Count your blessings

 

Addy had primary program at the beginning of the month.  I always love to hear her sing and share her testimony. She is my last child in primary and I'm trying to soak it all up. 

I'm grateful that Kenna has the blessing of being on a mission.  I was able to talk with her on the phone on November 10th.  I loved hearing about her experience of going to the temple in Preston England. 

I was thankful my cousin Aimee invited us to the baby blessing of her daughter Wren.  It was on Sunday November 21st.  I loved meeting and being able to hold sweet Wren! She was even wearing the same dress that Aimee was blessed in.  I love my Rosen family and any opportunity I have to be around them!

Thanksgiving day marked the one year anniversary of my grandpas passing.  Kev and I took some flowers up to the cemetery on Saturday November 27th.  I'm grateful for my grandpa and all that he taught me through his righteous example.  He is one the best men I have ever known.  I miss him everyday. 

Hayden and I were able to go visit my grandma on Sunday November 28th.  We gave her an early Christmas present.  I made her a shutterfly blanket with some of my favorite pictures of her.  I'm thankful for all the time I was able to spend with family this month!

Thanksgiving

 

I was so excited to host Thanksgiving at our new house! I remember inviting my family way back in the Summer before our house was even finished.  Parker was great about helping me in the kitchen that morning.  He has been taking a Prostart class at school this year.  He even has his own apron.  He helped me chop up the celery and onions for the stuffing. 

Kev's work gave him a gift voucher to buy a turkey.  We picked out this 22 pound Norbest one.  I need to give my awesome husband a shoutout for brining the turkey and smoking it for many hours. 

I convinced Kev to put up our new Christmas tree for Thanksgiving.  

I'm thankful to my bestie Brekke for helping me with a large share of the cooking!  You can see the beautiful view from our kitchen windows.  It was the messiest that my kitchen has ever been.  There were splatters all over my gas range top.  I remember Brekke telling me that it was just part of christening my kitchen.  I have to admit that after everyone went home I had to scrub it really good and clean before I could relax. 

I was so happy that Teenie and Peter could join us for Thanksgiving! 

It has been years since they have come home for Thanksgiving. It was also their first time seeing our new house.  It was also great having my sister Kayley there with us too. I love my sisters!  My cousin Emily and her husband Colby also came. It was fun to see Emily's cute pregnant belly.  They are expecting a baby boy in April!

Halle and Hayden both broke the wishbone.  Hayden ended up with the biggest piece.  It was a beautiful Thanksgiving in our new home! I was the most grateful for the phone call from our missionary! Kenna was able to talk with everyone that was there that day. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in England.  She and her companion did get to eat some pie that day. 

Parker's Sadies date

 

Parker got asked to the Sadie's dance on November 4th! I had pulled out of the garage and thought I saw something on the front porch.  I got out of the car and ran over to see all of this.  I immediately texted Parker and told him there was a surprise for him on our front porch. There were pictures of Zach Wilson all over.  The poster said, "Parker-Zach Wilson wants you to go to Sadie's with me! Yes or No?" He was asked by his friend Kayla.  They are both BYU fans and this was an inside joke between them.  Parker answered her with donuts and the box said, "Sadies would be a touchdown with you, YES!

They went on their date on Saturday November 20th. They went axe throwing for their day date and to dinner at JCW's.  The theme of the dance was Hollywood characters.  They dressed up as Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer from "Back to the Future".  

They both looked great in their costumes! I loved all the details Kayla put into it.  The flyer about saving the clock tower was perfect.  I'm glad that they had fun at the dance. 

Toothless

 

When I took Hayden to his first orthodontist appointment in August.  They told me that he had many baby teeth that he had to lose.  The options were to wait for his baby teeth to fall out on their own and start his orthodontic work closer to 9th grade. The other option was to get 12 teeth pulled so he could start his orthodontic work now.  He chose the second option.  On November 17th he had his appointment at the dentist. He was nervous and understandably so.  Kev also had 11 teeth pulled when he was Hayden's same age. When we got to the dentist they gave him some laughing gas.  I could tell immediately that it helped him relax. He was so brave when they gave him the many shots to numb his gums. Some of the teeth came out easier than others. You can see that some of them had short roots and the others were longer. 

Hayden received 12 dollars from the "tooth fairy".  It was the most money any of our kids have received all at once. His recovery went better than I thought it would.  He has had to eat soft foods for several days. 

Kev took this video showing the 12 holes that he has in his mouth now.  The expander will keep everything in place for when his permanent teeth grow back in. 

Dancesport competition

 

Halle participated in the Dancesport competition on Saturday November 13th. This is the Westlake Freshman team that competed that day. 

Halle competed in the Cha Cha.  It was our first time seeing her dance with her partner. 

It was my first time taking pictures at a competition.  It was hard to get good pictures of just them. It also didn't help that I was all the way across the room. 

They participated in one round.  We found out later that they were disqualified because her partner wasn't wearing the right shirt. 

We stayed and watched some of the other groups compete.  Addy came with us and loved watching too. It was fun seeing all the beautiful costumes of the varsity groups. 

We went and got a treat at the bookstore afterwards.  I was also able to get some Christmas shopping done.  I love being back on campus! It brings back so many memories from growing up in Provo. 

I love to see the temple

 

Hayden went inside the temple for the first time on Friday November 5th.  He had to wait longer than most of our kids due to the Covid-19 temple closures.  We were very grateful that Kev was able to make an online appointment!

We drove to the Draper temple to participate in baptisms.  The bonus of scheduling an appointment now means that there is not a long wait. I was reminiscing that the last time we went to this temple with the kids was the open house in 2009.  It was a beautiful experience to be there with three of our kids. The kids were able to participate in five baptisms each.  It was sweet to watch Kev baptize them.  Afterwards Halle was taking her time brushing her hair.  I told her that we better hurry because the boys are probably waiting for us. When we got to the chapel, I was surprised to see only Parker there.  He told me that Hayden was having a shower.  It was a first that we were ready before the boys. We were also able to put names on the temple prayer roll. It was sweet to see the kids writing down Mckenna's name. 

I'm glad that Hayden had such a positive experience his first time at the temple! We can't wait to go back again.