Thanksgiving & Celebrating Westy Boy

Somehow, we have a sweet 8-YEAR-OLD boy. We had fun celebrating our Westy boy this week and eight is just feeling big. We also put up our Christmas tree and I'm loving it! And we've been dog sitting Bingley for the week as well.

We had Westin's birthday party last week while his friends were still in town before fall break. Then on Wednesday he had a little date with each parent. Bowling with mom and out for ice cream with dad. 

Wednesday and Thursday we cooked and cooked and cooked and watched the World Cup and football. On Thanksgiving we had the McFarlands over and it was fun to share the meal with them. We've done it all solo before and Thanksgiving just feels good to share with other people. I was sick on Thanksgiving but they opted to still brave our company, and Friday I was even worse, then Saturday Michael started getting it too. No positive Covid tests, but we sure went down for those days.

Friday we celebrated Westy boy some more with opening presents that morning, french toast and sausage, surprising him with a CSU game that day, and he chose Zuppa Toscana/Garlic Bread/Caesar Salad for dinner with an ice cream cake for dessert.

Holidays and birthdays hitting together are kind of a lot... I made that ice cream cake while we had 5 pies in the fridge and that just felt a little crazy, but, you gotta choose your birthday cake!

Westin received his own set of scriptures and he is just learning so much lately. I love how inquisitive he is, his killer memory, his drive to know more and do more, his voracious reading and love for math -- he spends his time in the kitchen with me asking for different double and triple digit addition problems over and over. He is a wonderful big brother, a super wonderful student, a super super wonderful friend, and we just love him so much.

Happy birthday, sweet Westin!

The rest of the weekend was more recovering, more soccer, more football, and so. many. leftovers.

 

Birthday Parties and Hockey Games

We were so happy to have a healthier week!

Monday we ran errands.

Tuesday I lost hours of my life trying to get Taylor Swift tickets that I never ended up getting. Then a busy night with swim and basketball and activity days and young mens.

Wednesday was doctor appointments and classroom volunteering and yet another failed attempt at getting Taylor tickets. It put me in a slump. First world problems, but don't talk me down.

Thursday I spent my whole day on Westin's birthday party and remembered at 4pm to brush my teeth. Then at 5pm we had 15 kids over for a football party sans football (20 degrees and snow...). But we made paper footballs and popsicle field goals, played football bingo, watched the Packers game, ate hot dogs and nachos, had football birthday cake, and kind of just observed the wild that is 15 second graders. Holy Moly. I don't know if I have that in me again but we can take 3 friends bowling, that we can do. Next year is planned.

Friday I had another pie crust failure and used my Pillsbury back ups to make this upside down apple pie deliciousness and we headed to a pie night with friends, which was really fun. Kids love to run around a church gym and through a church stage. I'm not sure why that's the thrill that it is but it just is.

Saturday I took Westin suit shopping (his baptism is coming! I can hardly believe it.), we ran dropped off a few boxes of books headed to some small Utah bookstores and boutiques, we all went to Westin's game, we watched the BYU game, and we ate dinner at a Colorado Eagles hockey game and caught the first quarter before heading home for bedtime. It's hard to make an 8-year-old and a 1-year-old happy with the same chain of events but we're doing our best.

My fridge is full of Thanksgiving food and we're looking forward to more holiday and birthday time next week!

Bennett trying on Cam Cam's new glasses :)

Running errands with this cute new-glasses boy and I just think he's so cute.

Asher has started waving and he's sooo proud of it.

It's like Kitty knows the catnip's days are coming to a wintery end very soon.

She's crazy.

I spent hours + hours this week organizing all the boys clothes and changing out their sizes. It's my least favorite unseen mom job.

Snowy mornings have started!

Making some football cakes for Westin's football party.

This picture makes me laugh so much. I don't like baking cakes, and I spent so many hours on Westin's birthday party which is not my favorite way to show my children love even though I do love them very, very much. And I quickly made the footballs then sent a picture to Ali feeling like, well those are ugly but it is what it is. And she was like, maybe you should google a picture of a football...
So I did, and then I laughed and laughed and wiped the white glaze off and redid it while laughing and laughing some more. It just struck me so funny to see how truly ugly my first attempt was and how I didn't even know how bad it was hahaha. 

Birthday boys opening cards.

He was so excited to wear his Broncos shirt to his football party.

This Colorado baby.

Upside Down Apple Pecan pie. It turned out really yummy!

But, my pie crust curse continues.
What you see in the pretty picture above this one are my Pillsbury back ups in action.

We said goodbye to Westin's Tacos this week and got rid of all of our cardboard.
It had a good 2.5 year run.

Asher's birthday card from Grandma Daetwyler is just the cutest little thing I've ever seen.

Dinner and a hockey game with the Larimer County Dental Society.
The boys loved it, I felt stressed most of the time because I didn't think how loud it would be and didn't bring anyone ear protection and I felt guilty having Asher there.

I Spy Westin and Bennett down there trying to catch a hockey puck before the game.

He loved clapping with everyone at the game haha, sweet boy.

We took dinner to a neighbor who had a baby and I'm filing this one away as a meal that packs up well.
Garlic parmesan rice, smoked pork tenderloin, a spinach/apple/bacon salad, and fruit.

The real star of the show was Michael's football helmet watermelon carving and I think I forgot to take a picture of it! It was so cute.