Thanksgiving...

We had a nice Thanksgiving with Clays family this year! Lots of good food, as always, and Santa (Grandpa Pratt) even made a quick appearance! Who knew?! We stuffed ourselves and just relaxed and enjoyed spending time with family. Jack ran around with his cousins and Brody followed Chase around trying to get the pool balls from him! My picture taking was sub-par as usual. We have much to be grateful for and feel so blessed! 

 Jack telling whispering to Santa what he wanted for Christmas!

 Not sure what this is, but it is a classic Jack expression!

 Brody didnt want to be too close to Santa at first...

 But he warmed up slowly...love how curious he was about his shoes!

 And then he wouldnt really leave Santa alone and kept touching him. Pretty cute if you ask me!

 Relaxing after his big lunch! Pretty sure he was watching Einsteins!

 A few family photo attempts...

 The kids were not being so cooperative...amazingly we got a few good ones though...thanks Cameron!

 We tried to get Brody to lay down and nap...I love this picture of him with Goofy and baby.

 Too bad he didnt actually ever sleep!

This is really a random post. But it is time for an update! Not a whole lot has been happening around these parts...school, work, play. Jack loves school and is so good about telling me what he does at school (ok, I have to prompt him a lot, but he is getting a lot better at remembering what he did that day)! Brody is definitely a little monster! His fits have reached a whole new level and the screaming is beyond awful. It sure is a good thing that he is so cute. He is getting so big. He wants to pick his own shoes (usually his brothers rain boots that are way too big on him), pick his own seat at the table (doesnt like sitting in his booster chair anymore), and be a 'big' boy now! He has started helping with prayers and is very good about folding his arms (even though he usually sneaks a bite or two in between). He is definitely talking a lot more and I just cant believe how big he is. He LOVES his 'juicy' as he calls it (Crystal Light...also loves OJ for breakfast, but I dont blame him)...throws a mean fit if you give him anything else but will eventually choke it down when he gets real thirsty! He has also learned how to play Angry Birds (probably from watching Jack)...isnt he too young for that?! If he finds my phone and I take it away from him...you guessed it, major fit! Our boys are fun and we love watching them learn and grow!

We are excited for the holidays and Jack has been learning all about the Pilgrims and Indians at school! (We also bought the holiday Charlie Brown movies and I have to say that the Thanksgiving one was very educational!!!) 

Clay has had to go out to NYC a few times in the last little while for work and so we have been lonely around here. He often has late work dinners and such so the kids dont always get to talk to him before bed so we took a picture one night to send to dad!!

Every morning without fail Jack comes upstairs after breakfast and insists that we do either Angry Bird 'sets' or Mario 'sets;' some kind of 'set' as he calls them! His little imagination is so fun to watch sometimes!!! He comes up with real elaborate 'sets!' His set of wooden blocks are so loved...best purchase EVER (thanks grandma and grandpa!!)!

The other night Clay had gotten himself a snack and made his way over to the couch because BYU was playing! The next thing you know, Brody is over there right next to his dad, and then shortly after Jack had to join them. They just sat, watched the game, and ate snacks! I thought it was really cute, my phone doesnt quite capture the moment :).

Oh my boys love to dance! So fun! I guess all kids love to move, but it sure is fun to turn on some music and see them go! I tend to put music on when we are upstairs playing. The other day Jack was playing and all of a sudden he said to me, 'see mom, I am a dance kid!' Priceless! Just a few of his 'moves!'

Halloween Festivities...

On Saturday morning we decided to carve/paint pumpkins. We thought it would be better for the kids if we did it in the morning rather than at night. For the most part it was, although Brody was not so happy. He pouted most of the time. Oh well. Clay decided to carve a red Angry Bird (that turned out real well) out of our big pumpkin and then the boys and I painted the two smaller ones we had.

*Side note - when we went to the pumpkin patch we came home with 3 pumpkins (1 big, 2 small). One day  I noticed that the smallest of the 3 (which we had out on our porch) was missing. At first I thought Brody had done something with it because he was always trying to pick up the pumpkins, but we never found it. Not sure why someone would steal our smallest pumpkin but it is still missing. Thankfully Jack came home last week with another pumpkin!!*

 Grump

 He waited until I had painted the pumpkin (in kind of nice stripes) to decide he wanted in on the action!

Jacks black pumpkin...stem and all :)

We turned on some Halloween music and Brody was loving it!!

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That afternoon we attempted some pictures of the boys in their costumes before heading down to Olympia for a family Halloween party! We also have some pictures of the final products of our pumpkins!

 The hats were big (pretty sure I bought adult sizes), so Brody especially had a hard time seeing with the hat on, but I think it made the costume that much cuter!!

 Love this shot of Brody :)

 Mario and the pumpkins!

 Oh this picture says so much!

 Nothing like the smell of pumpkin :)

Brotherly love :)

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That night we went down to Olympia for the Warren Family Halloween party. It was just us and Craig and Caries family but we had a good time! Lots of food, games, treats, and crafts!! We left stuffed and with some candy and prizes!!

This witch scared Jack so so much. He had a small panic attack when it was time to go out for the donut game because he didnt want to walk by it or be anywhere near it! He also wouldnt eat the witches fingers Becki made! Maybe he is just getting to that age?? Brody just stopped and stared in awe!!

Both of my boys cheated...I dont blame them...it is hard!

 But the donuts were pretty yummy :)

 Jack got to decorate his own cake...doesnt it look appetizing?! We really tried to leave it there but it wasnt to be...it made its way home with us! Brody kept sneaking the candy corn pumpkins (apparently a favorite of his)!!

 We played a version of spin the bottle...no kissing involved!!

And there were fun Halloween stories to be read!

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Clay decided at the last minute (seriously) to dress up for work on Monday. They were handing out some nice prizes to the best dressed so he went as a nerd. Not sure he will win anything, but he makes a pretty good nerd!

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 Monday morning, the kids and I headed over to a friends house for a fun Halloween party! More crafts, games, and good food!!

Brody instantly found the balloon :)

 Brody and Johnny pretty much played upstairs in the playroom the entire time!!

 Most of the kids...Pyper, Bailey, Damsel, Peyton, Jack, Addie, Mae.

 I got to wrap Jack up as a mummy for one of the games! He stood perfectly still and let me use the entire roll...he even made sure I wrapped his head up!

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After naps and dinner the Pedersens came over and we went trick or treating in our neighborhood! Jack and Addie were pretty cute to watch...they are pros! Brody and Johnny were a little slower than the older two but they knew exactly what to do and were not shy in the least! It was so cute to hear Brody say 'trick or treat' and 'Happy Halloween' at every house! There were some 'scarier' houses that Jack was real nervous about, but he was brave as long as someone went with him to the door! The weather was perfect, clear, and not too cold! After our fill of walking we headed back home to hand out some candy! Jack and Addie loved seeing the other kids costumes and handing out the candy!

 Brody was pretty possessive of his bucket. I could tell it was starting to get heavy but he wouldnt even think of letting me carry it for him!