Thanksgiving in Corvallis

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Corvallis, Oregon to visit Jake's sister Angie and her family. Traveling was "terrific" and it took 12 hours to get to their home (it should only have taken 9 at the most, at one point we went 1 mile in 20 minutes). The kids were so relieved to get there and Clara (who is 9 weeks younger than Ella) was waiting up so patiently to see her cousins.

Thanksgiving dinner was great! The food was delicious and there was plenty of it. I want to add a disclaimer, no food was wasted on Grant's plate, he ate every bite. After dinner we participated in a Butler family tradition, a pinata. This was our kids first pinata experience and they loved it! Each child got a chance to whack the pinata and they dove for that candy and the toys.

On Friday we headed to a local bounce house where we all worked off our Thanksgiving pounds. The kids ran around like crazy for an hour and wore the parents and Grammy Shar out! Paislee had fun making new friends, Ella was all over the place, and Grant was hesitant at first and then had a blast once he figured it all out.

The weather was really nice, lots of sunshine and the kids spent a lot of time outside playing. We also took them for a walk through a local wetland, it's amazing how green everything is there and a nice change from this desert climate.

We spent a lot of time just visiting, playing the Wii, and hanging out. For Kenyon's birthday Jake, Kenyon, Angie and I went and saw Twilight, I'll keep it brief....I was disappointed!

We are so lucky to have so much family to celebrate the holidays with. Thank you Kenyon and Angie for welcoming us into your home, feeding us well, and entertaining us thoroughly, we love you guys!

A Hannah Montana Party

For Paislee's 8th birthday party we had a Hanah Montana bash. Honestly, an easy theme and one that kept the girls entertained non-stop for an hour and a half. We started off with Hannah coloring pages while we waited for everyone to arrive.

They played hot potato with a microphone. I thought that they would pretend to sing to the Hannah songs that were playing while they passed it around, instead it was seriously get this out of my hand as fast as possible, throwing it at each other. Ella was the hot potato champion!

Paislee and our neighbor girls Ally and Jordan.

And finally we ended with a quiet episode of Hannah's latest adventures on the TV. I'm not sure how many of you get to watch this in your homes but it's pretty funny, however Miley Cyrus seems to be growing up a lot faster than my girls (she just got her drivers license last week on the show) and I'm not sure how much longer it will be appropriate for my kids to watch.

One of their favorite activites was decorating their own cupcakes with purple and pink frosting and sprinkles, but hands down was making their own body glitter. We used cute little metal jars with glass lids, filled them 1/2 way with Aloe Vera Gel and then let them add their own glitter and stir it up. It worked really well, the girls love slathering themselves up with the stuff.

Sometimes I think, poor Grant, but he slept through the pink and purple, the glitter and the giggles. He did get a cupcake though, food makes him so happy.

The "Big Bear" Battle

We have a new resident in the Mitchell household...meet Big Bear!

Jake's Aunts, Terri and Susie, made this big guy for his second birthday many years ago and he's been a large part of the family ever since. Jake and his siblings would use him as a security blanket when they were sick. Sharon would strap him into a seatbelt and take him to the school for their Teddy Bear Picnics, he always turned heads.
I've been told over the last three years that he would end up at my house. As you can see he is kind of ginormous and doesn't really fit in with my decor, so I resisted. Really resisted, saying that he would end up in not so friendly places if he made his way to our home. Circumstances have changed, Jake's Grandma moved into as assisted living home this past weekend and Big Bear became homeless, then he snuck himself into the trunk of Jake's car and into my house when I needed the trunk for groceries. The girls used him as a pillow to watch a movie last night and tonight they've been climbing all over him. Ella learned a new song today at preschool (to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot"): I'm a little Indian on the go, here is my arrow, here is my bow, when I'm out a hunting here me shout, BEAR AND BUFFALO, YOU BETTER WATCH OUT! We've been stalking Big Bear and shooting our pretend arrows at him while we shout (at the top of our lungs).

And I've learned that he is an excellent way to take out frustrations; the atomic elbow, round house kicks, pile drivers, frog splashes. Jake just shakes his head and chuckles quietly, I guess we've come to a stalemate.