Giving Thanks

Before Thanksgiving Jonas had a fieldtrip for preschool that coincided with a day off of school, so we all joined him at Prusch Farms nearby (they've had a unit on farms that has been super fun).   They didn't have a ton of animals but we got to walk around with goats and chickens, see pigs and even saw a baby calf nursing on her mama.  Playing at the awesome park attached as well as on the wishing well and having to fight the birds for our lunches were some of the highlights.

Whole crew at the field trip

the wishing well.  some of the wishes were pretty entertaining to listen to

Jonas and his preschool buddies

For  Thanksgiving we were talking about braving a trip to Utah.  We were getting excited to pay Jared's family a good visit since we haven't done that for like 2 1/2 years (and even then it was in preparation for his brother's wedding which is always a hectic experience).  However, with the nasty flu that knocked our feet from under us and the logistics of getting our crew to UT again, and mostly the fact that Jared had a crazy amount of work, we ended up staying home.  The kids and I were pretty bummed that first day and I had to wrap my head around grocery shopping, entertaining kids for the entire week (since we had the WHOLE week off of school), etc. Not that Jared wanted to be working an insane amount either, but we decided to make the most of it.  Jared went grocery shopping for me to ease the load and I came around to the fact that I needed to enjoy being home :)

We went swimming at the rec center one afternoon, read and played at home a couple other afternoons and really enjoyed just having the time off.  Emma girl really seems to have grown up just in the past couple weeks and maybe it was more time spent with her siblings...She is dancing to music, waving "hi", combing her hair and signing "more" and "book" and "light" (even initiating them on her own).  I was thinking she might not be into the signing, but she pulled through.  One night after I had gotten all the other kids down for bed, we walked into her room to put on her jammies and get ready for bed and she signed "book" and looked at the book basket in her room. I was so excited I read book after book to her.  She seems to really enjoy reading which always makes me happy!  She'll even let Jocelyn read to her which is so fun to witness-I am thankful I have such a helpful and sweet older daughter.

Emma girl looking so big in her rocking chair-her new favorite seat

Jocelyn reading to Emma

Emma LOVES raspberries

Emma doesn't love when I contain her in her walker to keep her away from trouble

A neighbor and I took our kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium one day (with the generous use of our friend's visitor passes) and had a great time.  We used to go there all the time when we lived right by there and got the free library passes, but it had been a while so the kids were enthralled.  I was talking it up and telling Jonas they had sharks and all kinds of fun things.  You could tell he was internalizing all of it and nodding his head.  A couple hours later he asked "Mom?  Are the sharks in cages?"  Poor thing probably thought he was going to be eaten alive!!  Surprisingly one of his favorite things was the penguins.  He kept watching them dive and play over and over. All the kids had a wonderful time and were sufficiently exhausted by the end of the day.  It always amazes me what a different world exists in the ocean.  I was thankful that we have such a wonderful aquarium so close to us to help us all appreciate the wonderful creations of our Heavenly Father.

The best I could do with all 4 kids in the clamshell!

Jonas and Emma in the clamshell

The Jellyfish are always captivating

Jonas with our neighbor and the tiger shark

 Thanksgiving itself we watched the Macy's parade online in the morning. Jonas was thrilled to see Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles, Power Rangers, Buzz Lightyear and the like.  He pretty much thought the parade was for him alone.  We also went to see Frozen as a family in the morning and had some friends over for dinner in the evening.   It was meant to be in the afternoon but due to some unforeseen turkey issues we had to delay.  Jared had been gearing up for months to deep fry a turkey.  He's actually been talking about doing this for years but since it can be costly and risky and we've rarely had to host our own Thanksgiving we've never really pursued it.  This year, however, we had some neighbors selling a turkey deep fryer with brand new oil for a really good deal so he decided to go for it.  He did all sorts of research on injecting the turkey, talked to an experienced turkey frying friend, borrowed a camp chef from a friend since the heating element was not working, etc.  He was all geared up until he poured the oil into the pan and saw a slow and steady drip of oil coming out of the bottom of said pan.  We tried to brainstorm any safe way to fix it and looked around for other pans (mere hours before we were supposed to eat) and couldn't find any good solution.  We had to, very disappointingly, scrap the whole thing, reconfigure our cooking schedule, borrow a neighbor's oven and push dinner back a couple hours. Everything ended up tasting great and we had an enjoyable time but Jared had to chop some wood to vent his frustration at the whole thing! I was thankful he was attempting to cook the turkey to begin with and grateful that when he was frustrated we have a backyard and a new axe to help him vent.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We also learned that we certainly aren't ready for a pet yet!  We pet-sat a rabbit for our neighbors who were going to be gone for the weekend and although the children were very pleased with the idea of pet-sitting and promised up and down to help they didn't deliver.  When it came down to it, guess who was the lucky one cleaning out poop and handling the animal? Yours truly.  Unless, of course, it was time to feed the rabbit treats.  Emma was thrilled to see the rabbit and would go into the sun room and clap her hands and "talk" to the rabbit throughout the day.  But the kids proved to themselves and their parents very clearly that they are not ready to be pet owners yet!  I am thankful for that :)