Thanksgiving 2009

We took off for the Holiday weekend on Wed. the day before Thanksgiving. And who would of thought it would have taken us 3 1/2 hours to drive 90 miles, but it did. Jeremy left after us when he was done with work and it took him 4 1/2 hours. But it was worth it. To be together for the hoidays is always special and it was worth the drive to be at Ma♥Key and Poppa's and to spend that time with them. Wish we could have had more family around though too.

Sure love our MaKey and Poppa.

Around the beautiful table ready to eat.

Jeremy serving the sparkling apple cider.

Our turkey carver.

The boys got to eat the legs. They're favorite part.

Almost bigger than his head.

We wore Tibby out.

Went and saw A Christmas Carol. A little scary at parts, but ok. Great special effects.

Sporting our 3D glasses. Oh so chic.

The weekend was spent playing Uno, chess, watching Elf ( my all time favorite), Night at the Museum, Transformers, Four Christmases (adults only), The Santa Claus, eating and more eating. I love, love watching cmas movies this time of year.

Had a great time cherishing the moments we get to spend with family.

Not so freaky friday.

My birthday was on Fri. the 13th this year. Good thing I'm not superstitious. It only makes it that much more fun, in my book. It ended up being a much better day than I anticipated.

We first celebrated a couple days early with my parents at PF Changs. Oh yes... my love for chinese hasn't changed since I was probably 10. When PF Changs came to Salt Lake it was like heaven. Jeremy always knew to take me there on special occasions to win brownie points. My heart is easily won over by good food. It's so much better than flowers. So when we moved here we discovered they had one nearby at the Alderwood Mall only 20 min. away. They also have a Macaroni Grill. This is a big deal people. Moving from Utah, the capital of good restaurants, to here, where they have a few, was a little tragic. Especially when that is our favorite thing to do on date nights is go out to eat. Any way eating at PF Changs was a highlight and a treat. Thanks mom and dad.

The day of my birthday a friend asked me to meet her at Michaels, and I gladly did, not having any plans anyway. She and 2 other friends showed up and surprised me and took me out to lunch. Wow, I was really surprised, no one has ever done that for me before. I'm so thankful to have these new friends in my life right now. They have made the transition from moving away from my Utah friends a little easier. I sure have missed them a ton. So we had a great lunch at Red Robin, another one of my favorites. The Banzai burger is the best. If I would have known I would have taken my camera for a picture to add here. When we first moved here we went there for dinner and asked for fry sauce and the server just stared at us. She had no clue what we were talking about. So we described it to her. They call their version camp fire sauce. Good to know, won't forget that one for next time.

Then that night I was feeling like seafood. Even though I was still full from lunch Jeremy wanted to take me out to a nice dinner. We had been told about a really nice place in Arlington called The Bistro. So Jeremy called and they happened to have a table for us, so we hurried over. It was a really nice place. There was only 10 tables in the whole place and only 2 servers, and candles everywhere. The kitchen was right in the open which was fun to watch the flames rise. We warned the kids before we got there that they had to be on their BEST behavior, we had a feeling they would be the only kids there, and they were. A guy greeted us by name when we entered and soon found out that he and the chef were the owners. They were so extremely nice and welcomed us like we already knew them. We ordered 2 steak and lobsters to share between Jeremy and I and George and Mason. And well MJ didn't want anything so she got a fruit and cheese plate which she loved, thank goodness. We splurged just a little, and it was sooo worth it. We turned down the dessert, but then after Jeremy paid, the chef sent over a piece of cake layered with different fruits and cream. It was so nice of him. Maryjane told them it was my birthday, so then they made a big deal about it. Anyways it was a great night. The kids were unusually well behaved which helps so much. It makes or brakes everything we do.

So the day started out just like any ole day, but turned out to be very special, with good memories now to remember my 33rd birthday. And now you all know how much I love food. Since that's all I pretty much wrote about this whole time. haha. I know I'm a dork. And even though it was Fri. the 13th nothing but good things happened.

Birthday & Halloween

So George turned 10 last week and I can't believe it. Time flies. I sure love this kid. I almost never have problems with him. He's a little forgetful and gets a little pouty once in a while, but other than that he's pretty darn perfect.


He asked for an oreo pie. So that's what he got. Yummy and easy for mom.


This is what he looked like all week before his b-day. He got sick from Mason who was sick the week before. Fevers only, but they sure lasted a long time. Mason missed 3 days of school and George missed 4. He missed Mon. to Thurs. and back just in time for his b-day and Halloween on Fri. He layed on the couch everyday all day and just watched TV. When you don't feel well you sure don't feel like doing anything else.






Friday night, the night of his b-day, we went out to dinner and looked around for him to spend some of his birthday money. He decided he really wanted a fish. Not sure why, I sure didn't want it, but what do you do. So he picked out a betta fish. It made him pretty happy.

During the week at scouts he earned his Bear. Yeah! So now he is a Webelos.

Saturday we planned his big day. Jeremy took the day off and we headed to Seattle to meet Ma♥key and Poppa. George really wanted to go to the Aquarium, but first we had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. When we got there we had some time before they opened so we walked around a little and got a few pictures~

Here we are eating~

He did not want them to sing to him, so the server brought the ice-cream w/ candle with no bells and whistles thankfully.

Then after lunch we made it to the Aquarium. We ended up getting a years pass, it was only $20 more, so why not. Another adult pass is also included, so we get to take a grandparent or nanny with us when we go, at least that's what it said in the pamphlet. I wish I had a nanny to take with us or to send the kids with.

They had pumpkins in the tanks floating with the fish. Pretty cool for Halloween I thought.

We liked touching the starfish and other anemones.

I really like this picture of MJ and Poppa. They were having fun watching the otters down below.

~Group shots~

HALLOWEEN:

Mason and MJ got to dress up for school on Fri. for Halloween. They both had parties. As you can tell Mason is an alien and well MJ wanted to be a vampire. And I promise you I had nothing to do it.

For the school look she let me rat her hair. She had black eye shadow on and black lip stick too.

Then for Halloween night she didn't want her hair ratted. (of course, the part I liked) But we did spray it black and put on some pretty cool purple lashes.

It was really fun dressing her up this year. So easy and cute too. I thought. The boys didn't take much to make them up. So I got off easy this year.

A close up look at the lashes. I want some.. ( her poor uni brow, she gets that from her dad unfortunately)

We went to the church for some trunk or treating, had yummy doughnuts and hot chocolate, then back at home they went around the neighborhood too.

A fun and eventful day, or few days I should say. We sure had fun.

Celebrations

Jeremy and I "celebrated" our 11th Anniversary, Oct. 29th. It's been a great 11 years. We went to take a picture and Jeter had to be in on it too. Sure do love my hun, it's pretty amazing he still puts up with me. I swear each year goes by faster and faster. We didn't have a babysitter or any plans so went to Bajio for dinner and took MJ with us. We're good at keeping things simple and not planning.



And Jeremy "celebrated" a win at Monopoly. The kids are just at the right age for playing this game, so bought it and played for the first time as a family. The boys were way into it except for the fact the Jeremy bankrupted us all and loved every moment of it. Mj played with Jeremy and rolled the dice so she could feel like she was apart of it. We bought the version that comes with a trophy so we can rub it each others faces and keep it displayed. Although the only name that has made it on there is Jeremy's so far. We'll get him back one of these days. We like to make him feel good.

Pumpkin Patch and Carving

We had a fun time carving pumpkins. The boys did everything themselves, which is so nice. Saves my arm from a little less torcher.

Maryjane decided she wanted a Hello Kitty pumpkin, so had to improvise. Turned out pretty cute though, if I do say so myself.

I never know whether to keep the lights on or off to take the pictures, so always do both.

They turned out pretty good I think, the boys did a great job.

We went to the pumpkin patch of course first to pick out the pumpkins, but messed up and posted them first. We picked the pumpkins, went on a hay ride, train ride and sat on tractors. Tis the season.

Lately...

♥♥♥ We had dinner last week at our really good friends house, Josh and Kailey's. It was so fun to catch up and get our kids together to play, and while they played we played too. We had our oldest boys, George and Brendon only a couple days apart nearly 10 years ago. And while we always wanted to live close to each other and raise our kids together going on walks with our strollers, life had other plans and we've done it separately...until now. Yeah! We live only an hour apart, but that's nothin' compared to 13. We each have 3 kids, although her baby is only 1 1/2 and she has all boys.


And we may even have a future wedding in our hands. MJ wouldn't leave poor Brendon alone and kept wanting to kiss him. They are only 3+ yrs apart so you never know. She loved the attention, I'm not sure if he did though. Good thing the drama started only a few minutes before we were about to leave.



♥♥♥ Our poor Mason had to go get a shot for his immunizations. His Hep B was done wrong according to Washington Laws so he needed a new one. And who likes getting shots? Umm no one I know of. So after a few tears but being tough, it was over with. After we went to WalMart for some groceries and I told him he could pick out a treat 'cause I felt so bad for him. And on the Halloween candy aisle he picked out this gross gummy foot.

It's so real with the bone sticking out. Yuck. He loved it though and made him very happy

♥♥♥ I made and ate my first Red Velvet cake. I think it turned out pretty good. This was the last piece, needless to say the kids loved it. Next time I want to try it with a cream cheese frosting. I'm not fond of regular icing, too sugary. I made it for dessert when we went to Kailey's last week.

♥♥♥ George and his dad went to a Seahawks game a couple weeks ago. I was suppose to go, but gave up my seat to my spoiled son. Jeremy got the tickets from work. Perks! It was worth it though, I love how they love to go to sporting events together. Plus I only go for the fun surroundings and atmosphere anyway. I hardly watch the games 'cause I'm too busy watching the people around me. I just can't help it. And George also knows he's going to get something out of it, like a brand new jersey. This was taken after the fact since Jeremy refused to take the camera. He also has a matching green Seahawks hat. Jeremy just can't help himself spoiling our kids.


♥♥♥ And what girl has never done this:

Whether with socks or tennis balls it's just plain curiosity. Silly girl.

♥♥♥ I also wanted to share a new recipe I found for the Cafe Rio Pork. It's so much easier than the one I have and tasted just as good, just not as spicy, which is great for me. I'm not a fan of spicy foods.

All it is is Pork Roast - I usually buy 2 2lb roasts.
Put in crock pot filled half way with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain water.

Mix, 2 cups salsa, 2 cups brown sugar, and 2 cups coke.

Add to Roast. Cut up the roast into fourths for now (or shred). Cook a couple more hours and shred the pork. And that's it. Add to salad and of course add the tomatillo dressing. If you don't have that recipe let me know and I'll post it. It's sooooooo good. Not only did we make the salad with it, but you can make nachos too. And don't forget the dressing on top of that too. Oh so yummy. Next time I'm only buying 1 pork roast so we don't have left overs for a week. and cut the recipe in half. Too easy.

♥♥♥ So that's all for now. Just a little of what's been going on in our little part of the world.