Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

This month we've been filling our pantry door from head to toe (well we didn't exactly get to toe) with all the reasons we are grateful.

Obviously everyone said FAMILY as #1! But here are a few of my favorites:

Daddy is grateful for... Mommy, Basketball, Our Home, The Gospel, Kisses. 

Mommy is grateful for... Babies, Our Home, Prayer, Facetime, Helpful Children, Sleep, Reading. 

Connor is grateful for... Video Games, XBOX, TV, Minecraft, Zombies, Dad playing Video Games.
(So I totally had to pull teeth getting this kid to add to our grateful list, and of course they all had a unsurprising similarity.) 

Bella is grateful for... SCHOOL, Teacher, Friends, School, Backpack, Homework, Books, etc.
(Okay yeah you get the point she was totally into this grateful thing and could have filled the whole door up with her love of school.) 

Sydney is grateful for... Kisses, Rainbow people, Playing, Markers, Jesus, Toilet paper (?!?)
(Um yeah, can you say random...) 

Piper is grateful for... Poop, Butt, Bone/Phone and Da.
(As you can tell the older kids are very proud of the fact that Piper is entering her mimicry stage, and the fact that they could get her to say poop and butt when I asked her what she was grateful for was probably their proudest moment of the year. And Bone/phone is any form of technology she wants, mom fail facepalm.)

We had a fairly low key Thanksgiving with the Martin's of course. We ate lots and had a feast but didn't go crazy exhausting ourselves (well maybe Shea did with his AMAZING Stanger Rolls).

And still had P-LENTY!

I’m grateful for a whole lot! One being living here in Frederick with amenities so close and enjoying this time relishing in my children's discovery of my hometown and getting to know their Martin side. It truly is a blessing.
And in this moment I’m most grateful for my Bella and all her amazing help yesterday! It was a wonderful and delicious day. Tonight we’re having round two!

Happy Turkey/Mashed Potatoes/Green Bean Casserole/Stuffing/Sweet Potatoes/Corn/Jello Salad/Mandarin Almond Salad/Roll and Pie DAY!

Visiting

This past weekend we went and visited some friends and got to enjoy the Marietta Corn Festival with them. It was a lot of fun and with so many kids similar ages, everyone had a blast! We can't wait to visit them again soon!

Gymnastics

Well this is just a short and simple shout out to this precious girl and her love for all things
gymnasti-tricky.
She has always always always loved trying to back bend, somersault, flip off the bars at the park or with the closet doorknobs, climb fearlessly to the tip top of every little thing she can find and more.

I knew she had the heart of the gymnast but I think one of the biggest struggles as a parent especially a young parent with so many littles is not having a wallet big enough for all their desires. So we found the only gymnast program that fit our budget and even though it wasn't fancy she loved every second and her heart broke when we told her it was the last day.

Parents weren't allowed in since there was no where really to watch, since it was in the gym of the elementary school; so I didn't get to take pictures of see all the things she got to do.

But the last day we did and she did great. Doing her own interpretations of the cartwheel and headstand and back bends, with perfected somersaults to stand and balance beam hops. I was so impressed, and not to brag but she was seriously the best in her age group and such a suck up! HA!

She was so excited for me to watch and of course I had to bring Syd because Shea had to take Piper to Cons basketball and WOW SYD gave me a run for my money I was ready to ship her to my in-laws. Must say I loved all the wonderful judging looks I got from the other parents as I failed horribly to control my three year old devil child. Anyway after chasing her around the gym like a mad woman and taking her to the bathroom and to get a drink a thousand times and holding her through tantrums I did get three second intervals to video little tricks Bella did and snap a photo of our favorite little GYMNAST!

SO proud of that girl!

And if you can't tell she is pretty proud too! 

{this moment}

I am so grateful for this snugly guy. I am not always in the mood for affection. Don't get me wrong I love always love me a newborn snuggle or sporadic kisses from my little man but when I sit down at the end of a long day the icing on the cake is when I get some space! HA! Fortunately, before you start feeling bad for my kiddos, Shea is a very affectionate DAD! Too much sometimes. When anyone says I want to snuggle he says "You can snuggle with me." The corner cuddle spot on the couch is his, without question. And he always finds some friends to help him fill it. I am so grateful for him and all the love and attention he gives the kids whenever he can.

Last night as we watched a movie two little girls bumped heads and Daddy was the only one who could console them both. Watching him tend to them individually and yet simultaneously made my heart is SO full! He is the best Daddy Ever. We feel so lucky to call him ours!
(Now scoot over kiddos.)

Just Another Sunday

Life in the Barbie Dreamhouse seems to be
keeping everyone happy this morning.
"This is hilarious Kay-Marie, have you seen this?"
-Shea

How sweet is this big brother!
Sometimes I feel poorly that he doesn't have a
brother but then somehow I think these sisters
have made him absolutely awesome and as
much as they need him he needs them.
It is kind of amazing how it all turns out.
And he is not giving up on that brother either... 

We seriously couldn't make it through sacrament,
and the fact that I took them outside
(which I never do because I feel like it is a reward)
... in the rain...
shows you exactly how rough it was inside!

But dang they are cute even when they are
making me blow steam from my ears!

Anniversary Date in DC

We celebrated our Anniversary of 9 years a couple weeks late, since we planned a big date to DC.
We loved it.
Reminiscing in the fact that we had come here 9 years ago in August (when Shea met my family after we got engaged), was so fun.
We started off with a train ride to Union Station and breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

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Johnny Rockets in Nashville, Tennessee is the first place we went to after we were engaged. I remember how exciting it all seemed, wearing that ring on my finger and thinking everyone could see. It was like some big secret was  finally out!

July 2009

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Then we were off to sight seeing. 

We took a break from walking and enjoyed the Botanical Gardens, and seeing the little hands on kids section made me think of all our little ones and how we need to have a -well planned- DC visit before we leave this area with the whole fam!

After riding our tour bus which we scored great tickets for, we stopped to see the famous Friendship Archway. and saw some more sights. 

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When Shea and I were engaged and before we headed back to school, Shea came to visit my family and we took a tour bus to do a little DC visit while he was there (I had taken carsick medicine and was drowsy the entire time and the extreme heat made the whole thing a bit exhausting for me, so we always talk about that trip as the one I slept through... SO that is why I wanted to DC right!).

August 2009

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The American History Museum was very cool and we spent a huge chunk of time inside! We could have spent even longer and want to plan another visit back. 

But we had to run and grab an early dinner at FOGO DE CHAO, a Brazilian churrasco style Steakhouse. (Since we have been on the east we have missed Tucanos a similar but better place.) It was a bit pricey but we were very full and loved it.

The rest of our DC adventure was spent on the tour bus which we was hard since this was the longest time on the bus and our guide this time around was more than a little disappointing.  

Then after the nearest stop we raced in the dark to make the train and get back home to our sweet babes. It was quite the fun little adventure and we love getting to have some just us time!

Love ya babe! Here is to 9 years!