let's go to the movie...

The other night we redboxed Toy Story 3 and had ourselves a little movie party. We piled up our pillows and blankets, popped some popcorn, got some yummy drinks in our glasses, and had a good time.

Q thought she was in heaven, and it was one of those times that you think 

"yep, this is a good mom moment"

Turkey for me... Turkey for you... Let's eat the turkey in my big brown shoe

This year, for thanksgiving, we had a real treat..Mitch got to come home for a holiday!!  It's been forever since he was able to spend either thanksgiving or christmas with the family, and this year it worked out...oh it was so exciting.  We decided to have our own little Bates family get together at Jared and Lindsay's and it was a weekend full of football, food, video games, food, board games, food, movies, food, dancing, food, laughter, and yep...food.  

I was already excited about thanksgiving dinner, but when I found out that Mitch was gonna make some side dishes I was even more stoked! Just to give you an idea of how delicious it was...it took him 3 days to make the gravy. He also made a delicious brussel sprout-apple-bacon dish,  a cauliflower and onion dish (the little onions had been soaking in a sweet sauce for 24 hours), some amazing homemade stuffing with sausage, and gave the mashed potatoes enough seasoning, cream, and butter to make them magical.  

add in Lindsay's delicious sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and coconut, Kim's homemade rolls, and a perfectly prepared turkey and you got yourself a perfect thanksgiving dinner. 

For the next couple of days, along with the massive amounts of leftovers, we snacked on pumpkin cheesecake, german chocolate cupcakes, banana chocolate chip cupcakes with nutella frosting, buffalo chicken dip, artichoke and feta dip, homemade french bread, bbq pork, and other deliciousness. 

Oh I just love when the family gets together.

Everybody had such a good time hanging out.  The little girls spent a lot time playing tea party, games, or wrestling with the boys.  

Everyone was so good to Q, and I could tell that she was just having a blast!  

On friday night we got a babysitter and the adults went out to dinner without kids.  Oh it was so nice. we have never been out to dinner with just us in...forever, or ever really.  It was so fun to have a couple hours of quality conversation, food, and fun with the siblings. I have always felt so blessed that my siblings were my best friends, and I felt that even more that night. We have been through A LOT in our lives, and it has only brought us closer. I just love them.  

Saturday, while the boys watched football games, Lindsay, Kim, and I took the girls to go see "Tangled".  

It was such a cute movie!! And it was so fun to watch all the girls enjoy the movie together.

Kids had fun, Football games were exciting, board games were competitive,
dance parties were hilarious


 conversation was funny, and family time was complete. 

What a great thanksgiving. 

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

I'm not the hugest fan of the snow. I don't ski, sled, or make snowmen...so to me, snow, is just something crappy that i have to drive in. So when our little town got a snowstorm I was less than pleased. It has been soooooooooooo cold, the roads have been awful, and the snow isn't going away any time soon. 

This was our driveway the morning after the huge snowstorm. about 3 feet of snow, and no way to get out! After a few phone calls, we got a friend with a tractor to come out and clear a path.  Even the tractor almost got stuck!

 Emily, showing how deep it is!

 Scenes from our window. I tried staying inside. Cuddled in a blanket, and trying to keep warm.

 Q enjoyed looking at the snow from inside, but had little interest in going outside. She's not a fan of the cold.

The day after the big storm hit, I had to go pick up Mitch from the airport. I was originally supposed to drive to Seattle, but was feeling very uncomfortable about that decision, so that morning I bought him a ticket from seattle to spokane. The drive over to Spokane wasn't that bad. The roads were a little snowy and icy, and I had to drive a little slower than normal...but the drive back was ridiculous. Apparently there was a major accident outside of Sprague and there was miles of stand still traffic.

aghhhh. oh I how I dislike the snow. 

Maybe I need to consider a move to a very warm location!

repeat after me...Yo gabba gabba Yo....

This past weekend I took Q to her first concert.

The "there's a party in your city..Yo Gabba Gabba Live tour".

OH IT WAS JUST AS FUN AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.

It was a room full of parents and toddlers, and everybody was ready to have some fun.  Unfortunately, I do have a beef with some of those parents. See, I am not a souvenir person. I don't buy stuff at concerts, that later becomes junk....but then I went to this concert. This place where every child around us, had a glowing stick that their parents had bought them. A glowing stick, that Q was obviously coveting, as she tried to take them away from the children around her, then threw a fit when she realized she didn't have one. I debated staying strong and refusing to buy such over priced crap, but I knew my child would not be calm for the show unless she had a glowing stick of her own. So I bought one. A stupid $10 glowing stick. aghhhhh. on the bright side, it kept her happy through the whole show, the ride home, and the days since...so maybe it wasn't a total waste of a purchase.

Then, the lights when down and the party started. We danced, sang, and watched as Q's favorite show came alive before her eyes.  She moved around from my lap, to her seat, to standing, and wasn't afraid to just lay down and soak in the music.  

 This is what her face looked like most of the show. She was in awe.

Before the intermission, they released a bunch of balloons into the crowd. into the center of the crowd. Q was devastated that she didn't have a balloon, as we were seated near the aisles. I didn't want to leave her to go in search of an extra balloon on the floors, nor did I want to carry her over a bunch of people in search...I didn't know what to do, to calm this child. Luckily the couple next to me, had gone and retrieved a balloon for their little boy and brought one back for Q. Oh she was heaven for the whole second half.

At the beginning of the second half of the show, 2 characters came down on each side of the theater. We were but 5 feet away from Toodee and Brobee as they sand their way onto the stage. Q just sat there, mesmerized. The characters were almost to the stage, when Q finally realized that she could touch them and she took off running. I was able to catch her before she followed her heroes onto the stage, and quickly convinced her that we should go sit down so we wouldn't miss the show.  It would have been awesome to get pictures of her with them, but I wasn't about to be one of those parents that holds up a production just to get a few pics.

 One of Q's favorite parts of watching the show is Biz's beat of the day. Where hip hop star Biz Markie (yep THAT Biz Markie...the "you got what I need.." Biz Markie) teaches the kids a beatbox beat. Well, when that part of the performance came up, I had no clue that Biz would actually be on stage!!  He came out, taught a few beats and sat on stage and had kids come up to beatbox. It was awesome.

Here are some of Q's favorite songs, and her reaction. Oh she loved it. 

What a good day.