen mopped.
I got Cannon off to school and realized that I couldn't find my keys. Ugh! Thank goodness I had a spare set because I needed to go get a digital thermometer for the turkey. (I just realized I still don't know where those are. Better look tomorrow.)
I also stopped for lunch at Charlie's ice cream shop. Yum.
Anyway, things moved along really nicely and I had time to help the kids with their homework. There was only one minor hiccup- I neglected to look at my tablecloth situation...and all I had were orange and black ones. Stanton ran to the store on his way home and picked up those and some plastic spoons.
The kids were AWESOME helpers. They helped with setting the table, bringing in chairs, etc.
I didn't get any great pictures of the food because we were too busy getting it all on the table! I managed the grab a couple of pictures, though. I think the only thing I missed was the stuffed mushrooms (they were yummy).
The food ended up being really yummy and the company was great, as usual.
We finished the night with our annual white elephant exchange.
There were some great ones-- including a frozen turkey breast (which kept being called a giant bag of nuts), adult diapers, and the best one of all, which I got--- A Leg Lamp puzzle!!! It's going to be so fun to put together and even came in a replica box - it looks like the one in the movie. Awe. Some.
It was a wonderful night. I didn't get any pictures of the staff this year- darn! We have such a great staff right now - awesome, awesome people who are just full of goodness.
Oh, and we couldn't find a sitter for the kids last night, so we hired Chloe. She was awesome!
The kids stayed downstairs the entire time and she even read them bedtime stories. What a good kid. It's nice to be able to depend on her now and then.
Man oh man, I love December!
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I stayed up till 1:30 last night so I could get the mashed potatoes made and tidy up the upstairs, so I was feeling pretty on top of things today, actually.
Lily opened the fridge and had a nice surprise to share:
Attack of the roll dough!! They sure were tasty, though!
The girls got off to school with minimal drama (and piano practiced!) and I helped the boys with a few little projects, then rolled out and baked the rolls.
While they ate lunch, I got the bathroom cleaned, floors vacuumed, and the kitchen mopped.
I got Cannon off to school and realized that I couldn't find my keys. Ugh! Thank goodness I had a spare set because I needed to go get a digital thermometer for the turkey. (I just realized I still don't know where those are. Better look tomorrow.)
I also stopped for lunch at Charlie's ice cream shop. Yum.
Anyway, things moved along really nicely and I had time to help the kids with their homework. There was only one minor hiccup- I neglected to look at my tablecloth situation...and all I had were orange and black ones. Stanton ran to the store on his way home and picked up those and some plastic spoons.
The kids were AWESOME helpers. They helped with setting the table, bringing in chairs, etc.
I didn't get any great pictures of the food because we were too busy getting it all on the table! I managed the grab a couple of pictures, though. I think the only thing I missed was the stuffed mushrooms (they were yummy).
The food ended up being really yummy and the company was great, as usual.
We finished the night with our annual white elephant exchange.
There were some great ones-- including a frozen turkey breast (which kept being called a giant bag of nuts), adult diapers, and the best one of all, which I got--- A Leg Lamp puzzle!!! It's going to be so fun to put together and even came in a replica box - it looks like the one in the movie. Awe. Some.
It was a wonderful night. I didn't get any pictures of the staff this year- darn! We have such a great staff right now - awesome, awesome people who are just full of goodness.
Oh, and we couldn't find a sitter for the kids last night, so we hired Chloe. She was awesome!
The kids stayed downstairs the entire time and she even read them bedtime stories. What a good kid. It's nice to be able to depend on her now and then.
Man oh man, I love December!
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05 December 2011
Forgot
I forgot to add one bit of today-
Charlie snuck off and chewed up the baby Jesus from our Little People nativity set today.
Stinker!!!
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Charlie snuck off and chewed up the baby Jesus from our Little People nativity set today.
Stinker!!!
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December Daily - December 5th
This was a busy Monday! We have our office Christmas party here tomorrow night, so I spent the morning planning the menu, making a schedule, and getting the shopping list together. I got the boys off to school and hit Sam's Club, Lee's, and the bank for gifts for the staff.
I came home and got to work.
So far, I have made
Salad dressing, cut up veggies for the veggie tray, brine for the turkey, mustard sauce for the ham, nutella fruit dip, stuffed mushroom appetizers, a sour cream apple pie, and an eggnog pie, and put the turkey in the brine.
On my list still For tonight:
Mashed potatoes, cut up fruit for the fruit tray, and start the roll dough.
I'd be surprised if I get beyond the roll dough, though.
Tomorrow I need to get the ham in the crock pot, roast the asparagus & mushrooms, set the tables, roast the turkey, and get the house cleaned up. Oh, and lay out the veggie and fruit trays. And bake the stuffed mushrooms...and warm the potatoes....and everything else.
Yeah, we have a ways to go. :). I absolutely love inviting Stanton's employees into our home and making a special meal to say thank you to them. They do SO much for our office and our success. We really appreciate them and I love being able to do this for them.
Doesn't that look like a happy fridge?! I have to admit, I've drunk a lot of egg nog today and snuck way more than my allotted share of treats.
Sour cream apple pie. Yum.
The kids got home from school, made nutella smeared bananas for a snack, did homework, practiced piano (Chloe), and played with friends.
Stanton brought home a chicken stir fry mix from the store and threw together dinner for all of us. I so appreciated it - I've been so busy today and the dishwasher has been working overtime, so it was super helpful to have a no-prep dinner made by Stanton. And thank the heavens for paper products, right?!
Another special and busy December day!
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I came home and got to work.
So far, I have made
Salad dressing, cut up veggies for the veggie tray, brine for the turkey, mustard sauce for the ham, nutella fruit dip, stuffed mushroom appetizers, a sour cream apple pie, and an eggnog pie, and put the turkey in the brine.
On my list still For tonight:
Mashed potatoes, cut up fruit for the fruit tray, and start the roll dough.
I'd be surprised if I get beyond the roll dough, though.
Tomorrow I need to get the ham in the crock pot, roast the asparagus & mushrooms, set the tables, roast the turkey, and get the house cleaned up. Oh, and lay out the veggie and fruit trays. And bake the stuffed mushrooms...and warm the potatoes....and everything else.
Yeah, we have a ways to go. :). I absolutely love inviting Stanton's employees into our home and making a special meal to say thank you to them. They do SO much for our office and our success. We really appreciate them and I love being able to do this for them.
Doesn't that look like a happy fridge?! I have to admit, I've drunk a lot of egg nog today and snuck way more than my allotted share of treats.
Sour cream apple pie. Yum.
The kids got home from school, made nutella smeared bananas for a snack, did homework, practiced piano (Chloe), and played with friends.
Stanton brought home a chicken stir fry mix from the store and threw together dinner for all of us. I so appreciated it - I've been so busy today and the dishwasher has been working overtime, so it was super helpful to have a no-prep dinner made by Stanton. And thank the heavens for paper products, right?!
Another special and busy December day!
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04 December 2011
December Daily - Sunday, December 4th
A wonderful Sabbath Day. We started the morning in my favorite way: with NO meetings for Stanton. Hip Hip Hooray!!!
We enjoyed a slow morning watching home movies, the kids did crafts (made cards and wrote letters to cousins), and got ready.
The girls decided they wanted to fast for the first time. They had a few meltdowns each, followed by conversations about how it is NOT a commandment for them to fast at their ages, so if they choose to do it, they REALLY need to do it with a happy attitude. I have to say, I am soooo proud of them. They both made it all the way through church with minimal complaining and by the end, had a stronger testimony of fasting. They each prayed for a neighbor of ours that we'd really like to see back at church -- I know the Lord blessed their sweet little sacrifices. In fact, they went to this neighbor's house this evening and invited him to come listen to them sing in church on Sunday - and he said he would! They were SO excited. It's neat to see the Lord strengthen their faith in these ways.
We enjoyed church (mostly - Cannon was a bit of a stinker during Sacrament Meeting - what's new?!). We came home and quickly broke our fasts so the girls could have a snack, then ran back over for choir practice. The songs are coming along, the program has been approved, and I hope it all goes well. We shall see. Pray for us, will you? :)
After choir, we ran home and made a quick dinner of beef & broccoli stir-fry, which we ate during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which we watched on TV. It's so nice to live in Utah and be able to enjoy those things from the comfort of our homes.
Here we are during the devotional - President Eyring is speaking, Chloe is looking at a Christmas book while Stanton & Brigham snuggle (Brigham has a Christmas book as well), Cannon and I were snuggling (when he wasn't being loud and naughty and seriously frustrating), and Lily was reading a Christmas book. We heard maybe 30% of the devotional, but what we heard was lovely. I was surprised at how little music there was this time, but every one of us really enjoyed the video they shared of the events leading up to and immediately following Christ's birth. The spirit of those events is beautiful.
Everyone got ready for bed and I read my favorite Christmas story: Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck. I cried, of course, and the kids asked why. I told them the truth - that I felt the Spirit while reading that story and that I felt it in a way that made me cry. I love the lesson of love and sacrifice it teaches. I always want to be better and show my love in better ways after reading it.
We had a surprisingly pretty nice family prayer and got everyone off to bed. I started a load of laundry, we tidied up the dishes, and enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa.
I'm planning to read A Christmas Carol tonight. Christmas just makes me happy.
We enjoyed a slow morning watching home movies, the kids did crafts (made cards and wrote letters to cousins), and got ready.
The girls decided they wanted to fast for the first time. They had a few meltdowns each, followed by conversations about how it is NOT a commandment for them to fast at their ages, so if they choose to do it, they REALLY need to do it with a happy attitude. I have to say, I am soooo proud of them. They both made it all the way through church with minimal complaining and by the end, had a stronger testimony of fasting. They each prayed for a neighbor of ours that we'd really like to see back at church -- I know the Lord blessed their sweet little sacrifices. In fact, they went to this neighbor's house this evening and invited him to come listen to them sing in church on Sunday - and he said he would! They were SO excited. It's neat to see the Lord strengthen their faith in these ways.
We enjoyed church (mostly - Cannon was a bit of a stinker during Sacrament Meeting - what's new?!). We came home and quickly broke our fasts so the girls could have a snack, then ran back over for choir practice. The songs are coming along, the program has been approved, and I hope it all goes well. We shall see. Pray for us, will you? :)
After choir, we ran home and made a quick dinner of beef & broccoli stir-fry, which we ate during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which we watched on TV. It's so nice to live in Utah and be able to enjoy those things from the comfort of our homes.
Everyone got ready for bed and I read my favorite Christmas story: Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck. I cried, of course, and the kids asked why. I told them the truth - that I felt the Spirit while reading that story and that I felt it in a way that made me cry. I love the lesson of love and sacrifice it teaches. I always want to be better and show my love in better ways after reading it.
We had a surprisingly pretty nice family prayer and got everyone off to bed. I started a load of laundry, we tidied up the dishes, and enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa.
I'm planning to read A Christmas Carol tonight. Christmas just makes me happy.
December Daily - Saturday, December 3rd
We spent Saturday doing house cleaning chores in the morning and tree decorating in the afternoon. I didn't take pictures until the evening, so there aren't any of the kids....oops!
We got the tree decorated (finally) and all the Christmas boxes and ladder back out of the house (only a week later...). It was so nice to have the house uncluttered again. Phew!
Oh, and Stanton and I went on a date, too. December gets so tricky - it was nice to find a time to go out. We ate at our favorite Indian place and then went and saw the new Twilight movie (finally). Fun night.
I took these pictures late at night and with my phone, but you get the idea. I really love how the house has turned out this year. I feel like it's starting to match the vision I've had in my mind the past few years. I love it.
Oh, and see, this December Daily is great because it helped me remember that I made my mom's 6 weeks bran muffin mix on this day, too. I LOVE this muffin mix. It is so yummy and something that we always had in the fridge at Christmas time. It keeps for 6 weeks in the fridge, so you just scoop out what you need for muffins every morning. Yummy!
We also received our first Christmas card in the mail! It was from Brad and Lori and had the family pictures that I took! That was fun to see. I am SO looking forward to seeing that card holder get filled up with greetings and updates from friends and family.
I got the stamps on our cards this night, as well. I've been doing a little bit every day - one day cutting out our letter, one day addressing envelopes, next stuffing them, etc. Now I've got to lick them closed (YUCK!!) and get them in the mail. Another thing to check off the list. Yippee!
We got the tree decorated (finally) and all the Christmas boxes and ladder back out of the house (only a week later...). It was so nice to have the house uncluttered again. Phew!
Oh, and Stanton and I went on a date, too. December gets so tricky - it was nice to find a time to go out. We ate at our favorite Indian place and then went and saw the new Twilight movie (finally). Fun night.
Oh, and see, this December Daily is great because it helped me remember that I made my mom's 6 weeks bran muffin mix on this day, too. I LOVE this muffin mix. It is so yummy and something that we always had in the fridge at Christmas time. It keeps for 6 weeks in the fridge, so you just scoop out what you need for muffins every morning. Yummy!
We also received our first Christmas card in the mail! It was from Brad and Lori and had the family pictures that I took! That was fun to see. I am SO looking forward to seeing that card holder get filled up with greetings and updates from friends and family.
I got the stamps on our cards this night, as well. I've been doing a little bit every day - one day cutting out our letter, one day addressing envelopes, next stuffing them, etc. Now I've got to lick them closed (YUCK!!) and get them in the mail. Another thing to check off the list. Yippee!
December Daily - Friday, December 2nd
Well, if every day in December is as fun as the first two, we are living it up!!!
I kept the kids home from school so they could lounge a bit after their late night at Pickleville. I wouldn't have done that, except that we were planning to go to Salt Lake at noon, so they would only be in school for 3 hours anyway. I felt a little sheepish about keeping them home, but it sure was nice to spend a lazy morning with them!
While they lounged around, I did one of my favorite workout videos:
We did some chores and got ready and then headed to SLC for a fun evening with Kyle and Angie and kids. Before meeting up with them, we checked out the Brigham City office, went to Target (please come to Cache Valley -- please!), and visited another dental office in West Valley (it has a surgical suite like the one Stanton wants to put in his new Providence office). While Stanton checked out the dental office, the kids watched a movie and then I read them some Christmas stories. It was a long wait in the car, but they sure were good!
We met Kyle & Ang at Iggy's downtown around 5:00. We had a great dinner and then went on a wild goose chase to find parking around temple square. After finally finding a place to park, we went to see the lights. Aside from Cannon wandering away from me twice, it was an absolutely perfect night. We haven't gone down to see the lights for a couple of years and I had missed it! It was great to have a reason to have to go -- and we will never pass up an opportunity to spend time with our best friends!
The weather was beautiful -- chilly with just a nice, light, magical snow falling. The lights were as incredible as usual, and the company couldn't have been better.
I know these pictures are weird, but they were funny. The one of me is what Stanton took right after I said how great the weather had been -- he thought my hat hair was amusing. :)
The ghostly picture is a quick one I snapped on the way home -- it's Stanton and Jesse's new billboard! I looks fantastic.
Okay, now to the real pictures....
The girls worked on a Christmas garland/banner thing earlier in the day. Fun pictures at the temple grounds.
Angie took these next 2 and I am LOVING them. The first is for Brigham and Sammie's wedding video. :)
How gorgeous is THAT???!!!
And Christmas magic in photographic form. I love this picture of many of my favorite people in the world.
I kept the kids home from school so they could lounge a bit after their late night at Pickleville. I wouldn't have done that, except that we were planning to go to Salt Lake at noon, so they would only be in school for 3 hours anyway. I felt a little sheepish about keeping them home, but it sure was nice to spend a lazy morning with them!
While they lounged around, I did one of my favorite workout videos:
We did some chores and got ready and then headed to SLC for a fun evening with Kyle and Angie and kids. Before meeting up with them, we checked out the Brigham City office, went to Target (please come to Cache Valley -- please!), and visited another dental office in West Valley (it has a surgical suite like the one Stanton wants to put in his new Providence office). While Stanton checked out the dental office, the kids watched a movie and then I read them some Christmas stories. It was a long wait in the car, but they sure were good!
We met Kyle & Ang at Iggy's downtown around 5:00. We had a great dinner and then went on a wild goose chase to find parking around temple square. After finally finding a place to park, we went to see the lights. Aside from Cannon wandering away from me twice, it was an absolutely perfect night. We haven't gone down to see the lights for a couple of years and I had missed it! It was great to have a reason to have to go -- and we will never pass up an opportunity to spend time with our best friends!
The weather was beautiful -- chilly with just a nice, light, magical snow falling. The lights were as incredible as usual, and the company couldn't have been better.
The ghostly picture is a quick one I snapped on the way home -- it's Stanton and Jesse's new billboard! I looks fantastic.
Okay, now to the real pictures....
Angie took these next 2 and I am LOVING them. The first is for Brigham and Sammie's wedding video. :)
December Daily - Thursday, December 1st
After I got home from Christmas shopping, we had a salad for dinner and met our friends, Mitch and Vanessa and family, to go to 12.25, Pickleville's Christmas show.
It was SOOOOOO great this year!!! SOOOO great. Can I say it again? SOOOOO fantastic. We laughed and cried and enjoyed every single second.
The kids loved getting to visit with Santa --- the REAL one.
An absolutely awesome kick off to the Christmas season!
December Daily
My friend Amanda invited me to do a little "December Daily" challenge with her. The idea is to take a picture every day leading up to Christmas day, just to remember the things we did each day during this crazy fun month.
I got so behind in November that I forgot about it until she started posting hers. Luckily, though, we had some fun things going on so I was taking pictures anyway! I'm feeling a bit more caught up now, so hopefully I'll keep up better than I did with my November thankful posts. :)
I got so behind in November that I forgot about it until she started posting hers. Luckily, though, we had some fun things going on so I was taking pictures anyway! I'm feeling a bit more caught up now, so hopefully I'll keep up better than I did with my November thankful posts. :)
Decking the Halls
We usually decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, but Stanton was just NOT feeling the excitement about it this year. (I think the tree fiasco last year -where he had to take the lights off our pre-lit tree-- really took the wind out of his sails).
I had a feeling that if I didn't get things going myself, we weren't going to have Christmas decorations, so while Stanton was at work on Tuesday, I went out to the shed and got our huge ladder, then went to the garage and pulled down the decorations from the hanging shelf. Let me tell you, it was no small feat. I am 5'5" on a good day and that shelf is suspended from the ceiling of the garage. It is HIGH and the boxes are heavy. And there are a lot of them. It took me a good 45 minutes or so to get them all down and then calm my heart rate. :)
Anyway, I got them inside and started decking the halls. It was all worth while. I LOVE the way the house looks when it's decorated for Christmas!
After the kids got to bed on Tuesday (or was it Monday? I can't remember), Stanton helped for an hour and got some of the garlands up, etc.
On Tuesday or Wednesday I lugged the Christmas tree box upstairs...another huge feat. I got it set up and Stanton put the lights on it.
Anderson Seed came and put Christmas lights up for us this year -- I think I'll make that a tradition, too. I don't like having Stanton up on the roof one bit.
Brigham and Cannon used one of the boxes as their Santa sleigh. So cute to see them sitting on there reading books together.
I went to tuck Brigham in and saw this adorable sight. Cute he be one bit cuter?!
I had a feeling that if I didn't get things going myself, we weren't going to have Christmas decorations, so while Stanton was at work on Tuesday, I went out to the shed and got our huge ladder, then went to the garage and pulled down the decorations from the hanging shelf. Let me tell you, it was no small feat. I am 5'5" on a good day and that shelf is suspended from the ceiling of the garage. It is HIGH and the boxes are heavy. And there are a lot of them. It took me a good 45 minutes or so to get them all down and then calm my heart rate. :)
Anyway, I got them inside and started decking the halls. It was all worth while. I LOVE the way the house looks when it's decorated for Christmas!
After the kids got to bed on Tuesday (or was it Monday? I can't remember), Stanton helped for an hour and got some of the garlands up, etc.
On Tuesday or Wednesday I lugged the Christmas tree box upstairs...another huge feat. I got it set up and Stanton put the lights on it.
Anderson Seed came and put Christmas lights up for us this year -- I think I'll make that a tradition, too. I don't like having Stanton up on the roof one bit.
I went to tuck Brigham in and saw this adorable sight. Cute he be one bit cuter?!
Stanton has always done the "daddy hat" trick with the kids. Well, with four kids now, he had a hat, shoes, and a backpack. :)
Wednesday after piano lessons and homework, we got out the buttons, wire, and ribbons, and made some button wreaths for the tree. It was a super fun craft that even the boys could do. They had a ball and I loved making a craft that didn't involve a huge mess and cleanup.
I'm determined this year that we are going to enjoy some Christmas activities. It seemed like last year we were so busy running from gymnastics to dance to piano to homework that we didn't have time to do anything special all month (aside from Pickleville and some family things). I have purposefully kept the kids out of every lesson besides piano for this reason this school year. I want to enjoy them! It has been WONDERFUL. I feel like we've actually had time to make crafts and treats, read books, and watch Christmas movies. It has been wonderful! And it's only the beginning of the season. Love that.
Visit from Grandma & Grandpa Rose
Mom and Dad came down the day after Thanksgiving to visit us. It was so nice of them to make the trip through Logan -- it's definitely faster to go the Tremonton way to visit Grandma Rose in Brigham City, but they made the trip through to see us first. We loved having them here!
We visited, napped, made candy (Chloe helped make English Toffee. It was delicious! She decided she was not so into the having to stand there and stir for 15 minutes while the sugar cooked. Hehe).
They took us to Golden Corral for lunch, which the kids, of course, loved.
Thanks for a fantastic visit, Mom and Dad!
This is the only picture that was taken that whole afternoon....but it pretty much sums up our great, relaxed afternoon. :)
We visited, napped, made candy (Chloe helped make English Toffee. It was delicious! She decided she was not so into the having to stand there and stir for 15 minutes while the sugar cooked. Hehe).
They took us to Golden Corral for lunch, which the kids, of course, loved.
Thanks for a fantastic visit, Mom and Dad!
Thanksgiving
Well, I really got behind on my Thankful posts...gee howdy. Life went into hyper speed and it really hasn't slowed down.
The Thanksgiving season was just glorious. We had quiet days, busy evenings, great talks about gratitude, love, and a warm happy home. (You know, in between the fighting, the yelling, the chores, the daily grind.....hehe). It was wonderful and the perfect way to ease into the busy holiday season.
So, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, all the Allens (minus the SingaWebbs), gathered at our home for our now traditional Appetizer Night. Everyone brings the fun appetizers that you don't have room for on the actual Thanksgiving day and we have them for dinner. It was so great to have everyone at our house. The kids enjoyed every second together and the food was amazing (of course). I didn't take any pictures. I'm ashamed of myself! The kids were SO good to help with chores to get the house ready for our guests. I wish I had something like that to motivate them every day.
Thanksgiving Day was spent with the Macy's parade all morning, as well as getting my side dishes ready (I did fruit plates, stuffing, and a veggie tray this year). I love that parade. It reminds me of Thanksgivings at my Grandma & Grandpa J's house. I'd go back in Grandpa's office and read the B.C. comics he had pinned to his bulletin board and watch the parade on the little TV in there. It was great. The kids really enjoyed the parade this year, too. It was fun to share it with them.
We went to Dave & Judy's around noon and enjoyed an amazing meal - smoked turkey (that Jimmy smoked), potatoes, salad, rolls (oh, Judy's rolls.....), roast beef, fruit, jell-o salad, veggies, etc. And then there was the PIE. I don't really love pie...not at all, but wowza, Rachel and Emily came through this year with some that were mouthwatering. We enjoyed every bite.
After dinner, we had an impromptu talent show and the kids shared what they knew about Thanksgiving. They sang songs, recited poems, did tricks, etc. It was really fun. The adults napped, visited and checked the ads. It was relaxed and so so great. What a fun day! I love these excuses to get together.
The Thanksgiving season was just glorious. We had quiet days, busy evenings, great talks about gratitude, love, and a warm happy home. (You know, in between the fighting, the yelling, the chores, the daily grind.....hehe). It was wonderful and the perfect way to ease into the busy holiday season.
So, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, all the Allens (minus the SingaWebbs), gathered at our home for our now traditional Appetizer Night. Everyone brings the fun appetizers that you don't have room for on the actual Thanksgiving day and we have them for dinner. It was so great to have everyone at our house. The kids enjoyed every second together and the food was amazing (of course). I didn't take any pictures. I'm ashamed of myself! The kids were SO good to help with chores to get the house ready for our guests. I wish I had something like that to motivate them every day.
Thanksgiving Day was spent with the Macy's parade all morning, as well as getting my side dishes ready (I did fruit plates, stuffing, and a veggie tray this year). I love that parade. It reminds me of Thanksgivings at my Grandma & Grandpa J's house. I'd go back in Grandpa's office and read the B.C. comics he had pinned to his bulletin board and watch the parade on the little TV in there. It was great. The kids really enjoyed the parade this year, too. It was fun to share it with them.
We went to Dave & Judy's around noon and enjoyed an amazing meal - smoked turkey (that Jimmy smoked), potatoes, salad, rolls (oh, Judy's rolls.....), roast beef, fruit, jell-o salad, veggies, etc. And then there was the PIE. I don't really love pie...not at all, but wowza, Rachel and Emily came through this year with some that were mouthwatering. We enjoyed every bite.
Legacy House Thanksgiving
We spent a great evening with the Grandmas eating a Thanksgiving dinner. They are in a wonderful care center with people who really love them. It was great to see Jimmy, Rachel, & their girls and Dave & Judy, too.
Mish Mash
Some cute pictures of the kids, Stanton, and Charlie boy.
The boys convinced Stanton one Sunday morning to dig out his Buzz Lightyear costume from the Halloween box. He only had about 5 minutes to play with them before his next meeting, but they sure enjoyed it. They've been begging him to get his Batman costume out ever since. I'm pretty sure this was a one time engagement, though. :)
Brigham had a little stomach bug off and on for a few days. He'd be 100% fine all day, then throw up once during the night. It was a weird bug because you just never knew when it was going to hit or be over. But it did allow this adorable scene on the music room floor.
I sure love to see those two readers enjoying a new book.
This little doggy has been an absolute treat lately. Knock on wood, but it seems that he is completely potty trained finally (YAY!). He still has a bit of a problem with chewing --- things that aren't his. He chewed the antlers off one of the Little People Reindeer and today he chewed the arm off an Ariel Barbie meant as a gift to a cousin. Oh, man did he get an earfull. BUTTTTT, honestly, that little issue aside, he is the BEST dog. He is mild, sweet, obedient, fluffy, and pretty much part of the family. We sure love him. I LOVE that picture of him with Chloe. He loves to sit on the couch like that and watch me work in the kitchen - he's just like a little kid. I think he actually thinks he's human most of the time. Love that cute picture of him with Brigham, too. Judy invited Charlie to Thanksgiving at her house...he was a HIT! He was super well behaved, especially around all that food and those sweet little kiddos running around. We are just loving him...can you tell?
Oh, that last picture - the one on the top right - it cracks me up. This was during that super busy Saturday... at the end of the night, after all the kids were in bed, Charlie took each of these toys out of his toy box, carried them over to the door, and laid down in the middle of them. Cute.
Oh, that last picture - the one on the top right - it cracks me up. This was during that super busy Saturday... at the end of the night, after all the kids were in bed, Charlie took each of these toys out of his toy box, carried them over to the door, and laid down in the middle of them. Cute.
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