Sand Pies

I needed a vacation. Bad. I was stressed and snappy and in a lull and not at all myself...so I decided to take matters into my own hands, and go to Mexico. 

In my family, we always do Thanksgiving right. We divided up the meal assignments, and let everyone sign up for what they wanted to contribute to the Thanksgiving feast. My dad signed up to make the turkey, HOWEVER, when the time came to cook it, he admitted to never having cooked a turkey in his life. So Jordan came to the rescue, and we slathered it with garlic, olive oil, and all the herbs my dad brought from his garden, filled the inside with stuffing, onion, and an orange (that was my brilliant idea), and said a prayer. I'm being completely honest when I say that the turkey was the best I've ever had- it was so tender that it fell off the bone!

The turkey coming out perfectly was exactly like this.
(The Emperor's New Groove. It's on Netflix. You're welcome.)

The orange rolls were a hit, as was Kaden's pumpkin pie, which he made from scratch with pumpkins from my dad's garden (single ladies, take note).

One evening, Kaden watched all the kids for us, so we could go into town. We stopped at a churro stand, where we tried our very first caramel-filled churros, and nearly went straight to heaven right there on the boardwalk. Kyle and Jordan did their piña colada thing, where they harass the poor man mixing their drinks to discover his secrets (sugar-the answer is always sugar). And Kerrisa finally got the bowl she's been dreaming about for years.

Elle and Cambria spent hours making pies in the sand, and then bringing them inside for to us to eat. Here they are, presenting a few of their pies to us. Their pie shenanigans made cooking in the kitchen pretty interesting---whenever we couldn't find a bowl or a whisk or a spoon, we just had to check outside... in the sand. 

But look at those faces!!!!

Uncle Kaden was so sweet to take the kids on rides- they all love him so much!

The morning after Thanksgiving, the ocean was clear as glass, and perfect for catching a San Felipe favorite--trigger fish. The men pulled the kayaks down to the beach, and the kids had the most wonderful day on the water. London and Popi caught the biggest fish, and she was so proud of herself! Then the tide came in and washed the fish away from the rock it was laying on, and poor London was so sad!

The kids found a stick-bug... It died.

Our trip ended a day earlier than we planned, because Juliette almost fell off her bar stool, and Jordan slid across the room like a ninja/knight to rescue her, and broke his back. Jordan, you're our hero. 

Ruff Ruff Rescue

Elle, Henry, and Juliette are obsessed with this cute little show on Nickelodeon called Paw Patrol, where a group of puppies and their master work together to rescue anyone in trouble in Adventure Bay.  So Elle chose a Paw Patrol theme for birthday number 4, which was fine with me, because let me tell you, I'm running out of variations on the horse party.

Elle has made the sweetest little friend in her preschool class this year- and we found out when we invited their whole family over for Elle's birthday that I actually went to High School with her dad! Here are the two girls hugging after she gave Elle her birthday present. They are simply adorable together!

Maybe it's because she started preschool, or moved up to the Sunbeam class at church, or because she has suddenly embraced her roll as big sister of the twins, but I can't believe how much Elle has changed this year. She still walks on her toes, eats three apples a day, has the vocabulary of a twelve-year-old, and the biggest heart of any girl I know. She rides a horse named Bella, which is her greatest joy in life. Her imagination impresses me every day. ["Oh, no! The dragon is going to attack us with his fire balls! We have to call the Pegasus to rescue us! Follow me! Neigh!"] I can't imagine a world without her stubborn, spunky, and hilarious personality. 

And no need to worry---she's already requested a horse party for next year.