Thanksgiving

This is a little late, but better than never, yes? We celebrated Thanksgiving at home again this year, and it was delightful. We were tired at the end of it, but food tired is always more of a blessing than a curse. We also introduced the kids to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. I always watched it growing up, until we moved to Saipan anyway, and it was always fun to see the balloons and bands and shows. I also love seeing where different bands and squads come from. The kids really liked it. I also borrowed a great book from the library called Balloons over Broadway. It has great pictures and tells the story of the man who invented and designed the first balloons used in the Macy's Parade and why the Parade was started.

This year we had our friends the Axtells over for dinner. They usually go down to Boston but because their toddler has such a time in the car, they didn't want to risk five hours of screaming. It was fun to get together. Between dinner and dessert we went outside and kicked a ball around and the kids balanced on the slackline.

Let me introduce you to the stars, from L-R: Mal's Secret Pecan Pie, flourless chocolate torte, buttermilk pie, grapefruit merengue pie, pumpkin pie, and peanut butter brownies.

Friday morning breakfast.

The kids enjoying leftover cheese ball, nuts, fruit, and rolls for lunch on Friday.

The past few months have been an opportunity to learn to be thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I've been trying to complain less and smile more. I'm always telling the kids to be thankful for what we have--because it really is way, way more than we need; but the best way to teach is by example.

Happy Fourth of July!

Sweet rolls for breakfast...

a parade with friends...

and card games.

Don't worry--Dad, Aunt Alexa, and Aunt Eden took them to the fireworks. I hung out at home visiting with a friend, which was perfect.

Thanksgiving Break Week

We spent yesterday up to Gram's. It's always fun visiting with Grammy and Alexa. It's even more fun teasing Alexa and Sean. I was surprised Uncle Shawn didn't join us, but Gram said he did spend Thanksgiving evening with them. 

They held off on the traditional feast until we came, which wasn't my intention, but we enjoyed a second turkey dinner! 

We walked to Bob's Hardware, always a hit. Petya wanted to walk like the big kids--she walked the whole way back.

The day before we went up to Gram's was wet and gray, and we knew the next day we'd be spending 4 hours in the car, so Mike met us at the Y after work to run around a bit. Petya loves to sit on the trucks and scoot herself all over the floor. She's getting pretty big for them--not that they were ever meant for someone to sit on them. 

We took family pictures back in October, but, as is typical, Madie spent the time fooling around and pulling faces. I promised Mike I would try to get a shot of her before it snowed. With no school, this was the week to do it. I asked her to go pick something out to wear and she pouted. I told her to pick long-sleeved so she'd be warm (our other pictures were taken outside, so I was looking for continuity--in November). We couldn't agree on anything, so I finally just pulled out this short-sleeved dress and she blanched.

"Just remember, the less you fool around, the faster we'll get inside."

After 10 minutes I knew I had some good ones. She was happy to take the dress off and get back into pajamas. And I was happy to have a decent picture of her.

Mike took Finn canoeing and fishing this week. He has his license, but he's only been able to get out a few times all year, and they haven't caught anything yet. Still, Finn loves to go out on the boat. 

Madie refuses to get in "until we get a boat without duct tape."

We've spent the week teaching the kids a couple of new games. I think I mentioned in the last post chess and Chinese checkers. They kept complaining regular checkers is more fun. ?? Who likes checkers? Is there a more boring game?

I think it was good for P to join in. She didn't really play, she just moved her pieces around in her corner, but she did learn to wait her turn. Both Chinese checkers and chess have really helped Madie to think a couple of moves ahead.

Tomorrow is back to the grind.

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Thanksgiving 2016

Ahhh, the kick-off to the holiday season. And what a way to get it started! It makes you happy to be a New Worlder. (Canada gets it.)

Thanksgiving in Maine is even better, because it starts on Tuesday evening. Pie Night at the church. It's a beautiful thing. Pies pies pies. This year, I decided I would pull a MariLou and make a pie for everyone in my family. I thought I'd make some of them for Pie Night and some for Thanksgiving. So I asked Mike what he wanted and he lead with "Boston cream pie," followed by, "or that strawberry pie Grammy made a while back. That was amazing." So, a layer cake or a pie made from November (i.e. tasteless) strawberries. Thanks. The kids asked for an Oreo pie. I made the Boston cream and the Oreo pie (which my kids didn't like) and a sausage pie. Thankfully they were all eaten. Next year I think I'll just make one or two simple pies for Pie Night and the rest on Thanksgiving.

The remains of a million blueberries.

Last night I made our pies, a lime cheese pie and pumpkin. I also prepped the fruit for the fruit bowl. I was prepared for doing Thanksgiving like I remember my mum doing Thanksgiving: getting up at 5:30 or 6, setting up the table with the fruit bowl, drinks, and even deviled eggs until I realized we had no mayonnaise. Then setting to work, Mike peeling, me cooking, non-stop until 2 pm when we would sit to a feast and subsequently crawl to the couch/bed/dog bed where we could sleep off the tryptophan.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions in my parents' home was breakfast/brunch. It was a large fruit basket filled with pears, oranges, bananas, grapes, nuts, apples, and a big bowl of sherbet punch and a platter of deviled eggs. This being our first Thanksgiving at home, I was excited to do the same for my kids--it was a bigger hit than I thought. Even Madie (my picky eater) enjoyed it!

As it turned out, I had large stretches of nothing. I did get up early, and I'm glad because I had left the kitchen a wreck from the night before, so I cleaned up and set up the table. But when I turned to decide what to do next, I realized, I couldn't do much for a few hours. I didn't really start doing anything until 11. We did end up eating a little later than I anticipated--3:40 or so--but it wasn't bad.

When they weren't busy cracking nuts, the kids spent the majority of their time in the basement learning chess. They've been asking to learn, and Mike finally gave in. He taught them checkers and then Chinese checkers a couple weeks ago and they have loved it. Checkers is especially nice since they can play it themselves with no "advisors." Every day this week they have gone down to play checkers--Finn and Madie will keep busy at it for an hour or more! 

At the beginning of the chess lesson today, I overheard Mike trying to get them calm enough to explain the rules. They were both very excited he had agreed to teach them. Finn asked, "Do you get to jump people and take their pieces?" Mike responded with a yes, to which Finn exclaimed, "Yes! I love this game!"

Not everyone was playing chess. Obviously, these two were at a rave and just about passed out from the excitement.

While the turkey was roasting, I took the kids out to gather clippings and trimmings for some wreaths. We were out for maybe 15 minutes, but they loved it. They kept saying, "This is so much fun! I love this! This is a great Thanksgiving activity!" I'm glad, because Madie especially was not very happy to learn we had decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year and go up to my grandmother's on Saturday instead. She was set for a dull day, indeed.

After we had plated the turkey and used what we needed of the drippings for gravy, I prepped Elvis' Thanksgiving dinner.

He is always extra good when he gets a special treat. He knows we'll make him start over if he jumps before he's told.

Haha!

Madie always groans when we light candles to eat. I'm not exactly sure why, but it makes her the only child I know who doesn't like eating by candlelight. Maybe it started after I told her the story of Kaitlyn melting her ear almost off when her hair caught fire at Christmas Eve when she was a kid. I don't know.

Finn told me, not for the first time this week, he was thankful for "friends and lots of toys to give to them, because we have too many toys." Amen, Son. 

I thought for a while of dressing up--I like to dress up for occasions like this, but often I don't just out of convenience. Obviously, convenience won out again this year.

After dinner we went for a flashlit stroll through the woods. Finn was interested in going at first, but as soon as we started he asked how long we would be. I said not long, and he suggested that we walk until we come to the "rocky path, then turn back." That "rocky path" is a gravel road, big enough for two cars to carefully pass, and meticulously maintained by the club groundskeeper. We walked all the way down that road to the club house that overlooks the ocean. There we turned off our lights and let our eyes adjust. Madie was particularly enthralled with this. She was amazed that our eyes could actually work fairly well in the dark. She kept telling me about all the colors in the sky. "I see green and purple and gold." Mike and I  agreed on the description "overcast," but to each her own. 

When we spotted our house lights from the woods, Finn--who, at 5 minutes in, told us (not whining, just informing) he was tired and hungry and thirsty--added to his gratitude. "You know what I'm thankful for? Our house. I'm really glad we don't have to live outside in a cave." Again, man, I'm with you.

When we returned it was pie time, then Harry Potter and baths and a final game of chess. Finn and Mike played downstairs and I asked Madie if she wanted to play against me on the tablet. "Oh! Sure! That'll be fun! You know how to play?" 

"Yes, I know how to play." After the game, the 7-year-old novice told me, "Oh, man! You know,  you were good. You were better than I thought you'd be." Thanks, Madie. You're a great coach.

Look at this face?

A California Christmas

For the second year in a row, Christmas was unseasonably warm. Last year got up to 55 degrees and sunny due to a tropical storm that rolled in on Christmas Eve. This year, it was a similar circumstance. Tropically rainy Christmas Eve, followed by a warm and sunny Christmas day. This certainly contrasts two years ago when we were hit with an ice storm on Christmas Eve that knocked out the power for four days! We hosted the missionaries for dinner for the third year in a row. I always appreciated the families that hosted me while I served in Houston. I feel honored to return the favor to do the same for the missionaries in our branch. We had our typical oyster stew, green salad, stollen bread, fresh fruit, and sparkling cider over a candle-lit table, followed by ginger bread and whipped cream. The kids (Madie) didn't want to act out the nativity this year, so we had to improvise a bit. Mal came up with an excellent alternative with using the kids nativity set to act out the reading of Luke 2. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't want to act it out, mostly out of tradition. But this turned out very well. The kids went to bed shortly after, and fell asleep quickly! I can't believe how fast they fell asleep. Madie has been so anxious for Christmas this year that I thought she would have a really hard time falling asleep. Mallory and I spent the evening laying presents underneath the tree, cleaning the house, and watching Arrow (our latest craze).

Although she fell asleep quickly, she was certainly the first to get up. I was somewhat awake when she trotted out of their room, and stared into our room. She had a huge grin on her face and big eyes of excitement. She was ready to run out, but I told her to snuggle with me in bed until Finn and Nella woke up. The first objective was to get the stockings. In our home, Santa is the one that fills the stockings. So I went out with Finn and Madie to get their stockings, and we brought them back to our bed. Madie was pleased that Santa pulled through on some things, such as the stick-on ear rings and candy canes. Finn was happy about the candy, of course. Nella was just happy. 

Onto the main event, our gifts to each other and family. We decided to go a slightly different direction this year. We wanted to make each other gifts using our amazing skills. The outcomes were phenomenal! Mal made Madie a cute dress from one of my old shirts (to be pictured in a future post), and Petranella some mittens. Madie made Finn a super hero cape, and Nella a bell-bracelet. Finn made Madie a sun catcher for their window. I made Finn and Madie a wooden sword, Finn a rubber-band rifle, and Madie a custom sweatshirt (see below). Of course, we did buy a few other things (bows & arrows, clothes, and some family games and activities), but we really wanted to try and simplify a bit this year and let the kids take ownership in making gifts. I'm hoping we can keep this going for them, because they all had really good ideas.

Grammy and Grampy gave us an apple picker, some lincoln logs, and farm animals. Nana and Papa gave Madie & Finn ice skates, and Petranella a toddler sled. We also got other gifts from Grandma Clark and Grammy Haskins. We are very blessed, and truly thankful for wonderful family that thinks of us.

 After we opened presents, it was time for war games! We went out and had a war with the bows, swords, and the gun. The kids got some good practice with their weapons.

 So what do you do on a warm Christmas day, you might ask? We pretended we were in my native land for a day and biked from the Schooner Head Overlook to the Great Head parking lot, and hiked to Sand Beach. Finn was getting a little tired toward the end of the bike ride. I think he will be ready to move on from his tricycle next summer. He does really well in it, but I think he wants to go faster and has a hard time keeping up. He certainly does more RPM's than any of us.

The kids walked bare-footed in the brook, and ran around in shorts and a t-shirt. Just being able to run around in the sun was a treat. The sunlight felt warm enough for me to lose the shirt for 20 minutes and get some sun for my vitamin-D depleted body. The kids tried making sand castles, then tried making sandmen (instead of snowmen). That turned into Finn flinging sand everywhere and getting out of control. 

Petranella was content on Mal's back for a few minutes, but was ready to be freed to explore the sand. She was threading the needle between some rocks on her way to the water and stumbled into a small tide pool. We had to lose her pajamas to keep her warm. She was loving her first time walking on sand. 

It was a fun journey back, with Nella all wrapped up in a blanket in our bike trailer. We came back home and had ribs for dinner (inaugural Watkins tradition), followed by a warm campfire and camping in the back woods with Madie and Finn. They loved running around the fire, chasing each other away from the light and back toward the fire. It was a full moon, so it wasn't like it was totally dark. But I'm so glad these two love to go camping and spend time outside. I think it helps that we are fairly ambitious when it comes to the outdoors. It doesn't matter the conditions, as long as you have the right gear and attitude. Madie declared this Christmas, "The best Christmas, ever!" Now if we could get some ice and snow, we will be able to try our new winter toys.

The day after Christmas, we got together at Grammy Haskins home with the Varnums, Easthams, Seth & Ashley Haskins, and Uncle Shawn. Good food, great company, and a fun time.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! What a wonderful holiday. The older I get, the more I enjoy Easter. And no, it's still not the baskets. It's the beautiful reminder of the Savior's over-arching love for us and the example of love He set for us. And the safety I feel in His Atonement for me.

Of course, we did have some fun. On Saturday the YWCA in town held an egg hunt for kids starting at 3 years--or almost 3, in Finn's case. They had a different hunt for each age and lots of crafts and games to keep waiting kids occupied. 

Madie is in the pink dress with her hands primly in front of her--a princess if there ever was one.

Mike and I saw children's baseball mitts and balls at Marden's for like $7! We bought one for each of the kids and a big chocolate bunny and called it good. We don't usually do gifts at Easter--in the past we've just stuck to the typical candy baskets--but I'd much rather have something active like this! And they love playing with them. It's been too chilly to be outside tossing a ball with a kid who can't catch one yet, so we've been playing Grounders in the living room. Sometimes Mike does take them downstairs and they toss gently back and forth in the basement, but they like Grounders and Madie, especially, is getting pretty good at it.

Playing Grounders with Dad. And Elvis.

On Sunday we went to "Uncle" Seth's house. I love being there. Seth is just the nicest guy, despite his teasing. He reminds me a lot of my dad. And there's always music and people singing or playing, and of course, food. And I always look forward to catching up with Ashley, his wife, and Ashleigh, my cousin--and my other cousins and my Aunt Rinda and Gram when they all make it. But I can always count on a good chat with the Ash's, or Ashleiygh, as I've decided to name them. It makes me feel like being at my parents' house. 

When we left Madie and Finn both said it was fun. Finn was really disappointed when we had to leave. When we were saying goodbye and Finn was slow to come put on his boots, Seth teased, "Why don't you just stay here, Finn? You wanna live with me?" For the first time as a parent I watched one of my children seriously consider the offer. I told him his cousin Pip was going to leave soon, too. He still wasn't convinced. Finally I said, "Finn, we need to go home." Reluctantly he came into the mudroom and said goodbye. The whole way down the road he kept asking if we could come back tomorrow. 

Madie helped decorate the carrot cakes I made for Seth's.

And today we're back to the regular routine. Madie went to school, and brought home the cutest project: they grew grass in baskets and made felted wool eggs with little chicks inside them. I guess her teacher was getting sick of waiting for spring. I picked Madie up from school since we had to go shopping and we were finally ready that late in the day. Normally I go much earlier and use a cart with a carseat carrier and Finn sits down below on the rack underneath--his own discovery and one I am always impressed with and thankful for. Today the carseat carts were all being used so Petya sat down in the basket and Finn AND Madie sat down below.

Exhibit A

Mike says, "See, don't you just want one of those cars [like Target has]?" I still say absolutely not. This method gets them out of the way and the cart isn't disproportionately long or wide, so I can still maneuver it through the aisles. Not to mention, this was my kid's idea, so it's a good exercise in problem-solving. Trophies all around.

Easter Week

 Madie is really excited for Easter this year. She and I have worked on a couple of projects to get ready, and she is raring to do more.

Here she holds up a stretch of paper eggs we colored. This is now decking a shelf in our kitchen. I think we're going to be making a lot more of these. Madie had a blast and they really are wicked cute.

Something I told Mike early on in our marriage was that I wanted to emphasize the reason for our holidays and traditions. Many of us don't know why we do things we do every year or even every day--I didn't want to live that way any longer and I didn't want my kids to live that way. Obviously the fun stuff is great too--despite what people may believe about me, I am not a Santa hater. I love Santa. But I also like to tell the story of St. Nicholas to my kids. 

Easter baskets are a little different--I don't mind if my kids have Easter baskets. I don't mind if my kids do not have Easter baskets. I never remember believing the Easter bunny was real (unlike Santa). The first Easter basket I really remember having was one my "mom," Anne, gave me when I was 14 and living with her family in the States after my own had moved to Saipan. It was great! But not something I have strong nostalgic feelings towards. Mike finds my lack of Easter basket love disturbing. So, we do Easter baskets.

We also decided to do a Holy Week "advent," if you will, starting today with the Triumphant Entry. Madie loves having something to help her count down the days to something, so she is excited. I think she's even more excited about Easter than Christmas because the calendar--which went up yesterday--is significantly shorter.

There is one frivolity I love and will always love about Easter: jelly beans. And here is one for you.

Halloween

BOO! I love this jack-o-lantern. It was carved by my brother Jacob after a drawing Madie made for it. It's one of the best. I also love that Madie enjoys drawing and painting and all forms of art so much. I hope it turns into a life-long love!

Is it just me, or is there something about this jack-o-lantern that looks kind of like my brother Ezra when it's not lit?

And here we have Olaf, carved by Dad. Not drawn by Finn, but enjoyed immensely by him. I'm fairly certain he now believes that all jack-o-lanterns are called Olaf since he kept pointing to them respectively and saying, "Finn-Dada Olaf, Madie-Uncle Jake Olaf." He also thinks it's the universal word for snowman. Lot's of Olafs running around.

You know, I really enjoy Halloween. I'm not incredibly imaginative though. And, let's be honest, I'm a little lazy. So it was kind of nice to have my mum come and do all the fun things with my kids that she did with us as kids. It's funny, I like Halloween, but not all the work. Mum always says she hates Halloween, but she certainly seems to enjoy the work. Those owl cookies down there are a serious time commitment. Especially when you only end up with like 10, which is a problem when I make them. Mum, somehow, seems to get like 24 out of hers. Huh...

Finn scarfing down chocolate chip eyeballs.

Finn actually putting a chocolate chip in on an owl. Or maybe he's taking it off. I don't know, it went back and forth a lot.

You can find the recipe here.

In our little town here they block off one of the major residential streets to traffic and that is where the honey pot is. In fact, residents there can get candy donations to help off-set the cost of all the trick-or-treaters. There are other areas of town that you can go as well, of course, but this does make it nice when you have a brood of little ones. We hit up only half-the street, and our kids have been eating candy for 11 days straight (and no, not just one each) and we still have plenty left in the bowl.

Glinda, the Good Witch, per her request.

Her expression here is much more in-tune with the story than that of Glinda in the movie. The Good Witch in the book is kind of like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings. Righteous, but not to be messed with.

There was another Glinda from the Wizard of Oz roaming the street that evening. Her costume was amazing! I was so impressed I actually mentioned to her mother when we were stopped at the same house how great it was. She laughed and said, "Does it scream 'Mommy has too much time on her hands?'" No. It screamed, "Mommy's a rockstar at the sewing machine." At that point I kind of thought my measly effort needs to be kicked up a notch. But that was very quickly replaced with something more along the lines of, Am I kidding?! That would be torture! I'd much rather eat owl-cookie dough...

Wizard of Oz must have been the theme 'cause this wins for my favorite decoration. 

The day of Halloween was a real treat for Finn. Mum and I took him and Petya on a walk to the Y where she and I then went for an actual walk (you know, one where you're moving at anything above toddler speed) while Finn played in childcare. On our way there we passed some construction--he's big into trucks and tractors right now. Mum took him down a side street to watch an excavator and dump truck while Petya and I kept going. She said at the end when they waved goodbye to the workers, some of them honked their horns and everything. He loved it. Then, when we were leaving him with the babysitter, my friend (who is the preschool teacher at the Y) mentioned they were having some firemen come and they were going to show them some of their trucks, and would Finn like to join them? So after our walk, I nursed the baby while Mum took Finn out to see the trucks. They extended their ladder all the way up for the kids. 

They gave each of the kids a hat to take home. Finn loved it. All of it. 

That hat really rounded out Finn's costume. He was going to be a lumberjack, which is what he was for the church party, but this worked better since the jacket kept him warm. And smudging black eye shadow on his face in a few random spots was a lot easier than making him hold still long enough to draw a beard on him--though that was exceptionally adorable. 

At the first house, Mike took him up to the door and showed him how it worked. 

Mike: "Look Finn," holding out Finn's bag to the residents. "Trick or Treat!" Residents put candy in bag. "Happy Halloween!" "Thanks! Bye!"

Finn pretty much took it from there.

And here is our adorable fireman and his dalmatian.