Thanksgiving Dinner

This morning I woke up at 7:00AM with Cooper. I had looked at the clock around 5:30 this morning and wondered if he was even alive because I hadn't heard a peep. He actually slept through the entire night for the first time in a really long time. Alas, I was woken in the middle of the night by the dishwasher beeping an error message at 1:00AM and then Lily crawling in claiming a thistle was stuck in her foot in the wee hours of the morning. Then, just as I was dozing off, a fly began buzzing around our bedroom. 

I put our turkey in shortly after 8:00AM and it started smelling good just as we were preparing to leave. We got a huge dump of snow last night, so our leaf picture was foiled. I decided instead we would all just gather in the living room and make the circle on the rug. 

After fighting with one boy over his wardrobe all morning, dealing with others who were grumpy, remembering all of the things I had to remember to bring to church etc, my patience was wearing thin. We were running late, so I just snapped a few quickly and then we loaded up. None of the pictures really turned out. Sawyer had something stuck in his eye, Lily was feeling punky, & Cooper refused to lay down. It was one big fight. "Why do we have to do this stupid tradition?" they whined... So off to church we went.

Lily began a fever during Sacrament meeting and then accompanied me to Relief Society where she fell asleep on my lap. On the way home the children were all fighting and somehow we got on the topic of the picture and someone asked if we were re-doing it. We couldn't because everyone was coming home in three different vehicles. I whispered, "no, it's a stupid tradition" as tears welled in my eyes. I drove home in silence, listening to a moving instrumental piece and willing myself to be filled with more gratitude given the fact that we were celebrating Thanksgiving.

When I pulled into the driveway, I knew the turkey would need basting as soon as I walked in. Cooper had fallen asleep and Lily was still feverish and begging to be put to bed with a heat bag. The boys were asking what I was making for lunch and I felt myself break as emotions were already close to the surface and feelings of inadequacy caused them to boil to the top. I put myself in my room for a time out and then sobbed to my pour husband after he got home (even though he had just dealt with bishopric meetings and a burst pipe at the church). 

Coopers powdered donut face with his hands stuck in his pockets definitely cheered me up as we sat and visited with my Dad and my sister in the living room!

I snuck a picture with my dear Mr. Stannix later in the afternoon.

Dinner was delicious! It was so fun raising our own turkey this year. Mom's pies were perfect! Clean up was fast with many hands on deck. I ended the night with a few boys asking to verse me on the pool table. We had a movie, snacks and a house filled with company.

The teacher strike is still on, but seminary is beginning again next week on zoom. It will add a bit more structure to our days and I'm looking forward to getting the house back in order and putting everything in it's place. And while it was a tough day, I am still so grateful for this family of mine and all of the many things we have been blessed with!

Last of the Harvest

Today Grampa, the children and the cousins all worked together to pull the last of the potatoes out of our garden. We got a pretty sad potato crop this year with the packed ground and all of the weeds we fought with, but we are grateful for what we were able to get and will enjoy them immensely over the Winter months. 

All of these little cousins worked hard together bending down and picking up potatoes as Grampa dug! It seems we got them out just in the nick of time, because the old North wind blew in snow late afternoon. 

I took a few moments to admire my tidy kitchen before bed and was filled with gratitude for our home and the gathering place it is.

Before flicking out the lights late at night, I noticed Camilla's lesson on the counter and was also filled with gratitude for wonderful teens who take their responsibilities seriously and put in the effort to fulfil them. Hyrum spent most of the evening downstairs in his room writing his talk for Sunday. The furnace kicked in just as I crawled into bed and I fell asleep to the sound of the dryer humming and the wreath rattling against the front door in the wind. 

 

Cooper's First Haircut

This morning I decided on a whim to give Cooper a hair cut. He has needed one for a while now, but I love leaving their wispy, white blonde toddler hair for as long as I can because it's my favorite! But it was getting in his eyes and the back was constantly tangled from sleeping and it was time... Daddy helped keep him distracted while I quickly trimmed the back and got the front out of his eyes. He was wiggly!

 

Straw for Winter

Today the big boys spent the day at a friends farm helping them bring their straw under cover for the Winter. After, they loaded up a couple of loads for our chicken coop. They worked hard to help unload and get it under cover in our little storage area. It should last us over a year and we are so grateful!

Turkey Day

Today the turkeys went to freezer camp! With the teachers officially on strike and all of the children home from school, it was the perfect time to have everyone pitch in and help. 

We only raised seven of them, so it didn't take us too long once we got a system in place. Grampa and Joe caught, Daddy did the chopping, and the rest of us plucked/cleaned.

Cooper helped fill the cans up with ice cold well water. This is where we store the turkeys once they've been de-feathered and cleaned.

This girl was a trooper and came out to help even though she didn't want to!

We had some pro plucking going on and were grateful for the shelter and warmth of the greenhouse as it was spitting rain and a bit on the windy side. We ended up with the turkeys weighing in from 15.4lbs - 19.6lbs. We put the biggest one in the upstairs freezer for Thanksgiving!

The afternoon was spent playing inside and hanging out together. It will be weird to have everyone home full time again for a bit!

 

General Conference

This weekend we have had the pleasure of watching General Conference together at home as a family. It was nice to wake up slowly this morning and not have to rush out the door to church. 

As I made my morning walk to the dumpster with a poopy diaper in hand, I couldn't help but admire the sky as the sun came up. 

This boy kept me on my toes for at least an hour before anyone else even woke.

I laughed as I watched him eat his cereal looking like a little gremlin. 

Warm croissants and nutella were enjoyed by all for breakfast! Then we enjoyed both conference sessions together. The children actually did pretty good this year and Cooper ended up napping through both of the afternoon sessions.

 

A Dog's Life

This guy's got it pretty good....

 

Playing with Fire

This afternoon Cooper enjoyed a bit of wrestling with Daddy. He loves jumping onto peoples backs for rides and giggles hysterically when they play with him.

I love watching Mr. Stannix interact with our kiddos!

We went on a double date with some friends to our favorite restaurant and had such a great time visiting. This was my view as we drove away and even though I only got a blurry picture, I still love it!

As we were driving home around 9PM we got a call from my Dad to let us know Ollie had been hurt and we would have to decide weather or not to take him in once we got home. He was glad to hear we were on our way. One of the older boys had texted during our date asking if they could start a fire outside to sit around and enjoy. It sounded harmless, so I gave him the go ahead. Well, one thing led to another and soon there was gas and fire on the ends of sticks and to make a long story short, Ollies shoes are toast (literally) and he is lucky he was wearing shorts and not pants and that his ankles weren't burnt worse! They already have baseball sized blisters and will take a good month or so to heal. Thankfully they got him into the er quickly and were able to treat and wrap everything. I've heard so many variations of the story that I'm not sure who to believe anymore, but there were a few groundings doled out and we will be having a more serious chat in the morning once things calm down. This will be a lesson I'm sure they won't easily forget, as it could have been so much worse!

 

Turkey Lurkey

I wandered out to visit the turkeys for a bit today. They are so interesting and funny to watch and kind of have stalker like tendencies. I am terrified of them and when they all started following me around I made my way quickly to the exit and laughed away my fear. I do love taking pictures of them and listening to their sounds and watching them though! It was fun to be able to raise them this year and try something new!

 

 

Hello October

 This morning I woke to Cooper shouting from his crib (he asks to be put to bed there instead of his toddler bed), "MOM! MOOOOOOMMMM!" This has become his morning routine shortly after 6:00am and it always takes me a few minutes to blink sleep from my eyes and will myself out of bed. As my feet touched the floor I could feel how much they hurt from all of the things I've been trying to accomplish over the last few days. My heels pinched and I felt as though I was walking on pins and needles instead of the cool morning floor. 

I snuggled on the couch with Cooper for a few minutes before I heard Hyrum's alarm go off. When I didn't see either of the two big kids, I went downstairs to investigate. Hyrum didn't remember his alarm ever going off and was running a bit behind. Camilla pretty much opened the door when I was about to knock. I offered to help them toast their bagels while they took care of packing their lunches and making their sandwiches. Then we all gathered in the living room for a family prayer and they were off to Seminary. 

After the chaos of breakfast, lunch packing, and bus catching, I headed down to the basement to do a tidy and vacuum. Things had gotten out of control in the TV room and I couldn't stand the crumpled up croissants on the carpet or the empty cans of pop lining the ledge. Cooper helped me tidy the toys and we gave everything a nice thorough vacuum! I put through a few loads of laundry in the process (which I now need to fold at some point).

Daddy worked in his home office today and all morning long I had to keep a close eye on Cooper as he would run into the office at any given time. Once, he did it while Daddy was on the phone with a client. He raced right over to the desk while I frantically chased him down and then he giggled his head off while I peeled him out of the room. I then decided that we should maybe play outside for the rest of the day so that Daddy could work in peace. Lily was still feeling under the weather and opted to stay inside and rest.

We headed up to the garden and dug all of our beets and carrots. The sunshine was warm on our faces despite the slight chill in the air. It was nice to visit with my parents while we worked! We did not get a good yield this year and most of our carrots are the size of my pinkie finger. Two whole rows gave me a five gallon pail. Quite a few of the tiny tiny ones went over the fence to the chickens and I kept back the ones I'm willing to fuss over and put into the freezer. Joe was a big help to Gramma and Grampa as they pulled their carrots and beets as well. He also took Cooper for a gazillion quad rides to bring the chickens garden treats. It's been so great having him home!

When I came in, I put a ham in the oven for dinner and made up some cinnamon buns for Camilla to bring to youth tonight. The dishes took me pretty much all day to get through (and there's more) between diaper changes, naps, and toddler tantrums. Shortly before the bus dropped the kids home, I chopped up some fresh potatoes, carrots and beets to roast for dinner. They joined the ham in the oven and the kitchen smelled delicious! When the ham came out, the cinnamon buns went in so they would be ready in time for youth!

Daddy ate quick before heading out to a meeting at the church. Camilla brought Fin home from volleyball after she finished reffing at the middle school, which was super helpful! It is really nice having another driver in the house and my life has really been simplified as far as the number of trips I need to take to town now. The littles and I ate together and Joe joined us when he got back from dirt biking. Happy chaos seems to be the theme of our life these days. 

Shortly after Camilla and Joe left for youth group, I jammied the littles and got them all ready for bed. While I fed Cooper his bottle and tucked him in, I had some jars warming in the oven for apple juice and jelly. By the time I had tucked the younger three in, the apple juice was warm and everything was sterilized and ready to go! I put six quarts of Kerr apple juice into the steam canner and then began a batch of jelly while it came up to speed. Fin came into the kitchen and asked to help, so he poured in the pectin and sugar and did some stirring while chatting my ear off about volleyball and school and science class. I love when he gets talking! He is so smart and there are so many things that run through his mind. 

I finished wiping down counters just as the kids got home from youth. Camilla burst through the door, yelled that the Northern Lights were out and then ran downstairs somewhere. I happily headed out to the deck! It was the perfect way to end a busy day. She joined me again a few minutes later and we excitedly took in the lights together. They were dancing and changing so fast! We even saw pink (which I've never seen from my deck). At one point they stretched up high into the sky above the house and I got some pretty great shots! We spent the next few minutes sending our best pictures to each other. I love that she enjoys the same things as me! I love that she relishes in the wonders and beauties of the earth. 

Now the house is quiet (except for the hungry child in my kitchen raiding the fridge). As I type, I happily listen to the jar lids popping away while they seal. My eyes are heavy and my body is tired, but my heart is so so full! Welcome October, we're so glad you're here!