Rip that sucker out

When Eli puts his mind to something, boy. He wanted his 2nd front tooth out and I felt it and thought, no, this is going to be a little bit before it can come out.

1 gallon of blood later, he proved me wrong.

It was disgusting the amount of blood. These pictures were after he cleaned up a bit.

20 minutes and it was still bleeding.

Commentary from sisters included:
OMG he ate ELLA!!!

I feel like I'm in the shining right now.

He's a vampire, yet he's not sparkling.

We should take family Christmas pics now.

The tooth fairy had been bougie and took a couple nights on the first tooth he lost. So this time around he got a cool lego dinosaur set.

He was thrilled.

Loving the new stove

It's amazing how with time things improve. The oven and stovetop are so much more efficient than our old one. Is the lesson things die and you just replace them? Or is the lesson be patient and good things will come?

Maybe there is no lesson other than to be a good parent like my dad is to me.

Thanks will never cut it Papa.

So glad to not be alone at dinner time with the kids and have Papa there.

When the oven breaks.... Happy Thanksgiving!!

My oven broke. The day before Thanksgiving.

Such a blessing it wasn't the day of!!!!

Small miracle. And will take it!

Of course, dad fixed the situation.

And got me a new oven/stove.

Because he's the best dad on earth.

And I'd be literally dead if it wasn't for him.

He's my calm. And my sanity. And my very best friend. And the list goes on and on.

He also volunteered his kitchen and home. 

Sigh.

I love to cook in his kitchen. 

It's heaven.

THERE IS SO MUCH ROOM!!!!!!

We made way too much food as usual.

But at least there were plenty of leftovers!!

I do so love vegetables. I think I had one teeny tiny piece of turkey (which was delicious & very moist). And then gorged on desserts.

The scale has not been pretty this week.

Ugh.

But I did run my fastest mile 7 min 53 seconds... so the weight gain was definitely a motivator and worth it!! HA!!! GOAL MET!!!! Under 8 minute mile badass.

The crew. The family. The joy.

So sad that Yiayia Sofia, Theo Speedo, and Aunt Valerie couldn't make it.

Transitioning Yiayia to their home has been a big adjustment, but everyone is hanging in there. I admire them so very much for taking such good care of her.

That's a whole different post though.

Corn & mashed potatoes. Really Eli?

Desserts! My first attempt at Baklava was a miserable fail. Still edible, but I did learn... smaller walnuts & more of them!! Less filo on top and triple the syrup.

I loved using chargers this year. 3 people were going to use them as plates!! Ha!! We're getting fancy folks.

We watched the UNR game (win!!!), the Cowgirls, and the girls squirreled away watching the office on the computer.

We attempted to play catch, but it was freezing outside!!

Jody had good news with weight loss! Down 25!!

Numbers not important though, just to feel healthy!!

 Tobi has a new boyfriend and we all agreed he was very nice. They are a great match!

While I cooked Papa was stealth Christmas ninja and got his beautiful tree up. May the magic of Christmas begin!!

Such a lovely night with lovely people. Extremely blessed and I thank God every single day.

We'd be nowhere and nothing without Heavenly Father.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Veteran's Day Parade

It was so cold!! 

We have so many family and friends that serve in the military. We are so blessed by their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their family.

Downtown Reno is adding lots of murals and art. It's fun.

Wonky Santa.

And the great divide. Done fairly and without squabble.

I saw a man wearing a "Black Rifles Matter" shirt.

Reno.

You are scary.

Meet & Greet Turkeys

It was a beautiful day with lots of people at Rancho San Rafael park! 

Riding tractors, searching for bugs, making turkey hats... and meeting our Thanksgiving Dinner!!!
GUILT!!!!

The turkeys were so nice and soft. They did peck a couple of kids, but not mine so I didn't have a problem with them.

These were all Tom turkeys.

We made bird feeders and played in their play room. Eli can always make a new friend or two. Such a happy little guy! Ella loved dress up and making me tea and pancakes.

I love the turkey's eye in this picture. Classic.

To end our perfect time together, we had a leaf fight!! We jumped in piles and the kiddos covered me!!! Like at the beach but instead of sand, leaves!!

Such a happy day together.

The big girls were with friends at Grocery Outlet!!