Holiday Baking

It seems that we've run short on time this year for any major holiday baking.

We did make some fudge the other evening.

The kids loved helping out. 

We used the boxed kit from Carnation and it was very easy yet extremely delicious.

More Upgrades.

Todd recently came across a fireplace insert that burns pellets or corn.  He found it for a very good price, so we jumped on that deal.  We love it!  It does a great job of keeping the main level of our home nice and toasty warm.

My 1st Turkey

I have never prepared a turkey before.  Ever.  Till this year. 

We had purchased a turkey for Thanksgiving with the Frese-side. 

Well the gathering was cancelled because too many of the kids were sick. 

 So, we made the turkey anyway. 

It was easier than I thought and we were all pretty impressed with the results.

Another Project.

True to our style of ALWAYS having a project to do on the house, we decided to pour concrete in the basement.  You see, there was some finish up work to be done after the contractor put in our new wall.   It was a family job.  Everyone had a task to be done.

Matthew worked on moving the concrete around as it came down into the basement.

Hannah was my official keeper of the wheel barrow. 

Todd shoveld the first batch or so in and then headed to the basement with Matt.

I have no pictures to prove it, but I spent the afternoon mixing 26 more bags, moved it to the wheel barrow, and shoveled it down to the basement.  If you didn't notice......I said "I".

When the project was complete, we let the kids put some artwork in before the mix set-up.

Thanksgiving Day Recap

We typically spend Thanksgiving with my parents, but unfortunately my mom had to work. 

So instead of the usual, we drove to Washington and spent the day at the farm with Aunt Ann and family.  We had a great time.  The turkey and ham were DELICIOUS! 

The kids had fun hanging out with Blair, a second cousin, from Marysville. 

It was a relaxing day.



Mallory and Blair



Hannah playing with some of the great toys that Ann keeps stashed out at the farm.

Matt on the computer.  Looking kinda bored.

We decided to head outside and take a ride on the 4 wheeler.

Suddenly, Matt found some energy.  The kids grabbed their coats, hats, and gloves and headed to the barn.

And they are off!  It was cold and windy.

 

I was not so fond of this.  Makes momma a little nervous when her babies aren't level with the ground.

 

Todd, Hannah, and Matt all smiles.

After 4-wheeling, we took a drive to spot deer.

The kids thought that this was GREAT fun!

Overall, it was a great Thanksgiving with so much to be thankful for.

8.

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago Matthew Tad Allen was brought into this world. 

Thanksgiving Sickness

Mallory has a short lived bout of the stomach flu over Thanksgiving weekend.  The couch is where she stayed most of the afternoon.  However, by evening, she was feeling much better.