A Hallmark Holiday

I love this time of year for so many reasons.  I love the stories and movies of relatives across the country gathering together.  Many times the family members haven't seen each other for years and before you know it, they are laughing, eating, dancing and arm wrestling.  Yep, we lived that holiday special at our house over Thanksgiving!

The week started with our fist set of visitors- Russell, Lisa and their girls, Megan and Lizzy.  While we missed Daniel, Jordan and Adam, it was great to show Megan and Lizzy a couple things the great state of Utah has to offer.  

Grandma, Grandpa came next and were so surprised to see Curt and Anna in town from Georgia.  It was a Thanksgiving miracle getting 7 of the 8 McArthur siblings together!  We missed Serena and lots of the cousins/grandkids, but when a family is gi-normous, you take what you can get!  

The day before Thanksgiving, we cooked for hours, awaited the driving family from Arizona, saw a movie, and some went to Park City.  It was all in preparation for the big feast...

The tables were done up so festive-ly!  The warm candle on the main table, pine cones and glitter, a photo booth name card for seat assignments all courtesy of Anna and Amy (and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Catering Department- nice to know people in high places!  Thanks Amy!).

The turkey bowl was played, no major injuries occurred-a few pulled muscles, but what do you expect?!  I have the best neighbors who let us use their ovens and refrigerators, so we had 5 places to chill things and 3 ovens in use.  It made it so much easier than I anticipated and the spread did not disappoint::

We dined on: rolls, turkey, ham, gravy, veggie tray, cheeseball, cheeselog, crackers, broccoli salad, squash casserole, pretzel jello, baked pineapple, sweet potato souffle, sausage stuffing, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, and yes...lact-aid pills in the middle.  There were gluten free cheese rolls for Katelee (in the above picture), she put a sheet of paper over them that said "gluten free-ALL MINE."  I took it off the bowl a few times but she had cheese roll radar and ran over to place it back on whenever someone eyed those precious bread balls.  

Happy faces at the girl table:

Big bellies at the boy table:

My parents stopped by to say hello to the out of towners.  Here is my mom with Catherine, Kimber and me.  

 Russell, Lisa, Carl and David anticipating the big event....DESSERT

 Time to indulge on pumpkin pies, banana pudding, brownies, four layer dessert, caramel pecan pie, chocolate silk pie, pecan tassies, chocolate chip cookies and apple pie.  We thought this would cover it, but apparently McArthur boys can not live with out strawberry pie...which totally says summer to me, but whatever.  It was demolished first!

 And then, we just chilled.  Here is Ben, Matt and Brian letting it all settle...

 Malia looking cute, Brandon in a sugar coma...

Baby Jack trying to call someone on Michael's phone...

 

Baby Harry being entertained by cousin Lizzy...

It was all pretty laid back with the 30+ people at the house,

 

So, we thought we needed to add more spice to the mix!  

Aunt Sophia, Uncle Skip and most of their Lehfeld crew came over, topping it off with some dancing, a program by the kids and an arm wrestling tournament.  

My money was on Dave's cousin Ben here, from the beginning...sorry Russell!

The next day some family went up to see the snow in the mountains.  Trenton's first time experiencing snow at Snowbird was fun for everyone there.  There was a group who went bowling.  Aunt Anna and Grandma took Brenna and Katelee to get their nails painted at the salon.  Then, we all gathered downtown to see the lights at temple square.  

I'm not gonna lie, that was slightly chaotic, but the weather was fantastic and the lights beautiful, as always.  

I wish I could photoshop Serena in, but here are the original McArthur 8 (7 of them) with their parents.

Anna, Amy, Dave, Russell, Catherine, Carl, Dean, Brian and Brent

Most of the family left that weekend, but Carl and Catherine spent a few extra days with us to see the Festival of Trees, Savior of the World, Katelee's diving, Grant's junior jazz, the First Presidency Devotional, etc.

So good to see everyone!!  This last pic pretty much sums up how we felt with our family...there were definite tears saying goodbye.  We hope to gather again soon, but for now, I am pooped!

Spooks, Chills and Thrills

Thrills:  

Grant earned his bear rank at cub scouts.  Way to Go Grant!

We picked out our pumpkins at our favorite pumpkin patch

The tiny corn maze and tractor ride that is provided there is so thrilling, Grant was left speechless.

 

We carved up those pumpkins...but didn't take any pictures, I feel like I am becoming a grumpy old lady when it comes to pumpkin carving.  I promise my fingers hurt from the design work for days.  But, the roasted seeds were oh, so delicious!

Chills:

October is not complete without some bone chilling experiences.  We had a little Halloween gathering with delightful/disgusting food...

witches brew, swamp water with worms, candy corn fruit cups, mummy dogs, zombie fingers, witches broomsticks, pretzel pumpkins and spider eggs.  The girls invited some friends over to chill and play minute to win it games.  The oreo down the face to the mouth game was a big hit, Marshmallow transport with Vampire teeth was hilarious, the classic donuts on a string never disappoints and terrifying Ghost in the Graveyard (aka as Goose in the Graveyard by Brenna) had everyone squealing in fear.  It was a super fun night!

 We visited our buddies, the Witches at Gardner Village, and chilled with them one warm evening.

But, we really looked forward the most to disguising ourselves and spooking people!

 Here is Katelee doing just that for crazy hair day....

Brenna is in the back row of her preschool class picture.  They sang some spooky songs and one kid wandered around the whole time, it was good entertainment.  

 

We took the littles to high five our superstars in the elementary school parade.  It was all in preparation for the big day/night-all Hallow's Eve!

We went to Dave's work to trick or treat (we have the cast of Frozen, and a spooky mirror Ghoul) I'm not sure why Grant wouldn't be Kristoff or Sven, but he wasn't digging the ideas!  After some pizza at the office, we came back for trick-or-treating.  

 Olaf hated wearing his hat the entire night.  Notice how we are holding his hands down.  The cute snowman face lasted a good .3 seconds and then it was ripped off.  He still loves warm hugs!

We had a spectacular time and now we have gallon bags full of candy and a few extra pounds.  I could still recognize my kids, ok, not Grant.  There was no way to tell who he was under that mask.  But, Brenna still says to me, even without costume, "Mom, it's me, Brenna.  I'm your small child."  I am so glad she is around to keep me straight. Although I am not sure what she thinks about me.  Yesterday when I told her we had no more chicken noodle soup around for lunch, I would have to buy more, she took a moment, and responded with, "Hmmm, I don't trust you."    Perhaps she has discovered me sneaking into her Halloween stash for those Twix candy bars!  

Making Memories California Style

 In December, it will have been three years since we experienced Disney World.  When we left that blessed place, Dave promised me that we could do another Disney vacation in three years time.  Well, you better believe I held him to that vow.  Last week we headed to sunny California and it was quite magical.

 We stayed at the Marriott Resort in Newport for a couple of nights and those were some fancy digs.  The kids were in heaven

playing table tennis, life size chess (well, moving the pieces around, they don't know how to play).

They strategized for the win while I did some zumba with the other guests on the pool patio.  

After some exploring and relaxing in the kids club, we spent the afternoon at the beach.  

The kids were blissfully happy.  If I could show a picture of pure joy, it would be photos of them frolicking in the water.  Even Harrison kept running to to the tide.  He loved the beach so much, he tried to eat all the sand.  

The rest of us opted for other snacks, like granola bars, popcorn, etc.  The popcorn bag spilled all over and I kid you not, the entire flock of Newport seagulls surrounded our blankets.  The kids were trying to run them off, but those were some beastly birds taking claim to the beach and those kernels.  I put on a brave face and didn't run screaming down the beach as I did as a child, but I wanted to.  We went back to the hotel, swam in the pools there, grabbed a bite to eat and prepared for our Disney delights ahead!  I knew the vacation was off to a good start when Brenna was hanging out the van window (yes, Dave rented a minivan) and yelled "I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS TRIP!!"

I was so looking forward to Disneyland at Halloween and it did not disappoint.  I am not the best photographer, so I didn't capture the decor but it was fabulous.  There were lots and lots of people, but we did everything we wanted and waited no longer than 25 min on any ride.  So, Harrison did pretty well chillin with the people in his Mickey tee.  

The first day brought awe to each of us.  Katelee is our most bubbly and expressive child.  She showed her enthusiasm and giggled all day. She is a thrill seeker and loved everything we did and saw.  Brenna opened her map and dropped her jaw.  She said, "MOM-they have bathrooms here!!"

Dave does not do spinning rides, so that cuts out the tea cups, splash mountain and others, but that didn't stop the rest of us.  That skeleton dude they put in Space Mountain is seriously disturbing, though!  Brenna said she was 'almost scared ' of that ride!

And, because Dave isn't as much of a ride/Disney fanatic (some may say freak), he happily sits out with the baby so I can go enjoy.  Each Disney vaca we have had (this is #3) I appreciate this, because I honestly can't get enough.  This is apparent in every ride pic that is taken.  I have the same open mouth 'wahoo' being exclaimed!

While they didn't do the fast rides, Dave and Harrison did go on quite a few.  Peter Pan was a hit, Buzz Lightyear is always exciting, and how could we forget, 'It's a Small World?'  Harrison was literally in awe...

The weather was sunny and felt kind of hot, but we weren't complaining.  It had been 99 the week before we got there.  

The next day we went to California Adventure.  Grandma and Grandpa and Shannon flew in to meet us for the day.  It was great having them with us.  Some highlights were: Tower of Terror (Brenna's favorite), going to Cars Land, riding the swinging Ferris Wheel, where Shannon couldn't open her eyes and I kept yelling to Grant, "Don't drop my baby, don't let my baby drop!"  as Harry sat on his lap and our car rocked like a pendulum.  Good times.  

California Screaming was a hit with all those tall enough to ride...sorry Brenna...There is so much awesomeness going on in this picture, I can't even point it all out, but take a good look at each person here...

World of Color was absolutely incredible and the parade was fun as can be watching the girls dance and the baby pop bubbles

We LOVED our experience at Turtle Talk (he he, Grant trying to describe a bikini top,) and seeing Harrison squeal in delight in the Disney Junior puppet show made the whole trip worth it!

California Adventure is a BLAST!

We said goodbye to the grandparents but Shannon stayed one more day and met us for breakfast the next morning at Ariel's Grotto.  It was Friday and we knew the park would be more crowded, so it was perfect to meet some of our favorite characters then.  

Wahoo!  It's Aurora

and Snow White

Cinderella and Ariel were there too, but Harrison tried to feel up Belle

it caught her attention, of course!

But, the baby's favorite character of the day was Minnie. Here he is laughing and running to her.  

But, then she had to keep her creepy head away from him!  Ha!  

 The wonderful Shannon got our tickets for the girls to see Anna and Elsa.  There was some finagling, but it was all worth it!  Brenna had been internalizing all her excitement most of the time, but when she knew she was about to meet Elsa, all the hyper came to a head!  She was on a high.  It was awesome!

 Anna and Elsa loved having sisters dressed like them.  They twirled and hugged and bonded, for sure!

Notice Grant is missing in each of the character photos.  Somehow he seemed to disappear whenever a princess photo op happened!

We had dinner at the Blue Bayou and stayed for Mickey's Halloween party.  But, much to my dismay, the kids were tuckered out and couldn't be dragged around past 10:30.  They made it for the fireworks (which rocked) and the parade, so I tried not to be too mad at them!

So, our much anticipated trip was all we ever wanted and MORE!  Dave even had a great time! He really did, he said so.   Although, when we were leaving and a Disney soundtrack was playing where the shuttles pick up he just couldn't take it anymore and asked us, "When does the music stop?!"  And Shannon quickly explained, "It doesn't."

The music and magic of Disney never stops!  That's why we (ok, I) love it!  It was a fantastic trip, we just wish it was longer.  There were tears coming home and a countdown has begun to the next time we can put the words Disney and vacation together again!