Why I Feel Like a Hero...

It is late, too late even to call my sisters so here I am sharing my excitement with the world at large. I feared this was going to be a no Christmas card year. I love sending them. I love receiving them but this year it seemed completely overwhelming. And that is why I feel like such a hero. I pushed through the wall and put it together tonight. I photo shopped out blemishes and worked forever on red-eye issues and then decided I better just upload the photo to cost-co and be done with it. Kevin has long since retired so hopefully he doesn't hate the one I chose. Now whether or not I will actually get them in the mail is an entirely different story!

Deck the Halls

We had our first tree trimming party! Sadly, I must admit in the past I have decorated the tree when the boys are sleeping at night. But this year, Kevin intervened and promised the boys they could decorate with us. The boys were hyper with anticipation all day. Kedrick assigned Daddy to bake the cupcakes with sprinkles, Mommy to decorate the house, Kedrick to decorate the tree and Brock to put the star on top. They had a blast pulling everything out of the boxes and did not break a thing.

Kevin helping Brock get that star up on top, you can imagine what happened next...

Brock fell down behind the tree, knocking things down as he went. Kevin managed to keep hold of his feet so no harm done, well except for that Brock was seriously traumatized and will probably decline the star topper position next year.

Turkey Tidbits

Someday I will cook my own turkey dinner, but not this year. We traveled to Prescott to enjoy giving thanks with Kevin's family. Kedrick and Brock thought it was about the most exciting thing we had ever done. Both slept for about 20 minutes of the 8 hour drive over. Despite what all reason would lead you to conclude, the ride was a delight. The boys traveled the best they ever have. Some other happy moments...

Kristen:

• Sleeping in the morning after we arrived! I take advantage of the fact that I know the first morning Kevin won't mind getting up because he'll be so excited to see his family...not that I am not excited but ya know, got to sleep when you can!
• Eating a huge and delicious meal that I have shamefully had little to do with. Highlights this year included the homemade pumpkin pie and particularly delicious deviled eggs.

Kevin:

• Playing basketball at the church with his brothers and sisters, a long-time standing day after thanksgiving tradition.


• Hiding out in his dad's office for hours on end "helping his dad with computer stuff."
  
• Teaching his boys all about Prescott landmarks and memories and watching them fall in love with the town.

Kedrick:

• Hiking to Thumb Butte, carefully avoiding the treacherous cactus. He surprised us by his stamina and desire to keep climbing! I knew there was a mountaineer deep inside him!


• Playing with Grandma's train table. Kedrick deduced that grandma must REALLY like trains because why else would she have a train table??


• Running reckless and napless for days with his cousins he doesn't see nearly enough.

Brock:

• Thumb Butte hike proved a winner but he took it in from a higher vantage point, Kevin is so good about carrying the boys and NEVER complaining.


• Going to see the annual gingerbread house display and discovering a model railroad display. Prying the boys away was no easy task!


• Getting acquainted with Bailey, the doggy member of the Hawkins family. He wasn't quite sure how to handle the puppy energy and vascilated between being terrified of and in love with Bailey. In the end, the love overtook. His last moments he spent trying to make Bailey drink out of his sippy cup. A generous good will offering.

Reaching to Heaven

Kevin was prepping Kedrick for tithing settlement tonight and was quizzing him...

Kevin: If you have 10 pennies how many do you give back to Heavenly Father?
Kedrick: One daddy, but I can't.
Kevin: Why not?
Kedrick: Because my arms can't reach to heaven.

Fruit of My Loins....

in Fruit of the Looms! We finally did it, or more accurately Kedrick did it. Kedrick showed signs of being ready mid-summer but so much was going on and I began to fear my kid would be the only one in diapers come kindergarten. For some reason I work best by verbally committing to someone. So when my dear friend Tina was getting ready to leave for England for two weeks at the end of the summer I told her I was going to potty train Kedrick while she was gone. The next day after I said that, Kevin put underwear on Kedrick. I was really terrified but Kedrick took right to it. He has had very few accidents and really, well, was ready. I guess that's what happens when you wait until they are 3 years and 8 months old. Brock has been inspired too and occasionally joins in on potty time. He came bounding out to announce to his aunts a few weeks ago that he, "pooped a poop! A big daddy poop!" Ahh shucks, we're so proud of our little poopers.

To Crack a Coconut

Kevin recently got back from attending his brother Laren's wedding in Kauai. Yes I stayed home with the youngins while he was in Hawaii for 5 days and I'm not really even that bitter. Word has it that the location, weather and ceremony were dreamy. They incorporated a Hawaiian tradition of cracking a coconut during the ceremony, drinking the coconut milk and tossing it into the ocean. Kevin couldn't really remember what the meaning behind it was but it sounds dreamy anyway. Congrats Laren and Jessica!!

Kevin took up gecko photography while he was there. Love that green!

Halloween Haunts

The boys were decisive when I asked what they wanted to be for Halloween this year, "I want to be a ghost and SCARE people," Kedrick responded and thankfully Brock echoed the same words. I was pleased as punch. We purchased a sheet for $2 at the thrift store and spent $1 on face paints. The boys practiced making scary ghosts sounds all month long. The big night did not dissapoint. One neighbor told Kedrick what a scary ghost he was and he told her not to be scared and explained he was just a "pretend ghost." Kedrick was quick on his feet this year and new exactly what he was doing. Brock trailed a little behind in a stupor of wonder staring down at his pumpkin in disbelief that people were just handing him all these treats. Lollipops, M&M's and KitKat's were the big hits. They topped off the night being chased around the house by a skeleton, trying to burn off their sugar high.