Thanksgiving / catching up.

Alice has been doing well in her two preschools. She's picking up on basic site words and reading simple sentences on her program. Out of the blue Alice stated the Pledge of Allegiance a couple of weeks ago. Little did we know she's been working hard on it in preschool with Miss Ellie and has it memorized. She surprises us often with little songs and diddies she's picked up at Sadie's house and preschool, or she'll randomly belt out her own made up tunes. She plays so well with the other kids at day care and even on her own at home when I'm busy or the other two aren't home / able to play.   

Peter has been working hard at school on his Idaho projects. His class made salt dough maps of Idaho and he was very proud of his work. He likes to tell us information about Idaho now and then and share what he's learning in school. 

Kendal's days are quite full. (School, piano, basketball, SOS, homework) She's continued to do training and extra things at school for her SOS committee. She had two basketball games on Nov. 20th, both wins! One was an easy win and the other they battled it out and won by 2! So this past weekend she went into her tournament tied for first. However bracket play put their team in 2nd place (cuz someone has to be). Her team fought hard, however they were a key player down, and the other team fought harder so by just a bit they were out round one. Overall Kendal had a great basketball season. She played so well and grew immensely as a defensive player. We are grateful for the team / coach she got - He saw her potential and pushed her. Next year will be middle school fall sports! So crazy! 

Since we had a whole week off for Thanksgiving break we went to Logan for a few days. Casey helped David and my Dad on the job, while the rest of us hung out. Because of Covid rules I could only take Kendal in to see Nana, but it was a nice visit. She'd just had her hair done and was happy to see us! Tuesday, Peter and I took snacks to the boys on the job. Peter messed with some cement and watched a drone for a few min. Grandpa treated him to a skidster ride as well. We took Grandma out to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and enjoyed our afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's. We got to see David / Anica and their boys both Monday and Tuesday night for dinner! Tuesday the kids got to have a treat and a show while the "big kids" played a game in the kitchen. Wednesday we went up to Smithfield to play with the kids. Aunt Katherine brought supplies to build cute edible turkeys the kids loved the colored mallows and had a fun time together! We headed to Raft River that afternoon. 

Thanksgiving was full of making and eating delicious food! Brett, Vanessa, and their kids were there with us this year. The kids put together puzzles, towers of magnet tiles, and lots of games and play. At one point Peter wanted to go hunt a turkey for Thanksgiving. He thought it'd be the best thing ever! Thanksgiving morning when he saw Grandma preparing a real turkey he vowed not to eat turkey. Poor kid was a bit traumatized, but we'll turn him around yet. I was over rolls and dessert. I made cute turkey rolls and some regular rolls. I bought Kenny his cherry pie, made some apple pie, and a pumpkin cake. Dinner was wonderful and we had a nice afternoon / evening together. Since Casey scheduled basketball practice early the next morning we headed home Thursday night. 

Friday and Saturday were easy going. Kendal and Peter joined Casey at practice both mornings while Alice and I played at home. We did a little bit of black Friday shopping Thursday. Casey and I got in a date night Saturday to Guppies while the kids had a movie night. 

We were back to school and regular activities this past week. Casey had a couple of games to be at and a few early morning practices. Kendal got to take treats to first responders for her YW activity. Grandma and Grandpa Loosle gifted the kids chocolate Advents that they've happily dove into each day. Peter and Alice are so excited to open their windows and discover which character is on their chocolates for the day! On the first the kids got to unwrap their holiday pajamas and a special book. Peter declared the pajamas - candy cane pajamas and one the pictures is of them as candy canes. The book they received is a custom one I had special made. It's a search and find book and the main characters are Peter, Alice, and Kendal. The characters look like Peter, Alice, and Kendal and they go on adventures to save the multiverse! They've loved pouring over the pages and finding themselves and the other hidden things! 

Yesterday we went to Kendal's game - as I mentioned above - it was a loss. We went out to lunch at Culver's to celebrate Kendal and her hard work this season. Casey was supposed to be off at games, however because his team wasn't playing he stayed around to support Kendal in her tournament and choir performance at the St. Nicholas Festival. Casey did take Peter over to watch the high school boys play for a bit. Kendal got to sing with some of the middle school choir to kick off the event! We walked around the nativities and a hall of Christmas tree's. We had some treats and dinner put on by clubs and school organizations. Casey and I had our fill of crowds for the night so we took the kids home since Alice vowed not to see Santa! We put on a show for the kids and paused it to watch the fireworks out the window from the celebration!

 

Last is the book tree that we put up at the Library at school!