For my work, they had a "Cookies and Canvas" event, where we got to bring our kids and we painted a picture and ate way too many cookies. I was really happy that Camille and Claire got to go. I wish Audra could have gone, but she is pretty stressed out with school and wanted to have the time to study instead.
With the kids all in school it seems like we don't get to do fun things together as much anymore. It was really nice to go and do something FUN together on a school night. These girls really are the absolute best- I love them so much! I miss the time we had when we homeschooled. Sigh.
Audra was in the Parade of Lights, so we decided to head downtown to enjoy the parade. We went to the Christmas Market for dinner. Apparently, millions of other people had the same idea for it was incredibly crowded! But I got to get a Bavarian Pretzel which I wanted, so it was a win.
For years Claire made fun of Camille playing basketball. Nevertheless, she decided to try out for the basketball team. She made the "B" team, but she wanted to be with her friends, so she switched to the "C" team. They didn't win any games, but they did improve. Claire was great at stealing the ball, running down the court, and getting a shot off. And once in awhile the shots went it- she was definitely the high scorer of the team.
Coach Cox was INCREDIBLY patient with the girls- maybe a little too patient ;)
It was great for Claire to be on a team- she ended up having a great experience.
Ben's parents were in Utah with Ann's sister for Thanksgiving, so we decided to do some different things and have a non-traditional Thanksgiving. Claire was not happy about this as she LOVES traditions, but I liked being free of the confines of all the traditions. We will go back to the traditions, of course, but it was fine to try something new.
Ben is the one who came up with the winning idea: A soup bar. He does love soup!
Beth and DJ were awesome to host as our house is under construction and is unsafe for small children. They had the house set up beautifully and really set up the festive mood for all of us. This is a great talent of Beth's, and we all appreciated her hard work to make the day special.
The girls helped me out quite a bit, and we made A LOT of food- we filled up the back of the Fit with all our food. We made: Potato Bacon Chunky Soup, Vegetable stew in a pumpkin, homemade rolls, Jell-O layered salad (which we make every year, so Claire got in some of her traditions), ambrosia salad, spinach pear salad with homemade balsamic vinigarette, a pumpkin roll, and lemon meringue pie (Camille insisted on us making that- it's "the only pie she'll eat." It was enough to feed an army, and Beth made her delicious tortilla soup, a fruit tray, and had SIXTEEN Crumbl cookies- so we definitely had plenty of desserts.
It was a very, very busy morning as Ben and I were working on another project I'll talk about later, but we did it- we made all the food, and headed over to Beth and DJ's.
We ate lunch, which was delicious and wonderful, and then we went to the movies to see Strange World. The girls and I were not impressed, but Ben liked it.
We went back after the movie and had dessert, and called it a day. It really was a great day!
We all talked about what we are thankful for.
Ben: Soup
Christina: That as a family we genuinely like being together and doing things together.
Audra: Marching band.
Claire: Books
Camille: School
It was a busy, wonderful day- especially because it was spent with family. We are so blessed!
For Makenna's Birthday, Steph wanted to fly Claire out for the weekend. We quickly realized that flying a minor by themselves is very expensive, only a few airlines allow it at all, and it was much easier/cheaper to fly me out, too. So I got a bonus weekend in Seattle and Claire got to hang out with Makenna- much to both of their delight!
Makenna had a whole plan for the entire weekend- movies, shopping, baking, playing- you name it, they did it. It was a very packed weekend. It's a good thing Claire has the week off of school so she can recover ;)
Can you see their nametags? They are missionaries!
Mom ordered a delicious Mexican platter from Puerto Vallarta for the adults to enjoy. It was awesome to catch up and have this time with them.
Makenna had a count down chain to count down the days until Claire came to town. I thought that was pretty cute!
Thankfully, her soccer season finally ended. These soccer seasons last FOREVER! And combined with everything else going on, we needed it to end. They even ended with a 4-3 win, and Claire had the most beautiful upper corner shot. Her team, the Dynamos, is perfect for her as it is more about having fun than winning, which suits Claire's personality.
I'm very grateful for the coaches who work so hard to help these girls try new things!
