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.

NASCAR

I bought the tickets in July and on November 14th the long wait was finally over. Ethan and I attended our first NASCAR event.
OH! MY! GOODNESS!!! Talk about an experience!! It was literally one of the coolest things I have ever done. I absolutely loved it.

The main event was on Sunday so we didn't get to see the one NASCAR name I know race, Jeff Gordon,  but instead, we watched the truck race. These trucks were probably about the size of  Mini Coopers and fast.

Everything I know about NASCAR stems from Lightning McQueen so it was fun to try to figure out what was going on. I didn't know this but the entire race is won and lost by crashes and my goodness were there a lot. They totally prepare on crashing a lot. Every crash they would have all the cars slow down behind the pace car as they cleaned everything up. It was crazy. And talk about loud! I mean LOUD!!!! I'm just glad we had our ear plugs other wise we would have been hurting.

Some of the fans! I loved it! The race hasn't started yet so no one has their gear on yet

We think 88 was their son because he was in first most of the way and then wrecked bad. I mean BAD! His truck got flattened in the back. As soon as he hit the turn wrong they left. They didn't even stay to see if he was going to race again. It was like they couldn't watch or didn't want to.

I love this video because you can see the sparks coming off of some of the cars. So fun fact. When they do a pit stop they get all new tires. I didn't know that. They get new tires because the tires start to MELT! Not like ice cream on a hot sidewalk but the tar starts to loosen. At one point one of the pit crew guys show us the tar build up that they scrape off the old tires. Crazy right?! ALSO the trucks fish tail on purpose when they are going slow so that no one will pass them. the race continues even when they drive slow like during clean ups and stuff.

The stadium was HUGE with the track being a mile long. The seats fill half of the track and the inside is full of about 200 campers. Maybe more. I'm not a good camper counter. The middle also has the pit crews and such. We sat by the start finish line so we got to see the pit crews in action. It was super fun.
 

Pit Stop

This seriously was one of the coolest things I have ever done. It was so much fun.

In other news, the girls both wore headbands that same day and it was awesome. 

What is it about babies on their knees that just kills me

Veterans Day Parade

Veterans Day is a big deal around here because people can get outside. Okay its not like a huge deal, but it had a parade so you be the judge.
We decided to go to the Phoenix parade mostly because it was right by Aunt Kays work which is always an added bonus. We parked at Swan, walked to the parade route, set up our blanket and picnic, and watched the parade.

We don't have a double stroller so this is how we ride sometimes. And yes, Madison has a sucker. It kept her quiet and calm until the parade. Kelsey promptly took the wrapper off and ate it once we got there. Win win in my mom book. Judge if you must.

 Sometimes not have a double causes some grief

The parade was very typical in the sense that every armed force was represented, there were a bunch of old people riding in their really cool old cars, lots of fire trucks and police cars, and about 13 Miss Arizona of some kind.  The beginning of the parade was new to me however. They had a GIANT flag held up by about 50 people as there was a fly over with some biplanes.

 The girls were so good. Most of the parade, Madison was so happy in the stroller and Kelsey was happy on the ground. Near the end Madison wanted to be on the ground and Kelsey wanted to be in the stroller. They planned it perfectly.

It wasn't that crowded so the girls were able to move about as much as they "wanted." They really had so much fun seeing all the soldiers, "princesses," flags, bands, and everything else.

Some stand outs included:
WWII reinactors

The ROTC groups: obviously the Air Force had a special place in my heart

The giant eagle balloon

The "princess" (one of the Miss Arizonas) that gave us a flag

Uncle Scott
Look Kelsey. Its Uncle Sam.
Uncle Scott came! Where is he?!

 

The war dogs

 

This... I mean seriously! Does your parade ride get cooler?! 

 

The UHaul man who absolutely LOVED being in the parade

Dancing to the bands

And that one guy who was on Parks and Rec. What was his name?

If you must know, we got kind of chilled during the parade. It was 67 degrees. We aren't used to being chilled any more.

 

My view walking home

I've never enjoyed a Veterans Day parade and we certainly had a great time.