Thanksgiving 2015

I've decided for the sake of catching up I'm going to lump the rest of November into one post and call it Thanksgiving. The weather was still so beautiful at the end of November so we were able to enjoy lots of time outside as we were getting ready for the holidays.

Everyday we tried to think of things that we were grateful for. Listening to Kelsey list things really reminds me that we can be grateful for anything from safety to colors.

 I got tired of doing her hair after baths so this turned into our nightly routine. Good thing she still looks adorable. And yes,.. she is playing with the cord.

Unfortunately Ethan had to come home after dinner some night but nothing gets these girls down. I really could take a page from their book of life. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving we went to Encanto Island to enjoy the Harvest Festival and the 80 degree weather. We have been to Encanto island before but couldn't get Kelsey to ride the Dragon coaster. She was very certain that she didn't want to ride the coaster, but when we walked pass the line we saw these two girls standing there and waiting. Thats all it took to convince her to try it. I so wish I could have captured her facial expressions the very first time the Dragon sprung to life. She was excited to be sitting in the car, then horrified that it moved, then curious as to what she had gotten her self into, and then ecstatic to learn that it really was as awesome as we promised. Needless to say we couldn't get her off.

 She rode that thing so many times. Around and around and around and around. In this pic she is all by her self and loving it all the same.

Ethan and Madison did not come into the Harvest Festival because they didn't have the right wrist bands (my bad) but it really was just a Kelsey even anyway, so it all worked out. There was a petting zoo, a couple of bounce houses, somewhere to decorate a pumpkin, and lots of food. We spent most of our time at the bounce houses and with the animals. Kelsey kept trying to get me to pick up the chickens and thought it was hilarious that I didn't want to. 

 This is where Madison waited for us while Ethan watched the BYU game on his phone

 Here's Madison in the mornings and Madison in the afternoons. At least every day is the same so I know what to expect.

To pass the beautiful days, we spent lots of time at the park and playing outside with friends.

Brielle Milton and Kelsey

Kelsey and Kathryn

 Sister Brown made these for the kids at school right before Thanksgiving. Adorable! They didn't last,but I totally love them.

 The build up to Black Friday is certainly a busy one for Amazon so Ethan had his work cut out for him.  He did get this cool shirt though and an awesome nick name.

Thanksgiving it self was very different than years past but nice. We had our Thanksgiving slide show and watched the parade while prepping food for the feast.

Then at 12 we met the Brown, Starchmans and missionaries at the church for Thanksgiving dinner. I am just grateful that those ladies thought to include us. It was very different than what we are used to, but it was so much better than being by ourselves. 

The fun part about having dinner at the church was that there was plenty of room to move around and Ethan could play basketball. 

He even had time to slip in a quick nap on one of the couches. 

Once everyone was ready to go home, we, the Wings,  decided to head to the park and play all afternoon. We played baseball, played on the swings, talk to family, and tried to enjoy yet another beautiful day. As the sun was setting it started to get chilly but with the sun up it was so nice.

And then once the sun went down, it was time for Christmas!!! We wasted no time in getting the tree up and the lights on.

 As the night was winding down and the girls were getting ready to go to sleep, Ethan and I decided we wanted to go see a movie. We didn't have time for a babysitter so we decided to go to a drive in. It was far enough away that the girls fell asleep on the way there and then we were able to sit and watch. We saw Mockingjay which was well done but I didn't love. I just don't love how she ended the story, so even though it was better than the book, I can't say I loved it.
Ive never been to a drive in so I was blown away. There were about 8 screens and you really can see from about anywhere that you park. The sound comes in through your car (they give you a certain radio station to tune into) and then most people turn the volume up and sit on camping chairs outside their car. We didn't know this and felt like suckers sitting inside the car but it was fun all the same.

Ethan did not get Black Friday off (obviously) but Kelsey and I went to lunch and set up the Christmas things. We were feeling adventurous and even went shopping at Target which turned out to be a huge mistake as Madison pooped EVERYWHERE the second we got to the back of the store, but we found some fun Christmas presents. 
Once we got home we were feeling sad and missing family but luckily Edie and the girls came over to chat and play and that lifted our spirits. Ethan got home really late but he had a pizza for us and we all just vegged and ate pizza thinking about Christmas.