Thanksgiving Food and Family

On Thanksgiving we made rolls (and got covered with flour)

took random pictures

taste tested the olives

and played dress up with cousins (Zeke was the dragon).

It was a wonderful day of family and food and gratitude. 

Novembrrrr

It's turned frigid! I don't remember it being this cold in November before. The good news is the sun is still warm and it's not too bad when the wind isn't blowing. I've been doing my fair share of whining about the cold....but that doesn't stop us from trying to get out and about, at least a little bit! 

Gorgeous sunrise in Salt Lake. 

Nora is completely adorable in her winter wear. She loves it all. Not pictured here are her new boots, which she loves so much she wears them around the house. 

The kids are excited about winter, at least for now. They are really looking forward to playing in the snow. 

Silly cuties!

Goin' to the Zoo

We planned a fall zoo trip with Dynna and her family and Grandma and Grandpa. As it turned out, Ryan and Aaron had opposite schedules, so instead of going to the zoo together, we had to plan to go to the zoo on the same day and overlap for a couple of hours. 

It was kind of a bummer trip because we missed a bunch of animals we wanted to see. The zebras and ostriches were in the barn for the day. The otters were nowhere to be seen. So we were disappointed in the animal department. But it was wonderful weather and we enjoyed riding the carousel and the train with the rest of the group. 

The kids were super excited about the rhinos. I didn't know they liked rhinos so much! 

The seals put on a good show for anyone who would watch. They were fun. 

One highlight of the trip was the carousel. We had purchased 4 tickets, so the kids each got to go twice. Zeke was so excited to ride the zebra.

And Nora rode the ladybug. It was so dang cute. 

The kids also loved loved loved the little play area. Nora could have slid down the lighthouse all day long. 

The other highlight was the zoo train. Nora could have done that all day too. 

Fun day? Yes. Love our cousins? Yes. But maybe next time we'll just plan to go for a walk and play in the park. . . . .

Halloween Pirates, Matey

We had two awesome treasure-seeking trick-or-treaters this year. 

Zeke's costume really came together nicely. We made the vest from black fleece and it really completed the look. Plus, he had a sword. 

And Nora had her pixie dust puch, her Izzy ponytails, and her pink bandanna. 

And we had to take a picture with the funny-face gourd she made in preschool. 

We had so much fun looking for Halloween treasure. We even came home with gold-wrapped chocolate bars and ring-pop jewels fit for pirate treasure chests!

Tyler and Corinne's Open House

I have not yet posted about one of our most anticipated summer adventures - we helped Aaron's mom and dad host a wedding open house for Tyler and Corinne. 

Our major contribution was cookies. We made oh so many yummy cookies. I think I made around 40 dozen in the couple of weeks leading up to the party. We made chocolate chip, white chocolate chip macadamia, M&M, chocolate M&M, chocolate chocolate chip, and pumpkin chocolate chip.  Sadly, the white chocolate macadamia and chocolate M&M didn't make it to the open house. The white chocolate ones went to the bridal shower, and the chocolate M&M were Nora's favorite to steal. 

In addition to our cookies, we also moved a lot of tables and did a lot of setting up. It turned out beautiful. 

After all of the work was done, we went home to get ready and by some miracle got everyone shower and dressed in about 45 minutes (with only 1 bathroom). 

Then it was time to relax and enjoy. The gardens looked amazingly gorgeous, as did the bride. And we got to spend the next couple of hours chatting with friends and family and keeping the cookies and drinks refilled. 

I thought it was a perfect evening. 

Summer Ends and School Begins

We had a fun backyard fire and hot dog roast with our good friends the Staceys on the 24th of July.

Mmmm, cupcakes with pink frosting

And Nora went to her first birthday party for a friend from church.

Then school started! We're a month in and doing fine. Zeke is a 2nd grader. He likes it, and I really like his teacher.  

Nora is a preschooler. She loves it and wishes she could go everyday!

Nora's 4th Birthday

Our little missy had a fabulous fourth birthday. 

I attempted a Minnie Mouse bow on her chocolate zucchini cake. I wasn't sure if it turned out to be obviously Minnie's. But the 4-year-old girls at the party recognized it immediately, so I count it as a success :)

We sang and blew out candles very first, at Nora's request. 

Then we did presents. This sweet little bathtime baby is one of her favorites right now. 

And Zeke gave Nora her very own color-changing car. 

This sweet, fiesty, independent, snuggly little girl is such a joy. We love her thinking most everything is cute, talking incessantly, singing and dancing along with whatever music is on, and taking care of all of us when we're hurt, sick, or sad. She's growing up so fast right now, and we are so proud of her.

Natural Curiosity

While cousins were here we took a trip to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. We had tons of fun. We certainly didn't get to see or try everything so I'm sure we will be going back!

The rainforest was a hit with the kids because it was a gigantic playground. Not a hit with the parents because it was impossible to keep track of your kids, even with a 1:1 adult:kid ratio. 

Zeke loved the rope bridges. They were a little scary for him but he was a champ about it. 

Nora started on the rope bridge, backed out, decided to try again, and almost backed out again but we struggled through it. She did awesome for being really scared and having to work really hard. [Flip flops are not the optimal footwear for this sort of thing.]

We probably spent the most time in the water room. The kids had a blast at the water tables. 

Ponchos and galoshes for everyone! My kids loved the boots. 

We almost couldn't get them away from the water physics experiment. 

Then we sampled a hurricane. 

The kid-sized city was really fun. We got to play music, drive a train, and go to the bank.  Zeke is still talking about going back to spend more time in the 'drive-thru' of the bank. 

We also put on a pirate show in the theatre.

After a yummy picnic we headed into the gardens in the evening. We walked for a bit then headed back to the fountain and the playground. This was my favorite part of the day. It was more relaxed than the museum and I could just enjoy watching the kiddos making wonderful memories. The garden closed and we had to leave long before anyone was ready to be done.

Family Reunion-ing

We always look forward to the big Loertscher reunion. This year we got to spend it with cousins from out of state, as well as the cousins and 2nd cousins that live closer. 

Nora loved the water games and practically lived in her princess swimsuit. 

Riding the train is something the kids look forward to all year. 

This year we had something new - sno-cones and cotton candy. It was a hit! I had to go get my own after Nora took over the tiger's blood cone we were supposed to be sharing. After sampling all of the options she decided she liked grape the best. 

Zeke had never had cotton candy before but was so excited to try it. He loved it.