Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we went to visit my Dad and Melodie in Denver. We were so excited to go  down because all of my sisters were there and two of my brothers came into town. We loved seeing everyone and enjoying the delicious food that we had. Ross and I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary on the day after Thanksgiving. 

On Thursday morning, the neighborhood held the Turkey Trot. It was about mile around the neighborhood. We were all especially excited to participate because it started right on my Dad's street. Madison and I were going to participate but it had started snowing that morning so it was pretty cold. We did jump in for the picture though. 

Ross won first place this year! He won a gift card to Coldstone so we used it for our anniversary. I was very proud of him for winning. 

 Madison colored a cute Snowman face. 

 Will, Madison and I before the Turkey Trot. 

Joe and Rianne brought their dog Lazarus to Thanksgiving also. Madison loved Lazarus. She laid out this blanket for them to sit on.  

 I'm pretty sure she was trying to give Lazarus kisses here. Lazarus started to take a nap on the blanket and so Madison wrapped the blanket around him and said "my doggy is taking a nap." It was really cute.

 Rianne, Anneli and I with a photobomb from Emma and Davis. 

 Emma, Davis, Anneli, Rianne and I.

 Anneli and Madison really enjoyed watching all the other kids be crazy. They were so much into running around like crazy kids with them. 

 Josie and Madison. This combo is trouble. 

 Wyatt, Lincoln, Rachel, Reagan, Josie, Madison and Moriah at the kids table. 

 Ross and Madison using the mortar and pestle. 

Ross and I had convinced my Dad to buy this awhile ago at Costco. Ross has been looking forward to using it ever since. Luckily, he was able to use it on this trip. 

Jason smoked the turkey this year. It was delicious. As his reward he got the drumstick. 

We had an awesome time in Denver visiting with family for Thanksgiving! 

Halloween

I probably should have written a blog post about Halloween a while ago but things have been busy here. We did a lot of Halloween activities around Laramie and so it has taken us awhile to recover from all the excitement. Luckily, our candy is almost gone. The good stuff is at least. 

Ross is still busy with school and work. I think we are all just looking forward to Thanksgiving and then the semester being over. Madison and I have been doing lots of fun activities lately. We had our first snow storm the other day. Madison loved it. She checks outside first thing every morning to see if it has snowed. 

Madison dressed up like Smurfette this year for Halloween. I think her costume turned out really cute. 

 We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening on the Monday before Halloween. Madison didn't care to go near the pumpkins but she enjoyed coloring pumpkin faces while Ross and I carved. I tired to carve a bucking horse (steamboat) and I failed miserably. They were low quality pumpkins so don't doubt my skills. (I'm talking to you JanStar) The only way that I could salvage the pumpkin was by turning it into a heart. 

I don't dress up for Halloween very often but I couldn't resist this costume. I was really glad that I was able to get more uses out of this syringe. I scared a lot of children at our ward Halloween party. I was really proud of that. I think I scared a few adults too. 

 Madison liked using the stethoscope.  

  Not quite the right placement. 

Doctor Smurf 

Madison won these at a little game at the retirement home trick-or-treating. All the residents had chairs around the room that all the kids could go trick-or-treating at. They also had a lot of games and treats. It was fun. I begged Madison to pick up these glasses so she could tease Ross. 

Our favorite activity was going to the Cowgirls volleyball game. Ross dressed up as Kip from Napoleon Dynamite. We got there a little early and all the volleyball girls were staring at him and laughing. It was hilarious. 

Ross and Pistol Pete. Pistol Pete was pouring popcorn all over people and Madison was not ok with him making another mess. 

 Our friend Sarah invited us to go the fire station to see the fire trucks and meet the firefighters. It was really fun. She was a little nervous about it first but then she really started to enjoy it. She liked to go upstairs and sit on their couch and see their kitchen. 

 Madison inside the fire truck. 

Madison with her sticker from the firemen. 

Madison and I made a mobile from that we saw in the friend a few weeks ago. Here she is with the finished product. 

Our friend Roger had a birthday this week. We had him and his aunt over for pizza to celebrate. It was a fun little birthday party. 

Ross, Madison and Roger. 

Madison and I also put together a grateful tree for us to get ready for Thanksgiving. She is so excited about it. She'll get the leaves off the counter, grab a pen and then write M's all over the leaves. Then she'll tell me that she is grateful that she can get baptized when she is 8 years old. Its adorable. I am really grateful for Madison and her sweet example. She teaches me new things everyday.