Soaking it Up

We've had crazy awesome weather the last couple of weeks here! Yesterday, mid-December I sat out back in a T-shirt enjoying the warm sun while watching the kids swim in the jacuzzi. Eat your heart out Utah. Last week we enjoyed hanging out at the park after school.

Everyone was in such good spirits and getting all we can before pulling out the heavy coats.

The park has lots of trees and the kids enjoyed making some jumping piles.

A "lost dog" poster was discovered and every girl (and Weston) gathered round in great concern and mourning. It was kinda cute to see all these sweet little girls with their bleeding hearts forming rescue plans and sharing stories of pet sorrows.

There's something about pleasant weather and a park full of leaves that builds community. As soon as one person starts kicking leaves into a smal pile, everyone joins in and soon you have a gang of 10+ kids hauling in leaves from the far reaches of the park to contibute to the "world's biggest leaf pile." Even the grown-ups can't help but jump in and start using unconvential methods for leaf-hauling. I was impressed when there was no bickering over who gets the first jump or proper turn-taking. They all just dig in and enjoy the sharing. And what does it look like when you have 10 kids plowing through a 3-foot pile? Well, it's something like this (only this is just one of the kids):

And my boys discovered rc cars. Me thinks I bought the wrong Christmas present.

Randomness

I'm back. The deal was that we would list things we were grateful for every day until Thanksgiving but lest you think we couldn't be grateful for an entire month, here's Emma's gratitude turkey to finish out the month. My favorite is "I'm grateful for the awesome love".

And here's Emma's "get well" card for her teacher who is missing the final two weeks of school (before break) for foot surgery. Sorry the lighting is so bad, I hope you can still read it because it's rather cute. I find it interesting that her writing and spelling are awesome on her sheet work but not so much on cards. I guess the creativity trumps. Maybe it's like my blog writing, I just write and grammar goes down the drain :o)

Andrew has been terrified of monsters lately and has a rough time going down at night. So how do you ward off monsters? Monster spray of course. Spray this in your child's room at night, and you've got the ultimate monster shield and the room smells good to boot.

Here's Weston's final moments with his cast. He got it off the day before Thanksgiving giving us something new to be grateful for and not a moment too soon because "some say he stinketh." He was funny the first few hours walking around with his arm up like "I'm a little teapot."

A Feast of Thanks

Today we are Grateful for:

(and Tuesday and Wednesday)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a wonderful meal with wonderful people like we did. Our meal and company were fabulous! Stuffing, candy sweet potatoes, veggie platter with bleu cheese dip, mash pots. and gravy, cranberry jello, cranberry relish, rolls, deviled eggs (Steed holiday must-have), ham, and chicken. No, that's not a typo, we did not have turkey. So, guess who was in charge of the bird this year? I pulled it out yesterday to defrost and my mom came along and found it and stuck it back in the freezer, figuring I had forgotten to put it in. This morning I went to grab my turkey and found it in the freezer. So, I found two chickens in the freezer and threw those in the microwave to defrost and roasted those up instead. Luckily the in-laws were very nice about it and allowed me to stay for dinner despite my inability to deliver the star of the feast.

Emma- Harvest and Sleep and Cousins

We love the cousins! We love it when the out-o-state Cannon clan comes into town to play and we love having cousins right here in Vegas! Yesterday was Jamie's birthday so my saint of a sister-in-law took the kids to give us the night off. My kids had absolutely no qualms being left for the night and didn't pause playtime with cousins to say goodbye to the parents.

Mom- Weston's Smile

I get weak in the knees over this kid's smile. The other day a friend of mine said in her Hebrew accent, "Weston has such a charming smile. It's like...beyond cute." Coupled with his chocolate kiss eyes, long lashes and chub cheeks the boy is a charmer.

Make-up

As vain as it may be, I'm grateful the stuff was invented to cover, even out, and enhance my face. Although I won't spend the time or money to do much I certainly notice when it's missing.

Sweet Potatoes

I've had three different sweet potatoe dishes this week and each was so delicious! And my mom has a yummy pineapple one I love too. I will struggle even more next year trying to decide which sweet potatoe dish I will insist on for Thanksgiving. Hats off to all the cooks that participated in our two Thanksgiving dinners (we had one last night with my family)! If I am sick all weekend from the gluteny it will be so worth it!

Emma- Brooke

Brooke's my cute little sister who came in town this week. Emma likes Brooke because she shares a room with her and always plays with her. And Rascal likes to follow Brooke and Emma loves Rascal so she wants to be with Brooke (are you flattered yet Brooke?). And Emma said that she's half an aunt because she's still in college. I told Emma Brooke's been an aunt since she was 10 so I think she's already earned the aunt degree.

Weston- Batman and Trio Blocks and Pies

Weston's really been into super hero stuff lately, especially Batman.

Grandma sent Weston some cool blocks last year and he loves building stuff all the time, especially knifes and guns and spaceships. Yeah, remember how I agreed that gender roles are naturally engrained?

Weston was pretty spacey on the couch after dinner watching Home Alone when his uncle walked by with a stack of pies and headed into the kitchen. My lil guy hopped up and ran into that kitchen so fast then cried when I finally cut him off after sampling every possible dessert available.

Andrew- Pretty Trees and Prayer and Cheetos

I keep forgetting to take my camera when we take Emma to school. The trees in the park next to the school are beautiful right now and I've been dying for some Fall pics. I'm glad Andrew's noticed them though.

Dad- Stuffing and Emma's laugh

Mama Steed makes the best stuffing! That's all I have to say about that. Our little Em has a distinct laugh. It's very honest, she doesn't hold back, it's an all out giggle in all it's girly glory, dimples and all. It's the kinda laugh you can't help smiling about when you hear it.

Great Things to be Grateful for

Today we are Grateful for:

(and yesterday's)

Weston: Daddy ("because he came home") & My sister

Sometimes he makes big dramatic statements that Emma is the meanest sister in the whole wide world but these two are usually very good friends. They have lots of fun together with their imaginative play and are completely silly. Ididn't mind Emma staying home that extra year before school because these two were able to become buddies and have great bonding time.

Emma- Games & Teeth

Maybe it's because she has two uncles in dental school right now or maybe it's because she has been eating everything lately to fuel her growth spurt but they are useful parts for sure!

Dad- Brothers & juices and -ades (as in lemonade, etc)

He looks all drugged in this cpiture but it's the only brother pic I could find. Jamie went out with his bros for a little bromance the other night to a UNLV game. It's nice to have all the family around.

Andrew- Flowers

Mom- Hot Chocolate & In-laws

I know a lot of people have a hard time with their in-laws, complaining of overbearing MIL's and disfunctional family ties. I really enjoy my in-laws, really! Not because I'm just that good of a person but because they are really easy to like. My mother-in-law is anything but overbearing. She's loving and supportive and would side with me over my husband any day. My father-in-law is witty and kind and an awesome example to my family. My brother and sister-in-laws are all entertaining and are just good people that are involved in our lives and manage to love us as we are. There's no silly sibling spats or hard feelings with the family. I enjoy their witty humor, admire their talents, and am inspired by their examples! I feel immensely blessed to not only enjoy the love and example of being born to goodly parents with righteous siblings but to have married into such an amazing family. I know such a priviledge is rare and wonderful and I am grateful and indebted!

For All These Things And More

Today We are Grateful For

(and yesterday and the day before we were grateful for):

Andrew- My Silly Little Nose & Cute Little Ladybugs

Weston- The letter "I" & My Mouth

"because you can talk with it and eat with it and bite and bite and bite"
& X-rays "so the doctors could see what was going on inside my arm"

Emma-Ms. McKenna & Butterflies & My Class

I'm glad she has so many school-related thankfuls. I guess things are going well over there. The other day Emma told me they wrote five things they were grateful for and she said "lots of kids wrote 'the world' but that's not descriptive enough because then what can you say after that?" Now you know the secret to our posts, just be extremely specific like "cute little ladybugs" and you can fill a whole month of gratitude posts.

Mom- The Library

I love the library! It's a great outing with the kids. They can go to storytime for books, and songs and activities, play with the puzzles at the little tables, thumb through board books, stuff our bag full of books to take home (I use a stroller for the book bag now because it's seriously that big and heavy). We get movies to watch, CDs to learn with and listen to in the car and playtime, and books on CD for Emma at night and the boys during naptime. The librarians are always super nice and helpful. And I love that I can reserve books at home from any library and just pick them up at the front. Our last Ramona book is waiting for Emma next time we go. Such a great resource! If I had to buy every book, movie, and CD that we've checked out, I would be broke.

& Cozy Blankies & Emma's Stories

Emma is a good writer like her Daddy. I enjoy reading her stories very much. In her class, they have a center called "DoodleLoops" that Emma likes doing and I always look forward to reading her Doodle Loop story. Here's one of my favorites. I think it's especially entertaining if you know my dad, surely the source of her inspiration here.

Dad- Amazing Performances in Classic Cinematic Masterpieces Like Kip in Napolean Dynamite
It's a little scary how well Jamie does his Kip imitation.

Thanksgiving Daily

Today We Are Grateful For:

Mom- Boys

I appreciate Emma for keeping and enforcing rules but boys can just be entertaining even if they are trouble. My boys make me laugh with all their crazy antics and adorable voices. Andrew is full of dramatic faces and stories and in constant chatter and Weston swings from quiet and thoughtful to bouncing off the walls. Never a dull moment with these little guys!

Andrew- Books

He didn't actually say this,he was giving all sorts of goofy answers that didn't even make sense to make his brother and sister giggle. But he loves looking at books all the time, so even if he doesn't express gratitude for books he certainly appreciates them.

Emma- Seasons

It's mid- November and the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny today. We were out in T-shirts. So seasons aren't so clearly divided here in Vegas but the trees are getting pretty and it's great to play outside without a heavy coat and gloves.

Weston- Windows

"So we can see outside." A house with no natural light or view of the outdoors would be depressing indeed. In our condo I enjoyed the trees outside our windows (a rarity in Vegas) where we would sit at our kitchen table and see Robins and other colorful birds. In Georgia I loved looking over the top of the piano out the windows at the trees, flowers and lake.

Giving Thanks

Today We Are Grateful For:

Mom- Daughters

No disrespect to the boys but I am so grateful for my little girl! She is sweet and helpful and good. I know some people try to say we create gender roles but for mothers with both boys and girls it becomes clearly evident that gender is created by God and that boys and girls have seperate and distinct talents and roles that they are born with and that compliment each other. Girls just naturally feel a desire and capacity to nurture and feel greater empathy. They want to teach and care for others. We are emotional creatures which can make us messy and hurtful but properly developed, we have so much capacity for good and can reach people and serve in a way that men frankly cannot. Having a daughter has helped me see how important my own words and actions are in shaping the woman she will become and I work harder to guard my tongue and to mother with more patience, kindness, and love to be an example to her. But so often she is the example to me and pushes me back in line, because women are good for that.

Emma- Childhood

I think that's a very positive outlook when a child is grateful for the stage she is in.

Weston- Ears

So he can hear. I'm grateful I could hear his cute voice give me that answer.

Ender Boy- Tiny Spiders

He likes to pretend he sees spiders everywhere and fake panic over them to scare himself. He's all about the drama. He's grateful for tiny spiders because they are not big huge spiders that will eat him.

Dad- Memories

This is one reason I blog, I want to hold on to these moments but I can't remember all those things I thought I can never forget.

Thanks A Million

Today We Are Grateful For:

Weston- Necks

Because, as he explains it, it is close to your mouth so your food can go down (all gratitude leads back to food with Weston). And so your head doesn't just fall off. Good point Weston, necks are pretty important!

Emma- Magnolias

Yes, we lived in the south and have driven through the magnolia state. We had a magnolia tree in our backyard in Georgia that was an excellent climbing tree and produced those huge, white flowers that make the south so unique and awesome! I wish I could find a pic of the flowers but here's the tree. The kids and all their climbing buddies loved it! I am grateful we never had any major injuries from those high climbers (Josh) or someone falling out of our high treehouse.

Andrew- Family

This is just after Andrew joined our family. I'm glad he likes being a part of our crazy little clan!

Dad- Mountains

The south is beautiful and green but we missed the mountains. It was kind of an emotional experience when we were driving across the country to Vegas and I got to New Mexico and I saw my first real mountain in over a year with the sun setting behind it. I like how my dad puts it- he says that it's the opposite of claustrophobia, you come to need the comfort and security of the mountains surrounding you. It adds depth, volume and beauty to the landscape and a sense of something bigger than you, majesty is a good word!

Mom- Sight

I am so grateful I can see! I'm glad I can see my adorable children, their smiles, Emma's dimples, Andrew's silly faces, Weston's beautiful eyes, Jamie's comic stunts. I'm glad I can see them grow. I'm grateful to see all the detail and beauty the Lord has put into this amazing world, the blue sky, soft clouds, wildflower meadows, and still waters. Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

Muchas Gracias

Today We Are Grateful For:

Weston-Thomas

Because Andrew was wearing Thomas the train jammies tonight and the boys love that strange little engine. Hey, it's not food though, that's progress.

Andrew- Spongebob

Guess what was on Weston's jammies tonight.

Emma- Love

She was very pleased with this superior level of thought and felt so mature as she topped her brothers cartoon character answers. Yes, love is all you need.

Dad- Adult Session of Stake Conference

He attended and took notes for me as I was home sick with kids. Thanks babe!

Mom-Scriptures

"For my soul delighteth in the scriptures and my heart pondereth them." (2 Nephi 4:15)