Thanksgiving, Christmas and plenty in between

I should be officially fired! Good thing i don't get paid to update my blog- but then again maybe i should -so i would do it!! We had Halloween. Kids were super cute. We were Tigger, pooh, piglet and Christopher Robin. November flew by and Thanksgiving was here before i could blink. It was the Fitts year and we had 36 (?) people down in Randy and Susan's basement. Randy and Susan did such a great job of cooking and Heather decorated the table beautifully. The only problem we had that day was remembering to feed the kids (oops). Everything was so good and it was so wonderful to spend time with family. That really hit on November 28th when our brother-in-law died tragically on his dirt bike. The funeral was beautiful and my sister in law has been a wonderful example in showing her testimony of the plan of salvation. It's amazing what can happen in the face of tribulation. We have spent many nights with the family; going to temple square lights, playing games (curses- is pretty funny), and marveling in the warmth of family love.







Somewhere in between all that, the kids and i celebrated Christmas with my family- Yes! all of us (well except Casey). My sis was here from North Dakota with her family and we got some good family pics along with an unbelievable Christmas dinner. We even got an early visit from Santa and he gave us all gifts. About a week after that we celebrated 5 Years together.... yes... you read that right. We have been married for 5 years.



A couple of other things we have done is see extended family for my cousins wedding and reception. Celebrated Casey's brothers wedding on November 6th. and so many things i'm sure i'll forget something.
It has been a busy time like it usually is around this time of year- but it has been family based and I am so thankful for the atonement of our Saviour Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation. M. Russell Ballard visited our Stake Conference and really focused his talk on technology and the time we spend on it - he said we should be giving the Lord equal time and focusing on following the promptings of the spirit.

Merry Christmas to all of you this time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer. I am thankful for all of you- you have all touched my life and have made me a better person for knowing you. Thank you!!

On a Witch Hunt....

Today we made the annual run to Gardner Village to see the witches and see all the cute lil shops. Here are some pics of the 'witch fun'. 6 of the cousins weren't there because of school but the younger ones had fun looking at the witches, playing the jelly belly game, and trying to fall in the pond. The moms of course got to take pics, avoid kids getting wet, and taste an ear wax, a baby wipe, and a booger flavored jelly belly (um yuck). Overall, we wore our kids out and had fun. We missed those who didn't get to come.









disclaimer- i took most of the pics and then realized my lens was super dirty and had tons of fingerprints (small ones) so sorry if the quality stinks!

Pumpkin Patch and Green Tomato Pie

Our Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip took place last monday and we had fun picking out pumpkins and going through the corn maze. Jordan liked it lots better this year, it could be because he actually got a nap in or it was warmer. For whatever reason we sure are grateful for the Hezseltines. Thanks.








They also have tractors there- so fun for the kids.







I recently made a green tomato pie and casey labeled the taste as tomato soup with cinnamon. The crust was my favorite part.



Jordan and Lexi have also been in fix-it mode so this is them fix-in! The last pic i had to throw in there- Lexi takin on her brother! haha





Just some cute chocolate pudding faces. Jord wanted me to make pudding so i fixed layers of chocolate and pistachio and then put a halloween oreo in it. It was lots better than green tomato pie and so much cuter and of course i didn't take a pic but they enjoyed it.

Farewell Fair Weather, Hello Unpredictable

Isn't life amazing! It is always throwing a curveball and especially since I liked things planned - I also like to do things spontaneously.

That is why I am loving my kids right now. Both of them are great sports when mom decides to run to the park or the store or whatever. I can't tell you they are good the whole time but it is wonderful to have 2 kids that understand what you are saying to some degree.

We have been to the zoo lots...
We went up to the cabin and stayed the weekend with 15 kids there. Saturday was fun making witch hands - the kids really enjoyed that. (I forgot my camera or it was downstairs or something)
We've spent a lil time with G'ma and G'pa Hinkle.
JR started preschool and loves it most of the time. He is like his dad however, and does better once he is there. He doesn't like getting ready for it.
Lex is starting to talk and hit her bum when she goes potty. She is saying new words ever day! She says Jordan and mommy the most but she loves to see daddy. She hums herself to sleep. She thinks she is a big girl and climbs up on the stools and then falls and just wants her momma. She is fun loving and finally turning into a cuddle bug.

The following pics are just some things i finally got around to uploading...




Lex the witch!


Jordan's 1st day of preschool - it didn't take him long to crash.



I went to go pick him up and he was so excited he couldn't stop talking after preschool.



Jordan volunteered at our ward magic night - he loved it. and all of a sudden everything is M*A*G*I*C.


G'pa & G'ma Hinkle took Jordan fishing at a trout farm. They caught our dinner and he loved it. This is all ready to be cooked.



love letters from my husband.



I love getting in the shower with this to look at it.



Lexi trying to curl up in her carseat after she crashed. Silly girl.

Knot Fun!!

How can 3 weeks be so filled with craziness? I feel like I'm ages behind... We have been working on the house - getting central air, measuring for carpet. At the cabin I have only painted our room but Casey and the boys are hard at work. Campaigning- yes it has begun and lots of meetings with that. Work, and playing hard too. One thing we were super excited about was seeing our Trek kids again. It makes me think of the song- Each life that touches us for good. It is hard to think that 2 days with them could leave such an imprint on my heart and soul. But i was so excited to see them and felt like the night ended to soon and like I hardly got to see them at all. Here are some pics of our 'ho-down'. As always, the knot family was anxious cause we were ahead of everyone else. ahh - the lessons of life...






Our Family Motto- we had so much fun!

Pre-K and Zoo time

Jordan finally started pre-school. 2x a week for 3 hrs. He was gung-ho for a while and then has recently started to tell me he isn't going. He loved getting his backpack and going the first day. It was really sad to leave him there and then when i got home I put lexi down for a nap and had loads of time to clean. It's amazing how much you can get done in uninterrupted time.



As you can tell Jordan's backpack was a little big... we did end up getting him a smaller one that fits lots better.

On off days we get to go to the library and the zoo and just have fun. This year we again decided to renew our zoo pass and go up there to see all the cute babies. My kids love the zoo! We got to see the baby elephant- Zuri, along with the meerkats, crocodile, and amur tigers. so cute!!







You can go to Hoglezoo.org to see a list of all the babies they have had this year.
And of course you can't go to the zoo without a treat... My kids are big fans of ice cream:)They get that from their great grandfather Ivan..