Thanksgiving Chicken & Waffles!

Last year we visited Disneyland for the first time as a family, and while we were in L.A. we visited the famous Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles. We fell in love with the combo and so this year we started the first annual Thanksgiving breakfast of Chicken & Waffles with the Macy's Day Parade going full-tilt in the background. It's kind of disgusting considering the big meal to come later in the afternoon...but oh, it's good!

Pre-Thanksgiving Temple Trip

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit the temple in honor of a dear friend who received her endowments for the first time. A huge treat was seeing so many familiar faces from our old Marsyville Ward. What better place for a reunion than the temple? On the way home to pick up the kiddies we stopped for a bite and took some silly photos. It's weird to take pictures with just us-no kids!

Family Home Evening: Game Night!

For a rowdy Family Home Evening we opted for a 3-game dash of Hide-&-Go Seek, Duck-duck-goose, and Twister. Here's what I learned:

1. It's hard to hide when you have gigglers and heavy breathers trying to squeeze in next to you.
   
2. Half the family still doesn't get the concept of running around the circle and then sitting down.
3. It's really, really hard to hold your crazy position in Twister when a 5-year is calling the shots with the spinner and taking forever to do it!

Did we have fun though? Of course!

The Jelly Belly Factory, Fairfield, CA

Later in the month we visited the Jelly Belly Factory with our cousin Abby. To our delight Samuel tried all the disgusting Jelly Beans he could get his hands on, including:

• Pencil Shavings
• Vomit
• Skunk Spray
• And his vote for the most disgusting and realistic: Rotten Egg

Later we hit McDonald's and the kid's burned off some of their sugar high racing down the slides!

Ava's Thanksgiving Performance

Ava's on-stage debut was fantastic! It lasted all of 15 minutes but was pure genius. Especially the lyrics to song that went:

"Gobble, gobble, gobble...Fat turkey, fat turkey...Gobble, gobble, gobble... Fat turkey's are we...We're here for Thanksgiving...We're not here for living...Gobble, gobble, gobble...Fat turkeys are we!"

Great-Grandma Lopez

Nothing beats family, and this little lady is just about the best family around. We love our grandma so, and when we're with her we remember Grandpa Lopez too. Especially when we dine at Home Town Buffet, one of grandpa's favorites.

Our (Free) Hot Spot: The Mall

Let me start by saying that we are not mall people. Our stores are, and will forever be: Walmart, Target, and Costco. But not too long ago we received a gift certificate to See's Candy for 1 lb. of chocolate, so of course shortly thereafter we headed to the mall to pick out our candy and play on the indoor playground. Well lo and behold it was in-grained in our kids minds from that time forward that the mall means super-fun climbing toys and yummy-yummy candy. Oh how disappointed they were the next we went and did not go into See's Candy...but at least they can still jump on the toys.

And Then There Were Eleven

November was our month to host the nieces and nephews for our Rotating Date Night! This picture is woefully misleading because it shows them seemingly still and quiet for a peaceful family dinner-don't let it fool you! The energy ran high that night with tons of chasing, screaming, yelling, jumping, laughing, dancing, and of course, fighting!

7 UP

In our house you're pretty much Queen or King for a day if it's your birthday...with full reign over your meal menu. The only time I ever caught a break from cooking up a storm was when Ava wanted to eat dinner at Long John Silvers! Not so with Bella who requested Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast, Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and Corn for dinner, with Pistachio Pudding Tarts for dessert. It was a feast to be sure, but what really tugged at my heart strings was knowing that in one short year from now we'd be celebrating her baptism. Time flies.

Annual Trip to Apple Hill

This year we made it up the hill a little late and froze our keesters off! We always have a good time though, especially after some hot chocolate and some deliciously sweet, sticky, and warm apple donuts!