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We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Normally we feel a little homesick on Thanksgiving but this year we were too busy to feel sorry for ourselves. We hosted the feast at our apartment and had a full house. There were fourteen people and a dog. We had so much food, the dog even feasted. Here are some pictures:

This is the first turkey I’ve ever made. It turned out very tender and delicious, if I say so myself. I used the Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way recipe so I can’t take too much credit. Anything smothered in butter will turn out delicious.

The gang about to dig in(minus me, two babies and the dog).

YUM!!! Turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, rolls, corn on cob, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, homemade baked beans, raspberry jello dessert, and deviled eggs. Not to mention there were appetizers: veggies and ranch, cheese and crackers, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing. And of course we topped off the evening with some chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin cream pie and ice cream.


Allie’s meal consisted of crackers, muffins, rolls, pie and ice cream. A nice well rounded meal.

Luke watched from the sidelines.

After dinner we exercised it off by playing Wii boxing matches. We had some good laughs watching each couple take each other on. Allie got into it as well.

We had a Thankful Tree. Every day in November Allie would say something she is thankful for and we’d put it on a leaf and onto the tree. She came up with some interesting things: wishes, princesses, beds, bags. She also came up with some very meaningful things: family, friends, home, food, Jesus Christ, church, prophet.

Lastly, I want to say how grateful I am for my darling children, amazing husband, perfect parents, siblings who I adore, wonderful in-laws and super fun friends. I’m also grateful for my health, my home, and for the food that we have. My Heavenly Father and Savior are especially important and I’m extremely thankful that I know of them and their plan for me.

Luke is six months old. Can you believe it? I hardly can. These past six months have flown by. Luke had his check up today and here are his stats:

18 lbs 5oz (just below 75%)
26 3/4 inches (75%)

I am shocked that he’s not in the 90th percentile. He seems huge to me and apparently to everyone else as well. Everyone assumes he’s a 9 month old because of his size.

He’s healthy and hitting his milestones on target. He is rolling everywhere, sitting up, saying mama (although I doubt he knows what that means), he laughs hard at Allie and he ate rice cereal for the first time today. He loved it!

This picture was taken with his new iPhone.

Allie helping me make the chocolate cake.

For the first time in my life, I voted Democrat for the presidential ballot and it mattered. That is, this is the first time that I voted Democrat AND this is the first time that it mattered. The latter statement is a result of being in a state which unlike Utah is not a sure thing every four years. In fact, here in NC, the win came down to 13,000 votes for Obama.

I know there are a lot of you out there who are shocked and disappointed…I know this because I’ve seen your emails and your blogs warning me that Obama is the next best thing to nothing at all. I disagree. I voted for him because he inspires people and in my life time, he is the first president to do so. I really like McCain, but right now what we need is change–change requires effort and effort requires inspiration. That was my logic and I’m sticking with my vote. In four years, if we’re all eating cardboard and living in the streets, I still won’t admit that I was wrong, because in reality, presidents are not that powerful when it comes to the economy.

Note: I did NOT vote a straight ticket for the Dems; I’m extremely against straight-ticket voting because it takes the individual out of the vote and gives lazy voters a quick out. I spent a number of hours on the internet, researching the candidates and I voted for Republican for many of the local races. In most cases, my guy lost .

Allie absolutely adores Cinderella right now. So, Cinderella she was. She got to wear her costume a lot this year. The Halloween fun began a week ago at our Ward Trunk or Treat. She scored lots of candy. Then she had a preschool party on Thursday where they told ghost stories, decorated cookies, and paraded around the lobby of our apartment buildings. On Halloween morning she dressed up again in her Cinderella costume to dance and twirl and shake her sillies out at her dance class. That afternoon, we went to the student-housing festival. She got her cheek painted, decorated cupcakes, made little crafts, etc. Then we came back to our place and had some friends over for taco soup and corn bread. After dinner we went to another festival. We decided she had plenty of candy left over from the church party so she didn’t need any more. The festival had lots of games for little kids and they would get a toy for playing. When Allie woke up this morning I asked her what she wants to be for Halloween next year. Her reply: “naked girl.” That truly is her next favorite costume. I have to force her to wear clothing most days. Don’t worry, I won’t let her be naked girl next year…it just made me laugh so I thought I’d share.

Jake and I were lame…we didn’t dress up.

Our pretty princess.

Luke was a leopard for Halloween. Allie wore the same costume when she was a baby. I put their pictures side by side and was surprised at how similar they look. Can you tell who is who? This quiz shouldn’t be too hard.