Turkey Day Crafts

I am currently serving in the Nursery in our ward (it's the first time I've ever served in Primary...and I really like it). So I've paid extra close attention to cute, simple craft ideas that I see. I saw these two things for Thanksgiving and knew that it would be fun for both Nursery and my own kids.

Aren't these little Oreo Cookie Turkeys so cute? And after the frosting dries they actually stay together really well. They are made with Oreo cookies, a peanut butter cup, a whopper, candy corns, a tiny piece of pull-apart Twizzlers (for the gobbler)and frosting.

And we made these little turkey hand print thank-you cards. My kids wanted to make some too...to take to their teachers at school. (The eyes are both "googly" eyes - the camera flash just makes them look a little crazy).

What's Been Goin' On

Here's a little bit of what we have been up to lately:

* Caelan performed in her elementary school Veterans Day program. It was very well done. She asked me the night before if we could invite Uncle Tom (who is a veteran). I thought it was not quite enough notice, but after going to the program, I wish we would have. The kids sang all sorts of patriotic songs, there was a little narration, a couple spoke about their son who recently lost both of his legs from an injury he received in Afghanistan (the mother is a teacher at the school), and then the principle recognized every veteran in the audience. I actually got a little choked up listening to the music and noticing the sprinkling of uniforms throughout the room. It made me really feel grateful for the sacrifice of so many in order for us to enjoy the freedom that we do.


* Nathan and I accompanied Megan's preschool class on a field trip to a place called Hoots. It's one of those indoor jumping places complete with a giant slide, a blow-up obstacle course and more. The kids had a blast (and I even got in there and had all the fun jumping and sliding around too).

* Sean went on an overnight hiking camp-out with the Scouts. He just got called to serve with the Varsity scouts in our ward, and he got right in there with a camp out the first week. He was exhausted when he got home, but he had a good time (and they all managed to stay warm at night too).

* While he was gone the kids and I went to the Family Movie Night at the school. They showed Toy Story 3 (such a cute little show). We wore our pajamas and laid out blankets and pillows on the ground and got a few snacks that were being sold there. Overall, it was a fun night. And boy, was it chilly when we got back into our car to go home.

* Last week for Family Home Evening we made "Tom the Thankful Turkey". We all got to think of a different blessing and write it on a feather or two and add it to the turkey. The kids wanted me to make more feathers so that they could add more throughout the week. It was a hit. It is now hanging in our living room until Thanksgiving.


* Last night for Family Home Evening I decided to have the kids draw a picture of Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life. We are reading that in our family scripture study right now, so I thought it would be fun for the kids to actually draw it all out so that they can relate to it as we read. They loved it. And I loved the posters, so I had to get a picture of them.



* I am a lone ranger this week. Wait, scratch that. I am a lone parent this week (which we all know is MUCH different than simply being a lone ranger). Sean is in Kansas until late Friday night helping with a couple of different projects at a plant up there. He is good friends with both the General Manager and Design Manager there, so it sounds like he is enjoying himself.

* We ordered pizza from a new place that we wanted to try last weekend. It was very tasty (definitely a place to go again). Here is Nathan chowing down on the Parmesan cheese PLAIN. What a nut.


* Sunday was the Primary Program in our ward (the Sunday where all the young kids put on the Sacrament meeting program). It's one of the best Sundays of the year...especially when you have three kiddos to pay close attention to on the stand. Megan was one of the few Sunbeams who sang the words to the songs. She also managed to be the only Sunbeam on the stand briefly while the rest of her class went to sit down...HE HE HE. Ben had some very awesome facial expressions. All three of them said their part clear enough for everyone to hear. I love listening to kids sing and talk about Jesus Christ. It's like pure testimony. It was a good meeting.

Megan Had A Birthday, Shout HOORAY!

Today is Megan's birthday...and she has been making sure each hour that it "still" is her birthday. She did not want to miss out on any moment of her special day, that is for sure. She came in to my bedroom this morning and whispered in my sleeping ear, "Can I open my presents now?" Usually we do presents in the evening, but she just couldn't wait, so we let her do them first thing. She got a little baby doll carriage, "How to Train Your Dragon" DVD, a few "Littlest Pet Shop" pets and a tiny little stuffed animal sea otter (which she LOVES). We decided to take a trip to the zoo to celebrate. We hit up the aquarium and the zoo. The kids loved it - lots of animals to see (and most of them were very awake and active today, which always makes it fun). We got home and had barbequed hot dogs (Megan's choice, of course). Then I whipped up her "Hello Kitty" cake, and about 5 minutes after I finished, she blew out the candles and we dug right in. What a fun day.


Some things about our Megan at 4 years old:
*She weighs 37 lbs
*Favorite colors are red and purple
*Favorite animal is a horse (she is real animal lover for almost all living things)
*According to her, her favorite movie is "The Cat in the Hat" (she also likes to watch "Ariel's Beginning," "Sleeping Beauty," "Dora," etc)
*Favorite primary song is "Jesus Loves Me" (I asked her to sing it to me because I didn't know it...she made up some words). She also likes "Popcorn Popping."
*She goes to a little preschool, Parky's Pals and she has two teachers there ("a boy and a girl one"). She says that her favorite thing to do at school is sing songs.
*Some of her favorite foods are noodle soup, hot dogs, enchiladas, grapes, blueberries, cheese and salad.
*Her favorite dessert is candy (can you tell it's the week after Halloween). She also loves ice cream (of course).
*She wants to be a Mom when she grows up.
*Her favorite princess is Jasmine.
*She asks me almost everyday to put two ponytails into her hair.
*She has the best giggle known to man.
*She LOVES Bruno, our dog (probably the most of anyone in the family).
*One of her favorite things to pretend is that she is a dog (and then Nathan feeds her his food while she crawls around on the floor). She also likes to play with barbies and color and read books.
*She has really become much more mellow and agreeable in the last year. She can still be strong-willed at times, but most of the time she is easy going and can be reasoned with.
*She loves to help people (and really loves the praise for doing so).
*She is happy and fun and we just couldn't imagine life without her.

Happy Birthday Meg! We Love You Bunches!