Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

Thanksgiving was good. Scott was able to take off work starting Wednesday, so the kids and I loved that. The official celebration of Thanksgiving is probably one of the harder holidays for me though because 1) I dislike cooking, and 2) there is no family close to get together with to make the pain of cooking more bearable! So, to cope with my issues we just SIMPLIFY! This is the "simple feast" we had: rolls, jello, pumpkin chiffon pie, carrots and broccoli with dip by me & turkey, cranberry sauce, and Stove Top stuffing by Scott. In my family it really is blasphemy to do Stove Top stuffing and I truly miss my Great-Grandma's stuffing, but easier meal equals happier Rachel, thus happier family!

Rigby just about lost his mind while waiting for the meal. He ate breakfast, but after that it was snacks until we ate at about 3 p.m. I told Scott that Rigby's list of what he wants in a future spouse will need to have this requirement at the top: Someone who prepares and finishes meals ON TIME! The boy cannot handle a hungry tummy! He must have tired himself out with all that drama because he passed out while we were watching the Phineas & Ferb movie (fun movie by the way).

And here is part 2 of my "decorate mantle for the holidays" goal this year.
We bought and decorated our Christmas tree on Saturday. The kids love it so much that they have knocked off half of the needles and I am continually rehanging ornaments! Oh well, it is worth it to see them get so excited. Seeing the holidays through the kids eyes makes it so much more meaningful!

Part of the reason I have not posted much the last few months is because of various Young Women events. I had a blast helping with YW in Excellence this year, but I must admit I am glad it is over! Our theme was Princesses/Daughter of a King. Here are some of the fun things I got to do:

This quote by Elder Uchtdorf was what we based much of the program upon.

The girls were given bookmarks with Elder Uchtdorf's quote on one side and a picture of the Houston Temple with the YW theme on the other side. The tassels were made from embroidery floss of each of the value colors.

I found a wax sealing kit at Hobby Lobby that I used for the invitations.

We hung these gold-glitter balls with ribbons of the different value colors from wires across the ceiling. We also had crowns for the girls and an eight foot cardboard cutout of a castle. It really felt like a royal event.

I was even more excited about the actual program because each of the girls was able to share a personal progress goal they had completed and how it had strengthened their testimony. We had a few unavoidable technical problems like no sound system and a loud activity taking place on the other side of the curtain, but regardless I know the Spirit was there and I hope the girls enjoyed it!


Here are some recent pictures of my cute boys:

Rigby wears hats or his little hoodie sweatshirt all of the time. He is also obsessed with shoes (especially my high heels:). This boy knows how to melt our hearts without even trying.
Peter loves to dress up in more peculiar ways than his brother. Lately it usually involves Scott's socks without pants or a shirt-sometimes without both ;). I promise I make him get dressed at the beginning of the day, but for some reason he never stays that way. This boy knows how to make us laugh!

Scott recently got the new iPhone. The boys love snuggling up with him to watch short cartoon clips before bedtime.

And just in case you made it to the end of this ridiculously long post . . . . . . .

. . . . Peter and Rigby are excited to announce that they are getting a baby . . . .

SISTER!!!!

I think her name is going to be Adelyn Afton Flamm (still not completely sure). One thing I am sure of is that the color PINK is exponentially increasing in our house and I am having way too much fun with all this girly stuff!