November Update

 November was a full busy months.  Clint took Sawyer on a lunch date to Joes where Sawyer inhaled an adult sized milkshake.  This child likes sweets like no other.

Clint and I actually went on a few dates.  It is fun to be able to finally leave the kids and head out for a few hours.

Doug turned 71.  He did 71 pull ups and Clint cheered him on and gave him a certificate for kicking a$$.

Doug's birthday present was tickets for Clint, Doug and Sawyer to go to a OSU basketball game.  They had dinner at McAlisters beforehand.

 

We didn't go camping this fall, but we did have a few campfires at the farm.

The boys and I made a quick trip to Kansas City.  My childhood best friend had been living in Kansas City and was about to move back to Florida.  Lane and I spent every summer together until we were 21.  I hadn't seen her since I was 23.  She is now a doctor and has two kids.  It was wonderful to see her again and her sweet husband Steele.  In a 36 hour period the boys and I (no Clint) road tripped to Kansas City, went swimming with Lane and family at an indoor water park, went and got coffee, then icecream, then chinese food.  The boys and I then stayed the night at Ashley and Shawn's house.  We then got more coffee with Lane, played at a park, had lunch with Ashley at the Crown plaza, went to the Crayola store, went to the Lego store attached to Legoland, went to the Hallmark's Kalidascope, then headed home.  It was a blast, so worth it, but exhausting.

Clint read to Beau's class for his birthday.

Sawyer got to go see Beauty and the Beast with my mom and sister and stay the night by himself at Mimi and Kimbos.

Thanksgiving 2013

We celebrated Thanksgiving on the actual holdiay as a family of 5.  Clint's parents had traveled to New Mexico to be with Adam and my parents were just returning from treatment in Austria.  Clint and I decided to go all out regardless.  We smoked turkey legs, roasted a whole (free range, organic) turkey.  Made my mom's famous cornbread dressing and Clint's grandmothers famous chestnut stuffing.  We had giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprout salad, homemade bread, cranberry bread, green beans, blueberry pie, and pumpkin pie.  Nothing was processed, from a box or a can on our Thanksgiving table (except the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes) and almost everything was organic.  I made every bit from scratch myself.  It turned out to be quite a delicious feast and was a lot of fun to prepare.

Our centerpiece included the lego Thanksgiving diorama.  It included a keg.  And a cat.  And sausage.  Interesting. 

The Friday after Thanksgiving may have been the first day since we moved to Stillwater that we did no work at all.  We just hung out all day long.  It was wonderful and rejuvenating.  Now that being said Clint did start cutting down cedar trees to use to build the treehouse. One of our goals was to start a garden at the farm in 2013.  We "officially" did by smashing our pumpkins in a field at the farm.  Technically not what we had in mind, but throwing up pumpkins and whacking them with an axe sure is a fun way to start a garden.  I am not sure why Clint is wearing Beau's hat in this picture.

Over Saturday and Sunday we went to Arkansas to celebrate with my side of the family.  This is the first year that all the kids (except the babies) were old enough to play without adult supervision the whole time.  It was liberating.  It was a beautiful day and the cousins had a blast playing Indians and pilgrims outside.

Heidi's 7th Adoption Anniversary

We celebrated (or totally forgot to) Heidi's 7th adoption anniversary.  That makes her approximately 8 years old.  She is a very easy, disobedient dog.  She still sleeps 23 hours a day, eats all our scraps, and lets the kids abuse her.  Her eyes are still eerily red, but it appears to not bother her and we already spent several hundred dollars trying to fix it.  She really is a cat and sleeps either in her chair, in our closet, on Sawyer's bed, or on the back porch.  That's pretty much her life.  She's a good dog.

Happy 9th Anniversary!

November 20, 2013 marked our 9th great year together. Each year is better than the last. Melanie is such an amazing companion and friend. She makes my life so easy, happy, and relaxing. I still spend my days thinking about how much I want to be with her, and I look forward to seeing her everyday after work.

By the time November rolled around, we were finally to the point where we could leave Paul with a babysitter for a couple hours. On the weekend before our anniversary, we decided to get a room at the Best Western in Stillwater for a few hours while the kids stayed with the babysitter. The bar in the hotel turned out not to be open, so we made drinks (club soda and citron) in the room and watched OSU beat up on the Longhorns, among other things...

We picked up some Thai and got the kids then headed straight for the pool in the hotel. The boys love hotels, especially if the hotel has a pool. We swam for a while and headed back to the room for the usual dance party. In the morning, I bought food to make lochs and bagels, but fat free cream cheese and cheap salmon isn't that good.

On the day of our anniversary, Melanie made a delicious meal of lamb, bread, couscous, and vegetables. We had a bottle of our favorite wine, Louis Martini. The boys enjoyed the special meal, and we showed them our wedding pictures after dinner. We are so blessed to have such a fun, happy, joyful marriage.

Beau's Birthday

Beau turned three on November 10th.  Clint and I both had a hard time coming to terms with it.  I told him it made me sad and for a few days he said he would stay two.  So sweet and considerate.  Clint was out of town the week before his birthday, but Saturday we celebrated by getting donuts in the morning.  Beau was pretty traumatized by Clint leaving him for a whole week and would not leave his side Saturday morning.  On Sunday we had his birthday party.  As Beau said "Best Birthday EVER."  So cute. We once again had a hayride at the farm and just a few friends.  After the hayride we had cupcakes and all the kids ran and climbed on the tractor.  It was a perfect birthday for a three year old boy.

After the party, we opened gifts at the house.  Grandpa made Beau a beautiful treasure chest. It is so special. 

Beau is our heart.  This child is so loving and funny and relational.  He totally gets humor and can keep us laughing.  At three he is very communicative.  He doesn't act interested in the world or how it works.  He almost refuses to tell us "what letter this is" or "count it out" though we know he knows because sometimes we use bribery to get the answers.  He rarely asks "what's that" or "why".  But he constantly asks questions like "What's your favorite food mommy?" "Do you like this Daddy?"  He is extremely relational and has to be emotionally and physically connected with someone at all times.  Clint of course is his first choice.  He is very mechanical and does puzzles well and builds well.  He always knows where we are going and how to get there.  He is a bull in a china shop, leaves crumbs everywhere he goes, and loves dirt.  If you ask him his favorite things he say, "Hotels, waterfalls, and cheese, what's your favorite thing?"  The kid loves cheese and any cheese cracker.  He is still obsessed with his OSU blankie and has to have it with him at home always.  He still has his Beauments and cries a lot over nothing.  But he can turn it off as quickly as he turns it on.  For example he has a total breakdown every morning if he doesn't tell Clint, "bye bye" and "I love you".  In fact we can have a total breakdown if he just says "bye" instead of "bye bye".  It gets old.  He and Sawyer have an amazing loving relationship.  They rarely fight and have so much fun playing together.  We think he is about the cutest thing we have ever seen, from his giant brown eyes, dimples, Beau brow, chubby legs, sweet hugs and kisses, and hilarious commentary.  We have been so blessed with this guy for the past three years.