Family time....

Six of my siblings were coming into town this Thanksgiving, but
they all came to spend the holiday with their
in-laws. Which I was doing also. But since
there were 7 of the 11 siblings, we
decided we better get together. We thought about my
house until I counted and figured there would be
around 35 people there. So I reserved the
church, which worked out perfectly.
Everyone had a great time visiting.

Here is me with six of my siblings and their
spouses. Crazy fun!

We moved the couches and chairs from the foyer in to

the gym, so we could be comfy while we watch
the kids play.

The kids were playing so wild and balls were bouncing
everywhere, we decided to close the gym off
a little bit......for our protection.

Cousins all had fun playing games.

Some of the cute boy cousins playing together...

Loved hanging out with family.

Holiday parade....

We have felt very blessed and fortunate this year, to be
asked to help out with the Salvation Army. First,
the kids were able to team up with Fred Meyer
and do the shopping spree, and they
also, were able to participate in a parade this weekend.
I pushed a shopping cart for donated toys, and
the kids carried jars to accept money donations. It
has been such a blessing for them to learn to do
things for others and to do service
with their time. They have really enjoyed this Holiday
season so far.

Here we are before the parade.

Our Salvation Army aprons.

After the parade. It was a cold morning, and we
were soaked, but loved doing it.

Speedy Shopping....

So every year, Fred Meyer teams up with the Salvation Army and
Channel 7 for a charity shopping spree for
children less fortunate. They ask two kids to help
every year, and this year my 9 yr. old twins
were asked. We were SO excited. I taught
them what it was about, and how they
are helping other children.

So off we went to Fred Meyer this morning, and found the
camera crew. My kids are sneaking in a pic.

Here's the news crew interviewing for the news tonight.
My kids didn't know what to think.
I don't think I have ever seen them this quiet. LOL

They do a girls team and a boys team. So Maggie O'Mara and
Carolyn Holly were on the girls team and went
first. Here's Maggie loading up, and
Carolyn cheering her on.

Now the boys team was Mark Johnson and Scott ?, I can't
remember his last name....oops. He was great though.
My kids were on the boys team, and they did
great. They ended up beating the girls team, which
they were pretty excited about. All together
they were able to gather around $6,000 worth
of toys. Pretty awesome!

Maggie O'Mara

Scott and my kids doing a team cheer.

Just my kids' team loaded about
7 shopping carts full. It was so fun.

Carolyn Holly

Adding up all the goods.....

After they did the shopping spree, they asked for my
kids to stick around to shoot a commercial for
the Salvation Army. Again, very
happy about that. Here they are
bringing toys into the bus.

This was such a special thing for my kids to participate in. It
was great for me to explain about others and
their needs. We feel very blessed to
be a part of something that helps so many.
We love our Ashley and Jordan, and their willingness
to serve others.
Happy Holidays!

Discover Center.....

This last week, some friends invited Cody and I to go
to the Discovery Center with them. We
have lived here for a long time, and
have never taken our kids. We
were excited to go and see everything....

Cody was excited to try out the bed of nails.....
None of the other kids wanted to try it
but Cody jumped right on. I was
suprised.....knowing how Cody usually is....

I think this was his favorite part. Grocery shopping.
It was so cute. Everything his size, and
he got to do it all by himself....

Yep...he filled his cart!

Weatherman screen. He loved it.

Giant bubbles...

He got to make slime. A big, fun mess...

He pulled himself up pretty high....

We had a fun time, and definitely need to
bring back his brother and sister
to join in the fun. They
would love it also.

We sure love our Cody!

Happy Halloween.....

Halloween came quickly this year. Ashley was easy....
She wanted to be a cheerleader....isn't
she a cute one?

Jordan was going to be Darth Vader, but
at the last minute decided he wanted to be
Harry Potter. I quickly found some
stuff at thrift stores...that would work.
I think he turned out pretty cute...

And our own little Batman.... Who wouldn't
want to be saved by this cute guy....

Friday night we first went to their school's
trunk-or-treat. It was kind of a flop. There
was about nine cars total.
They didn't seem to mind....

Since I was not going to let them trick-or-treat on Sunday, we
decided to try it on Saturday night. There were
a few people that seemed irritated that we came on
Saturday, but mostly people were OK with it.
If there was a house that gave candy....Cody would
run back and yell, "it worked!"
It was too funny....

Door to door...

Jordan found a familiar face....
It's Hermione!!

Cody also found a buddy.....

And of course Grandma Petersen had to make some treats
for our little ones. Aren't they so cute? My kids
didn't want to eat them, because
they were so cute.

We sure LOVE Halloween!!!