It's A Bird, It's A Train, NO? It's A Blog Post!

Ok.  So, here's the deal.  When I write for this blog, I don't make any money.  I do not have deadlines.  No one is counting on me to deliver a draft by a certain time.  Therefore, it gets put on the back burner while I put together my other blog stuff.  It makes me sad though, when I pull up my Good Life Blog, and it has been two months since I have posted!  So, here is an update.  Off the clock.

January is almost over.  Good riddens in my opinion.  It has been cold and snowy.  In one of my moments of boredom, I decided it was time to paint the kitchen.  There has been a spot in our "cut out" wall that was cracked, and so, Cord agreed to fix it and then I would paint.  Well....things have snowballed.  (Like that winter reference there?)

Paint in the kitchen, turned into painting most of the main level of the house and the hallway and entryway.  Then, it turned into a new chandelier.  Because, "Who wants an old chandelier with new paint?"  Then, the project continued to expand to new carpet!  YAY!  The old stuff really didn't match the new paint color.  Did I do that on purpose?  Of course not.  ;)

**I need to give a big shout out here to little Ollie because I always said I would wait to get new carpet until my baby is potty trained.  Well, I really wanted to get the show on the road.  So, Oliver and I had a nice chat about big boy underwear and he decided to humor me.  The little man figured out the potty training bit in just a few short days.  It was almost too easy.  He must have wanted new carpet too! **

And if you are going to go to ALL the trouble of paying for new beautiful soft clean carpet it would be a shame to lay it against old short baseboards.  So, I batted my eyes (and begged and begged) and Cord agreed to change out all of those too.  What a good sport!!

So, what does this lead to?  I have a giant list!  Hopefully, new tile in the entryway, new blinds, and a bedroom set for the boys.  You know, just a few little things like that.  Here is hoping for a bigger than average tax refund!

Three cheers to Cord and my Mama who are making all my dreams come true.

All of the remodeling has really made January fly.

We are just gliding along in this lovely life of ours.  The girl's are getting ready for their upcoming dance competitions. They are learning a duet.  It is going to be adorable if we don't end up killing each other before they get to perform.  My idea of practicing is a little bit different than theirs.  I am sure the LOVE having a mom as their dance teacher.

The kids are all doing well in school.  They seem to have good friends and amazing teachers.  I am still trying to figure out how to get everyone's homework done and spelling tests studied for and all that jazz.  It is a lot of work managing a bunch of elementary school students.  Especially, when all I want to do is go on vacation!  :)

So far 2016 has been a good year.  I am resolving to to more Pro Bono blogging here over the next few weeks.  It is good for me and I want my kids to be able to read about how awesome their childhood was...

Giving Thanks

I have discovered the perfect recipe for a good Thanksgiving Day.  It combines all the best ingredients to a festive and fun filled day.  It is a FAMILY recipe, but I am happy to share it with you.  
A Perfect Thanksgiving Holiday
Recipe by:  Adelle Belnap

1 Lazy Morning
4 Cute Kids
A Glimpse of The Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1 Paper Turkey Stuffed with New Pajamas
6 Cinnimon Roll Turkeys
5 Inches of Freshly Fallen Snow

Combine these ingredients together and let them simmer for about 4 hours.  Then add:

2 Cream Pies
48 Hot Rolls Fresh from the Oven
2 Jello Raspberry Salads with Pretzels and Whipped Cream Cheese

Pack these items into the car for 15 minutes and head over the mountain and through the fields to Uncle Ryan's house.

Snack on items from the veggie tray and much a few crackers with cheese.  Be careful not to get too full.  Watch as the house slowly fills with people, laughter, savory smells, and tasty treats.  Once everyone has arrived and the feast is ready, have everyone join hands in a giant circle and say a prayer for all of the blessings in your life.  Then, eat.  Do it slowly so you can really enjoy it.  Try not to be sad when you get full way too fast.

Once the feast is finished, add:

16 Cousins Playing
1 Walk Around The Neighborhood
2 Hours of Sledding
Another Log on the Fire

While the day turns into night, take time to play a few games as a family, take pictures, and listen to Grandpa play Christmas songs on the piano.  If you are lucky, add the grandkids singing along.

Once you belly's begin to have room, put out the pies.  Whip fresh cream for the pumpkin pie.  Warm up the apple pie and cover it with a scoop of ice cream.  Fight for a slice of chocolate cream.  Again.  Eat slowly and enjoy.

Finish the evening with a few rounds of shuffleboard.  If your kids beg to have a giant cousin sleepover party, say yes.

And before you climb into bed that night, take a few minutes to thank Heavenly Father for the perfect day and for the tremendous amount of love and happiness in your life.  Then, climb under your warm covers and snuggle with your best friend.

 

Little People Party

When I grow up I want to be like my mom.  She is such a good grandma and mama!  She knows how to make the kids feel special and loved.  I am so grateful for her and for all the service she gives our family.  She is the best!  Dad is pretty awesome too.  He and Ollie have a special bond.  It must be the "George" thing.  He makes sure to have treats in the candy dish and of course, Ollie knows that he can always watch a show or two on Grandpa's iPad!  Oliver is always asking to go and see Grandpa.  (and Coach.)

My parents have started giving the grandkids Christmas experiences, instead of presents on Christmas morning.  Yesterday, the little grandkids got their turn for some Christmas fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

My mom set up the table nice and fancy and festive.  She made a beautiful Italian dinner with mac and cheese, lasagna, salad, and loaves and loaves of fresh french bread.  It was tasty!  The kids got a little bit wild at the dinner table.  But, they sure had fun playing with their Santa napkin holders and using real silverware.  The knives were especially entertaining.

After dinner, she handed out adorable artist smocks for the kids to wear.  She made them all out of cute dinosaur fabric and a special birdie fabric for Pepper.  The kids put on their new smocks and they did some finger painting.  It was a creative mess.  I thought it was interesting to see how the kids started out pretty timid.  They would dip one or two fingers in the paint at a time.  By the end, their hands were completely covered with the stuff!

Cord painted a picture of his bike.  

I think he likes me almost as much as his bike.  :)

Next, we decorated Christmas cookies.  The kids all frosted their cookies and then covered them with all sorts of fresh cut fruit.  They were tasty!

All little cousins are wild little things, but they sure love being around each other and playing together.  I am so glad that Ollie and Gage have such good little friends to party with.

They got to open a fun little gift from under the Christmas tree.  Gage got an awesome dinosaur art book.  He has been playing with it all day!  Ollie got a box of cute dinosaur magnets.  They were both very happy with their gifts.

On the way home, Gage said, "Mom, that was a GREAT party!"  I had to agree.  We are having a very Merry Christmas.  

Cute Stuff

A lot of our days are filled with school, homework, dance, and cleaning.  Basic "life" stuff.  There are always little things that the kids say or do to make our everyday life funny or meaningful.

The other day we had a giant rain storm.  It was literally pouring.  Oliver walked over to the sliding glass doors in the kitchen, looked outside, and exclaimed, "Mom!  It's raining tacos!"

Gage came home from school the other day and said to me very seriously, "Mom.  I need to tell you something.  There were six girls chasing me at recess."  He is quite the ladies man.  ;)

Natalie wrote a passage in her homework page about something she was good at.  She chose dance.  In her writing she said that, "Her mom inspired her to do dance."  It was just so cute and made me feel happy.  I love being her mom and dance teacher!

Yesterday, we went on a hike as a family.  Libby and Gage were in the front of the pack.  They walked down the path with their arms over each other's shoulders.  They were chatting and laughing like best friends.  It was so adorable.

Oliver woke up the other morning and immediately found his "babies" (stuffed bear and stuffed dog twins)  I heard him making a conversation between them.

Ollie:  Good morning babies.

Babies:  Hi Daddy.

Ollie:  I missed you.

Babied:  We missed you too.

Libby and I went to a mommy daughter date at the church a few nights ago.  We dressed up in matching pajamas!  We had dinner and made treat bags so we could watch Cinderella.  The moms were asked to write a nice note for their daughter for her Faith in God binder.  I wrote a little note to Libby telling her how wonderful she is and told her how much I love her.  She read the letter and then said, "Mom.  That's a really nice letter."  She turned to her best friend, Alyse and said, "Alyse,  you have GOT to read this!"  I could tell she felt pretty special.  She is an amazing little girl.  It was fun to have some one on one time with her.  

The day that we got the snow, I went out on the deck and sketched the word "snow" in the snow.  Gage and Natalie walked outside to see the snowfall and the came in yelling, "Mom, mom!  An elf wrote a word in the snow!"  They truly believed it was magic. We put on some Christmas music and had hot chocolate with little marshmallows and celebrated the change of seasons.

Gage brought a gratitude turkey art project home from school.  He wrote on each of the turkey feathers one thing that he was grateful for.  There were four things: The world, his body, food/fruit, and Jesus.  Isn't that just the sweetest?  

I am sure there are so many more things I could write.  I just love being a mom.  I love having my house full of noise, and hugs, and tiny voices.  This is a good season of life.   

Our Halloween

It snowed this morning.  I am not sure if the skiff of white dust on the rooftops qualifies truly as snow, but we are taking it!  It is so exciting to have the change of seasons.  But, before we switch gears to turkeys and sleigh bells, I want to write about our amazing Halloween season.  It was one of my favorites!

This post is more like a saga.  There is so much to tell.  I hope you don't get "scrolling finger" after reading it all.  :)

Dennis Family Halloween Party

Cindee hosted our Halloween party this year.  She made things very festive.  Everyone brought amazing food for dinner.  We had soups, salad, fresh bread, fruit, and fun Halloween sides.  Of course, Mom made spudnuts!  Our mouths were treated well.

After dinner we had some classic Halloween Games for the kids to play!  

Jenn brought "Don't Eat The Spook!"  We have played this awesome game almost every year since I was a little person.  The kids loaded up on the candy.  Pepper did not appreciate everyone yelling at her to not eat the spook.  It was too spooky.  But, everyone else seemed to get a kick out of it.

I put on my witches hat and did a little magic for the kids.  We added all sorts of creepy ingredients to the pot like: pond water, bug slime, spiders, dragon blood, pixie dust, bone powder, and werewolf fur.   We turned it all into a bubbly magic potion with the chant, "Grow, Grow, Bubble and Pop!  Grow, Grow, Do Not Stop." 

It is always fun to see everyone's costumes and to hang out with the fam.

Here are all the girls!

And...the BOYS!

I like to think I belong in this age group.  ;)

I kept telling everyone that I wore my skinny shirt to the party.  It makes me look all skin and bones.  Well, just bones actually.

All in all, it was a spooktacular night!  Love these people.

Ward Halloween Carnival

I have to give a shout out to our ward Halloween Carnival.  The girls and I were supposed to go to dance instead of the party.  But, Libby and Nat were dying to attend the carnival and I couldn't make them miss it.  So, I got a last minute sub for my class and we joined Cord and the boys at the church.  It was pretty much everything you would expect from a ward party.  Food, friends, and fun.

This cute little lady is Olivia.  She and Gage are in the same primary and kindergarten classes.  She is always following Gage around and giggling at him.  I think they have a bit of a crush going on.  It is seriously adorable!  She picked a good one.  

School Parties

I signed up to help with Gage and Natalie's class parties this year.  I love being at the school to celebrate with the kids.  It is so much fun.  On the party day, the whole school had a big costume parade.  Ollie and I went over to watch.  It is entertaining to see what people come up with for costumes. There are always some super creative ones. 

Here is our neighborhood crew before I took them all down to school.  

After the parade, we came home for a quick lunch break and I gathered all the party supplies.  I decided I had better dress myself up a bit before heading down to the school again, so I messaged my neighbor to see if I could borrow some face paint.  She gave me something better!  A whole new face.  :)  It was fun to walk around looking like a cheetah. 

The parties were fast and crazy.  I did my witches brew for the kindergartners.  They were so cute!  Then, we made glow in the dark slime with Natalie's class.  The slime was super messy, but it was fun.

Carving Pumpkins

This year we carved pumpkins for the very first time as a family.  Cord bought a tiny carving kit that made things so easy.  I cleaned out most of the pumpkin guts.  Who knew the kids would hate pulling the slimy stuff out of the pumpkins?  It is fun!  I couldn't believe how amazing the pumpkins turned out.  Everyone did their own and they were all so unique and fun.  When we turned the lights off to show the glowing faces, we all cheered.  I think we are finally old enough to do the whole carving tradition.  

Gage drew this cute picture onto his pumpkin.  I love how ambitious he was.  We ended up not being able to carve this pumpkin because it was so thick and hard.    

Natalie carved, "I love Halloween" onto her pumpkin.  It was quite the undertaking!

We invited out neighbor friends to join our carving experience.

Aren't they fun?!

Libby: Bat Ghost, Natalie: Halloween, Cord: Owl, Gage: Frankenstine, Brooke: Kitty, Adelle: Jack-o-Lantern

Halloween Day

We had beautiful weather for Trick-or-Treating!  It was so lucky.  The Belnap crew gathered together at Brent and Lorna's house for the holiday.  

I had a cute Indian Princess.  I have to give a quick shout out to my mom for making Libby's beautiful dress.  I called my mom to see if she would go to the fabric store with me.  I wanted help finding good fabric for Libby's costume.  The next day I got a text message with a photo of Libby's finished dress!  What a nice surprise.  My mom is the BEST!!

This little lady is absolutely beautiful.

I thought it was cute that Kayla was a Cowgirl and Libby was an Indian.  And...these two look like sisters!

Natty Mae wanted to be Princess Lolly from Candyland.  I think she is just like a little candy princess.  She is bright, and sweet, and full of fun.  We had a good time with the pink hair too!

Me and my two beautiful girls.  

The boys found some stick horses at the store about a month ago.  The begged for them.  I decided they could buy the horses if they were Cowboys for Halloween.  They quickly agreed to the deal.  We have enjoyed having Pinto and Horsey around the house.

I took the boys to the fabric store and let them pick out the fabric they wanted for their cowboy chaps.  Gage and Ollie both choose some flashy awesome "snake skin" fabric.  I think they look so sharp in them!  It was a fun sewing project.  I love my cowboys.

 
This stud.

The cousins went trick or treating together.  Brent and Lorna have a great neighborhood for Halloween.  It is nice and flat.  Brent decorated the Ranger and he followed us around and offered rides to the kids.  Fun right?!

Lorna stayed at the house and handed out the candy.  Dax brought his sound equipment and he and Cord had way too much fun scaring trick-or-treaters with spooky music and creepy talk in the microphone.  

Lorna prepared a nice dinner for everyone and we the kids all decorated cute Black Cat Cookies.  They traded candy around and made deals to score their favorite kinds.  It was just a really nice evening.  There was plenty of good things to munch on, good company, and the kids were happy.  

We had a very Happy Halloween!