Dddy daughter night

I cant remember when this was, but I just got the pictures from it so I'll post it now. Our ward had a Daddy Daughter date night. IT was a square theme so they had Square dancing and square post it notes were a part of the decor and later a game of who could gather the most.

They also games such as limbo. I don't have a picture of it but court enjoyed telling me how when daddy did the limbo his hat fell off and he had limbo back to get it.

Court loves having date nights and any one on one time she can, so she of course had a great night out with daddy.

Markers

Brody got a hold of a marker one day........that's all I have to say about that.



Temple

While we were all together for dessert we found out that my cousin Johnathan was going to the temple for the first time in prep for his mission.  Well since this was news to all of us (Sam, Melinda, Mandi and I) we were not prepared with church clothes or anything, but we figured we could pull it together so we could be there for Johnathan.

Since Sam and Melinda had not planned on attending the temple Melinda left her temple clothes at home and with them her recommend but no problem, we figured they could call her bishop and get her verified.  As we were walking up to the entrance Mandi all of sudden realised she left her recommend at home!  OK her Bishop will also have to be called for verification...we are cutting it close on time  at this point but we think we can probably make it to our appointed time.  I hand over my recommend only to discover the date was never filled in when I renewed it last month!  Now mine must also be verified.  Sam was good to go, but hung out with us girls as we waited.  We were finally all verified and Sam had to vouch for Mandi being who she was since she had her whole purse and had no ID.  We missed Johnathan's session, but were able to see him later as he came out.  It was a crazy morning, but so good to be with family and there to lend support and love to our cousin.

Later we took the kids to see the temple lights.  They had great fun and it was beautiful as always.

Body slept through the whole thing.

Thanksgiving

Now that my brother Sam and his family live closer ( 5 hours instead of 12) They came to AZ for Thanksgiving and joined them at my sisters in Mesa.  Since our car was having troubles Sam swung by and picked up our two oldest so the rest of us could fit into our other car.  When we showed up the next morning it was obvious the kids were having a great time.  They had set up their own Big Kid table out on the patio and they even all dressed in blue or black to coordinate with their table.

 I made the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and the green bean casserole.  It was all so yummy and fun to see everyone.

 For dessert, Grandma Borgia and all the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins who live in mesa or were visiting came to Mandi's to have pie.  Again lots of fun to see everyone.

date night with some siblings

I stole this post from my sister in-law Melinda there are lots of pictures of my brother, but I didn't get any pictures and we had so much fun I was so glad she got some and did this post so that I can remember our fun nught....

Amazing Croutons...
We have so much fun with Sam's siblings when we manage to sneak in a date night without the kids! These are out of order but we went to this Marketplace in Tempe and found this really fun store called "It's Sugar," and got a kick out of all the giant candy.

Our first attempt for dinner was at a restaurant nearby but it was packed so we decided to give in and head to where the chain restaurants are. When I saw Ruby Tuesday I said "Sam, you could get the croutons you love!" and that led to a lot of teasing for Sam from the rest of the family for the rest of the evening. We ended up eating at Cadillac Ranch and got to see several people attempt the mechanical bull and also had a nice dinner even though Sam and Chad positioned themselves across from the giant screen with the football game on!

As we were leaving the marketplace Sam suddenly stopped and pulled up at Ruby Tuesday. He went in and asked the host for some croutons and they actually made him a whole fresh batch. When he came out with the croutons (and found us since we had moved the car and hidden from him) and everyone tried them, they admitted that they are good (Nicki is trying one in the picture above)! I know this story sounds a bit lame now that I am typing it, but it was really funny for those of us there and I have to type it for memories sake!
We then headed to sub zero to try out our own concoctions of ice cream! I had a really great time that evening and wish we could all do date nights more often!

turkey trot

I had no idea Court could run till I showed up to the school on the same day they were having the turkey trot and a couple moms told me they has just watched her win the 1st grade girls race...and i missed it!  Darn.  She told me she even came in before the 3rd place boy and long before the rest of the girls.  e even tripped and fell during the race

She won a $20.00 gift card to Fry's, our local supermarket, complete with electronics and toys.  She got A 3 foot tall doll and some candy.  I thought the doll was creepy and tried to talk her into something else, but she would not be swayed so she ended up with......

The sister i never gave her.  She loves to dress in different outfits and do her hair.

cookin over a fire

The kids were dying to roast hot dogs and s'mores over a fire, and they insisted we have friends join us so we invited a couple of friends and enjoyed our evening.  We got the giant marshmallows for some extra fun. Nate showed us how messy that much marshmallow can make a s'more!