Thanksgiving

Sunday me and the kids flew to Reno, and while renting a car I was in the worst mood ever...not sure why. Oh yeah, Andrew threw a major fit because I made him wash his hands, and then when we exited the bathroom, he wanted to go left, but baggage claim was right. So he cried and screamed all through the airport. People stared. 

Once we were on the road, and the kids were staring at a movie on my computer, I was able to unwind as we wound through the highway on our way to the compound. 

After an awesome Sunday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, I played Sorry with the kids. I looked around and said out loud "where are the cousins? I'm not supposed to be the one entertaining my kids...." haha. 

But they had the hardest time with the concept of this game. At one point they were both crying/whining because I kept kicking them back to their home base - Sorry!

 Then Evan said "let's go outside!"

and I said "no it's too dark out there", but then I looked out the window and it wasn't dark at all. Not sure why I thought that. 

But we explored the familiar yard with the three unsure kitties. 

The next day, I went and picked up Jim from the airport, and we stayed at Heavenly Village in Tahoe for the night. 

It was SO fun. So fun. Every minute of the getaway, I was aware of how awesome it was that we were together in this magical place doing whatever we wanted! 

There were camp fires everywhere. We ate the BEST pizza I've ever had. 

We went on a little hike the next morning.

There was a quarter in the bottom of this frozen puddle. There is nothing more satisfying than busting through a layer of ice, am I right?

I retrieved the quarter with my kids in mind. They love quarters. 

There were bluejays and chipmunks all around. 

I can't even put words to how much fun we had. It is a favorite memory of mine. 

Back at the compound, all the cousins showed up, and they were peacefully playing Sorry!

It surprised me how mellow they were being with 7 kids playing a vengeful board game. 

The next morning we went to an aquasize class. My mom said the lady made it harder than usual because we were there. haha. 

Then we took a dairy tour. The new barn is amazing! The men had a heck of a first couple of days getting the cows "used" to it all. Bless them all. 

Damon. 

He was frantically trying to get grandpa's attention, so he stuck his toes in his face. Cracked me up. 

Also, why did he take his shoes off the second we got into the car anyway? haha

Then we watched grandpa drive mighty machines. He's good at that loader. Mom said "he better be". 

The girls went to a movie, so I took the boys and Annie to the park. It was freezing cold, but they didn't even notice. We played for 2 hours. 

Oh yeah and Aaron is the new Stake Prez. No biggie. 

He's pretty amazing. 

We had a birthday party for Abbey and Kailyn. Teenagers. 

Thanksgiving morning, we did a 5k dairy dash. 

Evan did so awesome! He was so determined and fast. 

Jim and I ran on ahead, so I'm not sure exactly how far he got before Aunt Linda picked up him and the other cousins in her car...but he looked pretty flushed. 

We were missing the Texas Petersons. 

After consuming most of his plate, Brandon discovered he had been eating a Sleeping Queens playing card. Somehow it got on his plate, and somehow he didn't notice it, and somehow he ate part of it. 

Seriously. I don't know how these things happen to the Masons, but they do.

Since it's Thanksgiving, I just have to say how thankful I am for this charmed life of mine. What a fabulous family I have: my own and my extended. 

What a fabulous example of love and kindness my mom and dad are. 

What a fabulous thing it is that we can fly around, and go on adventures through airports and hotels. 

What a fabulous best friend Jimi is. I love hanging out with him. I love my squishy kids. They are so forgiving and fun. 

I love it all. 

G is for Getting to Fallon

Long story short: me and the kids came to Vegas tonight to stay the night, then we will fly to Reno tomorrow morning. Jim will come on Monday. 

It all went really well until we had to wait for the hotel shuttle. That took two entire hours. For a while I thought it was all a dream, and I looked around to make sure it was real. 

 I started out keeping the kids tidy, and telling them not to play on the black top,

but by the end I was all, "Go play in the ash tray sand. That will keep you entertained."

It wasn't that big of a tragedy, but you know. 

It was nice to finally be in our hotel.

We suited up and went swimming.

Then Jamie came and picked us up. 

Evan and Damon fuel each other's LOUD and CRAZY fire. 

We hiked up a hill/mountain,

Evan found bottle caps,

we enjoyed a 360 degree view at the top,

and then the sky went nuts! 

We ended the visit with a trip to sonic and some frolicking in the hotel room. 

N is for New School Pictures

I love school pictures!

For some reason the elementary school uses a different company than Lifetouch, and I've heard they're not as awesome...so I think that is why Avery looks so malnourished and sickly in this photo. I swear she's healthy and full of life. 

I love that our Veterans keep us safe from earthquakes.

The soccer picture people are always hit and miss too. Why would you make me the same height as the 8 year olds?

So handsome!

Here's a sampling of Evan's writing skills. 

garpech = garbage

haha

I had parent conferences with both kids' teachers. They got rave reviews. 

Mrs. Shapiro is going to test Evan for highly capable math because "Evan is a math kid!"

And me and Mr. Mckay discussed how to keep Avery challenged with reading since she is such a whiz in that area. We decided to make sure she is reading books that are higher difficulty to keep her brain stretched. 

I is for I

1. I miss summer. The sun goes down around 4:30, and it's getting darker every day. 

I've never been one to lament the changing of a season, but, here I am.

 I feel like there is a giant mountain looming, and we are at the bottom. We will climb and climb until December 21, when Winter's Solstice peaks. After that, at least we will be on the back side of the mountain and the sun will creep closer day by day. 

Some years I'm not bothered by the dark, but this year I already feel the effects. That may be because we've had a few bugs going around already. We usually save the sick days for February.

2. With absolute 100% consistency, I lose my cool when my kids put their heads under my comforter. Like, any time they climb into bed with me and we are laying there cozy - all is well. But the second they put that head under the blanket, I go mad. 

They get silly and rowdy and my duvet gets all messed up. I pull back the blanket in anger and order them off my bed! 

I just can't handle it. And they know it. 

3. I was up all night with a puking Evan a few nights ago. He was asleep on the floor by my bed, and I was staring out the window. So much light was coming in, and it was only 2:00am. I got up for a closer look, and there was the super moon staring down at me. The clouds made a giant opening for a half hour of illumination into my bedroom of the sick and the damned. 

4. These days while I do chores, I listen to podcasts. I put my ear buds in and ignore all the other humans in the house. My favorites are Reply All, Serial, Revisionist History, and This American Life. 

My top most favorite is a segment called "yes yes no" on Reply All. I love how it reaches into the strangest corners of the internet and ties it into a tidy package about humanity and our weird world. 

5. I smell like tea tree oil. Supposedly it helps adult acne, so at night I dab it on my face. 

Then I go tuck my kids in, and Evan scrunches his nose at me.

When I was little, my mom would come to tuck me in rubbing Vaseline lotion on her hands, and Mentholatum on her lips. That was her bed time smell.

When my kids are old, they are going to say things like "remember how mad mom got when we went under her comforter? And remember she would come in to tuck us in smelling like pine sol?"

6. I love Pero.  When I spoon in the sugar, it ALWAYS makes me think of WWII novels - before things go really bad - they always describe things like heaping spoonfuls of sugar in their coffee. 

7. Remember in 2008 when I was pregnant with Avery, and me and Jim were going to Outback Steakhouse for dinner? I got extra nauseous on the drive there, so we were sitting in the car while I "got my sea legs". I jumped out of the car, looking for somewhere to puke, and ending up spewing on the rocks around the back of the building. 

I came back to the car wiping my mouth and said "let's go eat!".

V is for Vestiges of the Day

Our mornings start at 6:45 and we are out of the house by 7:30.

Chocolate milk and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

We have been reading The Book of Mormon (almost) every morning since LAST school year, and we are only on Mosiah. Whenever we finish a book we have a party. So, our last party was a "Words of Mormon Party". 

Evan is always out of the house first and sprints to the bus stop.

Avery dawdles and is always doing last minute things before she's out the door. It drives me nuts. 

I am a Kline when it comes to being on time, so that means "being right on time" is actually being late.

See that cone? That's my cone. I bring it down every morning. 

The kids were fighting over who was the official line (sometimes there were as many as three lines), and there was pushing and shoving and general mosh-pitting over who was the line leader. The mosh pits would often spill out into the road as the bus was barreling down at them.

So I brought this cone, and it has totally worked...except for today. Today Bea decided to IGNORE the cone and made her own line. Evan was dutifully and properly "first in line" behind the cone, but mob rule took over and everyone accepted Bea's line as THE line. I just about busted a vein yelling "respect the cone! there is only one line, and it is behind the cone!"

I was truly upset. How dare they ignore my cone? I took some deep breaths and calmed down, but you better believe I was out there micro managing the cone the next day. 

8:00am

Come back home to this cozy critter in my bed.

I spend the next two hours cleaning the house and lesson planning for preschool.

Andrew plays while I prep.

10:00am

Preschool starts.

We talk about F, and read a lot of farm books,

marple paint a pig in the mud. 

A lot of the time, Andrew does his own thing during preschool. But whatever.

At the end of preschool, we watch a cheesy farm video from 1996, but it's actually mesmerizing watching the big machines plow and plant and harvest.

This green blanket is the field, and they are "trimming the corn" using fire trucks and school buses.

It's a shame I don't own any play farm equipment, right? Wish I could borrow from my brothers. 

1:00pm 

Me and Andrew have some "down time" and recover from the busy morning.

That's code for: I take a nap. 

I am a napper. I'm not ashamed. All I need is about 30minutes, and I'm good as new. 

2:00pm

Exercise. 

If it's raining, or I can't leave the house, I do a workout from fitnessblender.com. 

That website and having a clean garage with a good weight set is a game changer for me. 

I love weight training. 

3:00pm

Dinner prep. 

Roasted veggies with alfredo sauce and noodles. This is Evan's favorite meal. 

Andrew plays all day. He arranges the cars in different locations throughout the house. 

3:30pm

Evan sprints home from the bus.

Avery is at an after school class for sign language. 

Jim goes to pick her up and get a flu shot. 

Our pumpkins are moldy and getting squishy.

4:00pm

Those two are home.

4:30pm

Dinner time.

Andrew rarely eats dinner with us. He plays in the living room while we eat. Then he eventually makes his way over to his plate hours after we are all done. It's a battle I don't fight. 

While we were eating, he arranged the cars into color combinations. 

5:00pm

Me and Avery go upstairs to work on projects. She makes a birthday card, and I work on a secret Christmas present. 

Then she does some homework. 

Andrew arranges the cars thusly, and arranges the shoes at the bottom of the stairs, making for hazardous stair descending. 

6:00-8:00

Me and Avery drive to the church for activity days and primary presidency meeting. 

Avery learned about dressing modestly. They had a fashion show and made outfits out of plastic table cloths. 

I get home to Jim shivering and sick in bed. Evan threw up Sunday night, and now Jim has it. 

Meanwhile, I am tied up into KNOTS about it because we are planning on going to Fallon THIS Saturday for Thanksgiving, and wouldn't it be awesome if we were all sick the whole time?

TBD if we actually go, or if I pull the plug on the whole operation. 

I gather the children and put them to bed, one by one. 

Andrew insists on going to bed with ten thousand toys.

There is hardly any room for him. 

I don't read to him tonight because I am too stressed and it is too late. 

Me and Evan read his homework together "Find Nat".

I sing Rest My Little Darling.

Avery is all snug ready to be tucked in. 

She finished reading that book there, "El Deafo", and she LOVED it. It's a graphic novel, and she LOVES those kinds of books. 

The bowl is for "just in case". 

Around 12:00am, Andrew cries for me, and since I am on high puke alert, I run in there with a bowl. But he only needs to go potty, and then wants to get in bed with me. Which is fine, but he also wants ALL those toys in bed with me too. So, squinty eyed me brings an arm load of toys and a little boy to my bed.

Around 3:00am Avery shows up at my bedside, having had a bad dream. I scoot over and try to sleep sandwiched between two kids. 

But at least they're not puking.