Thanksgiving with the Hawkes...

Our big Thanksgiving event has come and gone. It was a busy, fun and eventful weekend. The family arrived on Wednesday the 21st and stayed until the following Monday at 1:00pm. It was so much fun. We had lots of food, fun, conversation, kiddy crafts, and horse races. It was exactly as I pictured it would be. My best memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas always begin with a full house and lots of food.

Here I am slaving away in the Kitchen. Pregnant and barefoot--as they say!!

Here is a photo of the kiddy crafts

Marshall's beautiful sisters--and fabulous sister-in-laws.

A photo of Marshall's Parents

Cohen's Cousins

During their stay, we attempted to get a family photos.

This photo was taken just once, there were not second chances. Marshall was so sick he had to rush to the restroom and puke after the photo was snapped!! Plus, it was really cold outside and we all were freezing.

What a fun year of Thanksgiving memories. I can't wait for our turn to host it again.

Two and up Two no good...

Since Cohen has turned two years, it has been a humbling experience. Marshall and I used to brag about having the most perfect child. Don't get me wrong. He is still a great kid--and very close to perfect, but has been WAY more rowdy that ever.

Cohen was always a pretty mellow kid. We could ususally make through and entire sacrament meeting without having to take him outside. Last week, he spent a total of 3 minutes in the meeting--and that was 3 minutes too many!!

Here are some photos of him getting caught in the act of being "naughty!"

Cohen took the "Family Size" bag of Cheetos and dumped them on the table.

Cohen got a hold of my ink pad and went to town on his face!

He makes it is so hard for us to get mad at him. As soon as Marshall or I start using our stern voices, Cohen turns up the charm. He will ask for hugs and kisses and give us the sweetest most innocent smile. He does all this in hopes that we will forget why we are mad. The worst part--is that it WORKS!!! Oh, the terrible twos!

Halloween Trunk or Treat

On Friday, October 26th we went to the annual Louisville 6th Ward Trunk or Treat. This year they also combined this activity with a Chili Cookoff. It was a lot of fun. Cohen was not sure about his costume until we got to the church and he saw the other kiddos in their costumes.

Cohen met up with his good pal Livvy Mortensen in the gym, and they would not stop running. All of the other kids had left the gym and were outside in the parking lot "trick or treating." Not Cohen and Livvy. They stayed inside to keep running and screaming. Finally Wayne Mortensen and I had to grap the kids and drag them outside.


Once outside, Cohen was quick to get a hang of it. After 2 or 3 tries, Cohen had the "treat" and "thank you" down pat. It was so cute.

Deb and Little Dame come to Louisville...

Our friends Deb Dame and her daughter McCall Dame came to Louisville to visit for the first time. We had a fun few days going to the Gap Clearance Center, Cheesecake Factory, St. Matthews Mall, and Six Flags.

Cohen and McCall got along--most of the time. After a couple of days with the Hawkes family, McCall quickly learned how to say, "No pushing Cohen!!" Sometime she would just see him and shout, "No pushing!"

We ate so much good food. Deb is a fantastic cook, and made us lots of yummy caramel! Here are the kids eating a Ritz-Butterfinger Carmel Sandwich (it sounds weird--but was SO tasty). She also cooked Beef Stroganoff for Sunday dinner. I didn't have to do a thing! I sat and sipped a Diet Dr. Pepper while she cooked. It was great.

Here are photos of the kids getting their faces painted at the Haunt Fest in Six Flags. We met the Mortensen's there at the Park and trick or treated with Livvy!

You just can't bet Fall weather, Halloween, good friends, good food and good fun! See you in Dallas Dames!!

Cohen's 2 Year photo shoot...

A couple days before Cohen's birthday, I decided to take him into "Walmart's Picture People" to get professional photos taken. He usually takes great photos--with no problems. This time was different.

He would not hold still, he did not want to smile, and all he wanted was to run around the studio. He started being very difficult and crying. The photo attendant kept asking me if I wanted to reschedule. This only made me even more flustered. No, I don't want to reschedule!! We are here now, lets just take the dang picture. For all the trouble we had, I think the photo turned out OK.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

This cute little phrase seems to best describe my existence these days. I really don't have too much going on, but seem to always be a step behind!

Most especially I have lost my "blog-a-rhythm." When I first started blogging, I was good about updating posts and posting on others blogs. I even accused my sister of being a lazy blogger for not updating her blog for 3 weeks!! My, how the tables have turned! All I can do is repent and move one. I have a couple of new posts ready. So, stay tuned...