Sharing is over-rated

I was sitting at the computer quickly catching up on a few things.  McKenna was sitting behind me with a BIG box of Wheat Thins (the kind you buy at Costco).  She had one bag.  Suddenly, I realized she wasn't behind me...panic sets in when you begin imagining all the places you are about to find 6,000 crackers.  Instead, this is what I found:

 

McKenna had plopped herself on the family room floor.  She was sitting next to the couch.  Parker was on the couch and he had apparently gotten the other bag of Wheat Thins out.  Both were very comfortable and happy.  Sharing is TOTALLY over-rated!

The U.S. Botanic Garden

We spent part of yesterday (Saturday) at the United States Botanic Garden.  We also did this Thanksgiving Weekend of last year.  (See http://thedastrupdish.blogspot.com/2009/11/great-thanksgiving-weekend.html )  Last year's theme was "fairies" and they had numerous trains circling around the plants and displays.  This year's theme focused on "wonders and icons around the world."  There were not as many trains, but we did recognize the "caterpillar" from last year and, of course, "Percy" from "Thomas the Tank Engine."  All buildings are made out of acorns, nuts, twigs, bark, etc.

The U.S. Supreme Court:

Inside the East Gallery-The Garden Railway:

Petra, Jordan:

Taj Mahal, Agra, India:

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France:

White Heron Castle, Himeji, Japan:

Machu Picchu, Peru:

Learned how to put this particular plant "to sleep."  The kids rubbed the leaves and the branch relaxed:

McKenna taking everything in:

Allison, Madison and Parker in front of the bear:

The U.S. Capitol with all the gorgeous plants and flowers:

Inside the jungle, which has more than one level (you can barely see Allison peeking through the railing):

The Botanic Gardens sit at the base of Capitol Hill.  As we were coming out, this is what it looked like at sunset:

Thanksgiving

It has been fun to have a "younger" child around the house who is learning new holiday songs to sing at home and making all the cute preschool crafts.

This is us around the table for Thanksgiving.  This year the turkey weighed 25 lbs.  Sarah also made: mashed potatoes, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, crescent rolls, grape salad, Berry Cherry Salad, and cranberries.  Sarah also made pumpkin, pecan, chocolate chiffon pies and had the help of Marie Callender's Razzleberry Pie.  Sarah's aunt Cari joined us:

Allison took this picture of us sitting around the table later in the evening.  Jesse, Kelly and Chris had joined by then.  It was fun to sit around the table talking and grazing on more food until late into the night.

We've been working on things that we are thankful for.  Allison, Madison and Parker each named one thing each day, so far.  Allison is on a school theme, Madison is on a nature theme, and Parker talks a lot about simple things (body, etc.) or his toys.

A Day Out With Thomas

The kids knew we were taking a trip.  We were smart enough not to tell them where we were going.  On Thursday, we gave them a clue.  That clue was "Pennsylvania."  We did have to answer to the fact that "No, we are not going to Hershey Park.  And, it's too cold anyways."  On Friday night, in the hotel, we gave them one other clue.  That clue was that Parker was going to need this:
(Parker got a conductor hat, lanyard and whistle.  He is appropriately fashioning his Thomas pajamas.)

We drove up to Strasburg, PA, a charming town in the middle of Amish and Mennonite country to have a wonderful day and ride with Thomas the Tank Engine.  He was even pulling up to the station just as we were arriving to park.

While we waited for our ticket time, the kids tried out the Cranky Cars:

Then, it was time for our ride:

We got out and went up front to meet Thomas:

Tried the Handcar and rode a miniature train:

Rode a regular train and ate lunch on it:

Met Sir Toppom Hatt:

Did some shopping and left very happy:

These

She won't wear bows and headbands, but she will wear these...

Ice is Nice

The girls decided not to do dance again this year.  Instead, they've chose to try a few classes in other areas.  So, we've started out with ice skating lessons.  They have ended now and both girls decided that they liked them.  They were quite wobbily and tipsy at first, but as you can see from the video's, they have greatly improved!

Happy Halloween!

Another great year of fun! Allison was a "Ranger Apprentice" (from a book series she likes), Madison was "Fancy Nancy", Parker was a ghost, and McKenna was "Minnie Mouse."

This was McKenna's first year aware that something was going on. Next year, she'll probably have the hang of it and have it figured out.

 

We did the traditional carving of pumpkins:

The seasonal baking:

And, the annual "candy count"...but by weight.
Combined trunk or treating on Friday=9 lbs. 1 oz.
Allison on Halloween=6 lbs. 8 ozs.
Madison=5 lbs. 3 ozs.
Parker=1 lb. 13 ozs.
McKenna=0 lbs. 2 ozs.
(Which was a good indicator of the attention span, too.)

Happy Halloween!

Another friend to visit with

We were blessed to have another friend visiting the area and so excited that she had a little bit of time to share with us.  This is our friend Nadine.

Jeremy and I met Nadine at two very different times.  Here's our great story.  Jeremy came home from his mission in 1992 and went back to college, but at Ricks College.  He also joined the Idaho National Guard at this time.  Nadine was already in the NG.  They were in the same unit.  They did not particularly care for each other at this time (insert laugh). 

Nadine went off  on active duty, met her husband there, married, had three boys...

Jeremy finished college, met and married Sarah, went on active duty, had two girls...

Here's one important piece of information:  Nadine was not a member of our religion, neither was her husband, Kevin.  However, in 2003 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, our lives were intertwined.  Both Kevin and Jeremy had been stationed here at the same time.  In May, after Sarah gave birth to their second child/girl, she returned to church.  This particular day was also the first day that Nadine and her family were there, with the missionaries, investigating our church.  She recognized Jeremy and questioned Sarah to figure out if he was the same person.

Her family did join our church, and a year later, Sarah and Jeremy were privileged to be at the temple with them and their boys!  We've been friends ever since!

We picked Nadine up for dinner and then walked around the Mall.  These pictures were at the World War II Memorial.