Happy Thanksgiving!

 
The turkey, stuffing, green beans, sweet potato casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, and gravy all turned out beautifully - if I do say so myself. Phew!
 
 
I am so thankful for my family. I LOVE those boys!
 
Congratulations to Doug and Janelle on their engagement!!!

Corbin's Special Day

Corbin received the Aaronic priesthood this past Sunday, November 22nd at church. He is now a deacon and will be passing the sacrament to our congregation every Sunday now. We're so proud of him. We can't believe what a young man he has become! He looks so grown up in his new suit.

We are so thankful to Mark (Dustin's step dad) for making the trip all the way from Virginia to be a part of this special occasion.

While we were taking pictures outside we placed Preston on the grass. He absolutely hates the grass - very much like his mommy when she was his age. My parents have video footage to prove it! I just love how he is so flexible that he is able to get his limbs off of the grass. He sat like that for a few minutes too.

Corbin turns TWELVE!!!

 
 
 
 
I still can't believe it. We celebrated Corbin's 12th Birthday at Disneyland. He had a really great day! It was interesting going to Disneyland with a baby, but we had a great system. We used the "switch rider" option, which allowed Corbin and I to ride on Space Mountain (Matterhorn, etc.- all rides that don't let babies on them) while Dustin waited with Preston and when Corbs and I exited they let Dustin and Corbin immediately "Fast Pass" the ride. It was great! Preston loved "It's a Small World", Andrea's was and always is "Thunder Mountain", and Corbin and Dustin's favorite ride was "Screamin'" at California Adventure. Good memories!

Paso vs. Atascadero

 

 

We took the boys to the Paso vs. Atascadero high school football game. Andrea rooted for both teams since we know two of the young men that play for Paso. It was during Preston's bedtime but he didn't let that stop him as he slept through about 90% of the game! At one point I mentioned to Corbin that he didn't have to sit with us the whole game if he didn't want to and he immediately hopped out of his seat and started walking around the track like all the other cool teenagers. Sigh. Paso beat Atascadero by one point but it was a fun game anyway.

 

 

Just thought I'd share a fun little craft that I made recently. For anyone that is a fan of the animated movie "Cars", you might recognize the Cozy Cone Motel. It's really just a garage for little cars, but I had fun making it.

Quick Trip to San Diego

 
 
 
 
We took a (way too) quick trip to San Diego the first weekend of November. Dustin had a huge B.B.Q. fundraising event that he was in charge of at Food 4 Less that weekend so we had to go without him. Luckily, we were joined by Uncle Doug. Andrea's nephew Kevin was baptized by his dad, Barton. It was such a great day and we were glad that we got to attend such a special event. Corbin LOVED spending time with his cousins and playing with Star Wars Legos all weekend. Preston enjoyed getting ahold of a Lego storm trooper every once in awhile and trying to play like the big boys.

First Professional Haircut

 
 
Andrea took Preston for his first professional haircut at Supercuts. We had given him several trims since he was about 2 weeks old but he had been getting vocally upset at us when we would cut his hair. I thought that if we got someone else to do it that he might behave a little better and IT WORKED! He sat pretty still (although he would tilt his head to whichever side was being trimmed)and although he doesn't look happy about it, he didn't make a peep.

Weekend in Ventura

 

 

 

Back in May, we had a fabulous weekend in Ventura with Grandma & Grandpa K at their time share. We enjoyed an incredible ocean/bay view. It was very relaxing and we got to do a little sight-seeing, shopping, and playing at the beach. The weekend went by way too quickly.

Dustin's Birthday and our Anniversary

 

 

 

Just going through some pictures from over the summer and thought I'd share a few special dates. We celebrated Dustin's birthday on July 10th at Bubba's Bad BBQ with a bull ride. It was awesome! Although, when it bucked him off it tweaked his back a little. I guess that's what happens when your 35! Then on August 24th Dustin and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. It amazes us that it has flown by so fast!

Marching All Over North County

 
 
 
Corbin marched in parades two weekends in a row. This one was the Colony Days Parade in Atascadero. Where the Pioneer Day Parade had WAY too many tractors, the Colony Days Parade had a ridiculous number of children's soccer teams. Other than that it was a pretty entertaining parade. Corbin did really well, but he is relieved that this was his last parade for the year. Dustin was so happy to see the middle-school band in the parade that he forgot that he was holding the video camera and literally chased the band down to capture a little footage of Corbin in the front row. I didn't even know that he could run that fast! It was nice that Grandma and Grandpa Kessinger were able to see him perform too.

Halloween 2009

 
 
 
 
Halloween is just more fun when you dress up! Except for Dustin's convict costume, I made all of our costumes again this year (Wonder Woman, Ninja, and Clown). We went to the Farmers Market in S.L.O., got pictures taken of our clown and ninja, and trick-or-treated at the shops downtown - a family tradition. Then on Halloween we made an appearance as we went trick-or-treating at the downtown shops in Paso, then to our church party. After Preston had finally had enough of it all, Dustin took Corbin trick-or-treating around our little neighborhood. If you couldn't tell, we just LOVE Halloween!