giving thanks

thanksgiving was spent at grammy's house this year. i look forward to that stuffing for MONTHS. i really do love the thanksgiving holiday: i am not expected to buy a ton of crap we don't need, you get TWO days off from work, the whole holiday is based on a family meal and you are NEVER judged when you go back for thirds. this is truly a great holiday.

oh- and one more reason i love thanksgiving? i love black friday!(especially with these ladies. we are die hards!)

gemma is here!

the day before thanksgiving, an event we had been waiting for a long time to occur finally happened: gemma norton was born! we weren't able to rush to the hospital on day one but we took advantage of the holiday and visited gemma on the morning of thanksgiving. i am glad we didn't wait a second longer- she is beautiful. 

 
violet especially has been waiting for gemma for a long time. so tender to see how little kids know how to treat newborns. 
 
ivy wasn't quite as interested- she just wanted more eddie time. now she is in full-blown "baby crazy" stage where she is obsessed with babies. had this all happened a few months later, gemma would be flinching still with ivy around.
 
congrats nortons! 

a sad start to november

november started out on a not-so-high. sam's dad, doug, passed away quite suddenly and it really was a difficult time for the boyles. we admire their strength as they dealt with such a blow.

it was, however, wonderful to reflect on the type of man doug was. the tributes at his funeral showed me how sam has become such a great man- he had such a fabulous father. i was touched by the words said about him and i truly left the funeral wanting to be a better person. 

our heart goes out to you, boyle family. we love you. 

october roundup

here are some other october happenings:

we played a lot of cornhole this month! the weather just kept us all outside and the neighborhood started to really get into it.

don't worry, cade and i were sure to win. HA!

addy and macy were able to stay with us for a few days while jeff and heather went out of town. vi was in heaven. it was really fun to have all the cousins together- and it was great to get a glimpse into what having four kids would be like. not too bad!

this is how we found addy and vi sleeping. too sweet!

it was our month to watch kids on date night for our neighborhood babysitting coop. we are in an exchange group where we use popsicle sticks as currency to pay for time needed to have a sitter. our date night raked in tons of sticks! plus- the kids all had a blast.

cade rides a bunch of motorcycles. i can't tell you how many photos like this i was sent as cade dreamed of buying a new motorcycle. it will be a dream come true one day!

family photos

in october, we finally got around to getting some family photos done. despite ivy's unwillingness to smile the ENTIRE time, we liked how they turned out! why is it that the child that always smiles will frown when we really need her? mystery...  anyway, enjoy!

halloween at last!

 for the past few years, my mom has hosted a halloween party for us all. it has been great to get together and go trick or treating as a big, giant clan. the kids love it and so do the adults!

this year, violet was, of course the peacock, ivy was an elephant, cade was a giants player and i was a mechanic.

 after a yummy dinner, we set off for the goods. ivy, still not walking, was confined to her stroller. she wasn't exactly thrilled about that once she caught the scent of the chocolate in the air.

 violet's thoughts on all this? the picture below says it all.

the kids got really good at trick or treating. it was hard to keep up with them running from house to house!

 even phoebe joined us for the adventure.

my favorite costume of the night was brad's. hands down best dad award.

 it takes a man with serious confidence to pull of a one-piece iron man costume.

we had a great time! we spent the rest of the evening watching the kids down candy and play. it was a perfect halloween with perfect weather!

halloween festivities

we for sure partied through the month of october... it was a crazy month! here are a few of the parties.

marc and sariah's bash
marc and sariah had us over for a yummy dinner complete with a fire outside and some good outdoor chatter. october was full of such great weather that it really made celebrations easy and fun.

for this party, i went as cade and he went as me. violet was a peacock and ivy was an elephant.

north lake trunk or treat

our neighborhood always hosts an awesome trunk or treat in october. this year there was a carnival and TONS of cars lined up for the fun. violet has so many friends in our ward that she loved the chance to play dress up with all of them. here, she and maylee give big hugs.

 cade went to the trunk or treat party as a giants player. it is his go-to halloween costume.

 violet came home from this party with HEAPS of candy. seriously- too much! there were so many cars and she was so polite to everyone that often, she would get handfuls of candy. she is a smart cookie to work the system...

grammy's pumpkin carve

never a disappointment. this tradition spans as long as my living memory does. i love carving these pumpkins with my own children now- even if they are grossed out by the guts.