November

Highlights from November:

• Running the Las Vegas Ragnar with Will and my two sisters and some other really awesome people.  We ran, we ate, we cheered each other on, we spent 20+ hours together in a van, we slept a little bit but not very much, we became drunk-tired, hilarity ensued...basically the typical Ragnar experience, only better because no one did anything weird or gross.  Unless you consider it weird or gross to eat nothing but candy corn and peanuts for meals AND snacks...because someone might have done that. I should mention, with gratitude, that this experience was made possible by my parents coming down from Boise to babysit, and the long-suffering husbands of Joanne and Lorraine, who watched the kids all weekend whilst we trotted around the Las Vegas Valley. Four adults vs. nine kids under the age of 7. Bless their hearts. 

Each sister with her respective nickname. On the other side of the van we wrote the names of the other teammates: "Chief," (Will) "Lollie" (Laura, our Relief Society President and Tour-de-Force) "Slim Jim" (The extremely likeable and very tall Parley)

I love doing Ragnar with Will. It's like a 48-hour date; and sometimes it's the first opportunity we've had in months to finally talk about everything that we need to talk about. And when he's around I always have someone to get things out of the back of the van for me when it's cold outside. 

Will receives the baton (slap bracelet) from Tonya. The weather was a little schizophrenic, hot then cold then hot again, hence the lack of commitment to the jacket. 

Sisters, sisters, never were three more devoted sisters...Are you hearing Rosemary Clooney's voice in your head?

Part of the fun of Ragnar is seeing other team names and how they decorated their vans. This is apparently an homage to "Arrested Development," which I have not seen. The subtitle is "There are literally DOZENS of us..."  It seems like it WOULD be funny, if I understood the reference.

This picture is actually from the Twilight Red Rock, a race I ran with Will and my running-est pal Steph in September. It was six miles and something like 1100 feet elevation gain. Steph kicked my trash, and also won this truly delightful piece of pottery of indeterminate use. Candle holder, perhaps?

• It has become a tradition that Ragnar weekend is followed by a trip to Disneyland; Disneyland always beckons when all the cousins are together in Las Vegas and Baca and Grandpa are there for extra adult supervision. The logistics can get a little bit complicated: which ride should be next, who should go, who should stay with babies, who should sit with whom, when we should eat, where we should eat, what we should eat, who gets to sit by whom when we eat, whose turn is it to push the stroller, whose turn is it to ride in the stroller, and so on and so on...but it's always worth the effort.  Right off the bat, things didn't go smoothly when Lori and Sean had to stay home with a sick baby, and I made a foolish decision to pack clothes in the dark, so Antonia ended up at the gates of Disneyland with only shoe. It was very fortunate that Disneyland gift shops are chock full of many reasonably-priced, good-quality clothing items which would be a good investment under any circumstances, and are sure to become wardrobe staples. 

In line for "Star Tours," for Charlie's second time, and my first. He had lots of helpful tips, as well as warnings. "It's going to get really loud, Mom, but it's not real." Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. 

Disneyland tip: the Wishing Well is a great place to see princesses and characters. Instead of walking through the castle, follow the path to the side that takes you into Fantasyland. We almost always saw a character there, and we *almost* always were too lazy to get a picture...

Spinning crazily and being flung about mercilessly? Exactly Antonia's cup of tea. I was not a bit surprised when she picked this ride as her #1 choice. She giggled and grinned and squealed with as much zest as I expected her to, while Charlie kept asking when it would be over.  

• Thanksgiving week we drove to Idaho, leaving on Monday instead of Wednesday like we usually do. As car rides have become more, um, exciting, with three kids, we try to make them count. Will took Tuesday and Wednesday off so that we could stay in Idaho for at least five days. Five days is almost long enough to forget about the whining and wailing and not sleeping that occurred on the drive TO Boise. 

The "special" table. Eve attempted to sit in Dorothea's seat, the little usurper. Then, right after I took this picture, she made a carefully-timed grab for Charlie's jello, and WAILED when she was denied. She can be pretty dramatic when she is denied food, or pretty much anything.

Dorothea got her seat back, Eve was relegated to the high chair. Sitting at the "special" table is a privilege, not a right :) 

I love these seven-year-olds and their catawampus teeth. That combination of baby teeth and adult teeth, in some stage of falling out or coming in, is so comical and so endearing. 

Light sabers dominated playtime. In this instance, we were being treated to a "show" of some kind, although I'm not sure I could really give much of an explanation of what we witnessed, other than to mention that I believe we saw some VERY authentic Jedi swordplay. 

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Eve loved to look out this window by the front door and watch the kids play in the cul-de-sac.

The Hall family tradition on Thanksgiving is that we all fill out several slips of paper with things for which we are thankful, and then we take turns reading them aloud and trying to guess who wrote what. Bryan and fam were not able to join us on Thanksgiving day, (but came to town the next day) so I texted him and Brittany the thankful notes as we read them, so they could guess as well. Which is why I have a record of them, to share a few with you: (if you know us well enough, you might be able to guess)

   --I am thankful for a husband more intelligent than myself (not always right, but discerning and wise.)
   --I am thankful for candy.
   --I'm grateful for a loosely-sketched plan for my future.
   --I am grateful that each day if I am feeling down, it is only a matter of minutes before one of my children makes me smile and cheers me up.
   --I'm thankful for parents who continue to be knowledge-seekers and horizon-broadeners.
   --I am thankful for teachers.
   --I am grateful for a humble husband who loves his children and is kind and the opportunity I have to mother my children.
  --I am grateful for all the people who have gone before and recorded the lessons they learned.
  --I'm thankful for a job in the field I studied in college.
  --I'm thankful for presidents.

• Since the Christmas season officially starts at our house the day after Thanksgiving, it's no big deal that our ward Christmas party was actually held in November. (I can think of a few sticklers who won't start the Christmas festivities until December 1st. The poor fools.) I always engineer coordinating outfits for the whole family for this Christmas party, because I know full well it may be the only time in 12 months that we'll have our picture taken together in a civilized setting. 

Breadsticks? Made from white flour? 

What is this manna from heaven?! 

And there it is: the picture we would put on our Christmas cards if we even did Christmas cards.