Just for fun...

This is mostly for the grandparents... It takes about half way through for Lucas to interact. And yes... he doesn't quite know where his eyes are :)

Thanksgiving 2011

This year Andy and I hosted our first Thanksgiving. When we decided to host I was a little nervous at the daunting task. I researched and researched and researched best ways to cook with one oven, Thanksgiving schedules, recipes and more! I finally decided on a schedule and moved forward. The hardest part is estimating how much food to buy. We had way too many mashed potatoes and not enough cream corn... but next time we host I'll know better!

Here are a few pictures from our day:

Place Setting

Dessert Table... I made two different types of apple pie. They were both delicious and surprisingly I liked the french apple better. (I made the crusts a week in advance and put them in the freezer... made a much easier Thanksgiving morning)

The guests (Lucas was napping)

Our only family photo. This was at the end of the night... I am looking a little tired.
Lucas' "Cheese" face

Today we did a little black Friday shopping then headed to Red Rock lanes for the first annual Turkey Bowl Tournament. The Hinckleys hosted and this was Lucas' first time bowling. Except for his meltdown at the end, it was a successful day.

My favorite part... Lucas would get down at watch his ball go down. His little hands would cross the line so he faulted almost every turn.

All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for this year. I am already thinking of what next Thanksgiving menu will entail :)

Where have we been?

What a week we have had! If you had stopped by anytime in the last week and a half you would have seen a mom and a little boy still in their PJ's, a messy house, and Toy Story or Nemo on the TV. We all were hit with a horrible cold-- Sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, cough, fever. You name it, we had it.

Monday morning we were finally feeling normal so we decided to venture out. We hit Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus, Sonic, Grocery Store... by naptime both Lucas and I were spent. We both took a 3 1/2 hour nap!

Tuesday morning had good promise as well... I got up and got ready before Lucas even woke up! I bathed him and we had breakfast. I thought, "Finally, life it getting back to normal" --note to self, never think this-- not 10 seconds later Lucas tumbled out of his Booster Seat, hit his mouth on the table, bit through his lip and blood was EVERYWHERE. It all happened in slow motion. I scooped Lucas up, grabbed the nearest towel, and tried to figure out if he still had teeth. Then I called Andy told him to come home immediately. (He handles situations like this much better... I tend to over react). Andy comes home and the bleeding is almost under control and we see the bite mark under his lip.

We decide to call Bompa to see if he was by any chance in town to take a look. Unfortunately he was in Mesquite but he told us what to do. Since his upper lip didn't split we decided he didn't need stitches. But now Lucas is on a strict popsicle and milk shake diet until he heals.

His poor little cheek is swollen and his smile is a little crooked. You can't tell in the pictures, but the cut goes from the crease of his lip and about a half an inch inward.

So today was spent, once again in PJs, eating popsicles, and watching Woody Buzz.

Maybe tomorrow we will get out of the house?

California

I think I could set a record with the amount of Blog Posts titled "California"... :)

We went to California this weekend to celebrate Fern and Trevor! It was Fern's Bridal Shower and it was so much fun to see the happy couple together. They are seriously SO cute and we cannot wait to have Fern as a Sister!!

Here are some pictures from the Shower... (keep in mind I cannot take credit for any of these because I did not bring my camera)

Sissies

Grandma Linda

Grandma Glenda

Ashy

My cute aunt Steph and cousin Erica

All we need is Dallas in this picture!

The cute couple

Trevor and Fern (Elissa is her real name... but everyone calls her Fern) are childhood sweethearts. Our two families grew up together and here are all the "Sisters"

It was such a fun day and December 28th can't come soon enough!

In addition to the shower we also...

Went to Disneyland:

Played with Uncle Doodles Trains:

And tried REALLY hard to take some cute family pictures... it was a FIASCO. So instead we went to Ruby's for some shakes and burgers to make us feel better.

Here is how we all felt about Family Pictures:

Dinnertime!

Much Happier!

Not Pictured: A fabulous couples dinner to Sushi with NO kids polished off with some Paradise Bakery cookies, a yummy dinner at Baja Fish Tacos (seriously, best place ever), and a one of a kind Bruce Family morning complete with dancing, donuts, and diet coke.

Can December GET HERE ANY FASTER so mom can join in on the fun??

More Halloween!

I promise this is my last Halloween Post for 2011. Yesterday we started the day off with a Halloween party play date. Here is Mr GQ himself...
Then it was time to get into costume so we could get a group picture. All Lucas wanted was to play soccer:

So when it was time for the group picture Lucas wouldn't sit still. He just wanted to play. Sadly, this is the best picture I got :) Poor Jude was a little nervous sitting by the monkey and lion. Maybe next year they will sit still?

Last night we started out at Minna and Bompas neighborhood. They have the best neighbors who decorate and embrace the holiday season. We had so much fun taking Lucas around trick or treating. He got a few cheek pinches which he didn't mind so long as he got an extra piece of candy :)

In case you were wondering... those who just leave a bucket of candy out on the porch and think it is the teenagers taking it all, think again. It was Thumper. He just kept grabbing handfuls and putting it in Mr Pumpkin. I thought it was so funny I didn't stop him till about the 5th time. Hilarious.
After Trick or Treating we headed to Aunt Julie's for her famous Butternut Squash Soup and to check out our candy.

And maybe some sword fighting too with Jedi Owen.

Then we headed out for another round of trick or treating..

And ended the night with Banana Minna and Cousin Chad handing out candy :)

We loved Halloween and are already thinking of our costumes for next year :)

Now it is on to Thanksgiving!