Christopher the Trickster Elf and his To-Do List

I told the kids that I wasn't going to let their elf, Christopher, in this year when he came. But that little snot tricked us! When C went to pick up our mail from the weekend, we found out that he had disguised his entrance and mailed himself to us in a package from Santa.

Inside the box was a letter with a little to do list for us for the day:

Step 1: Use the form letters he brought with him to write our official wish lists to Santa to mail-
Check!

Step 2: Put up the tree and deck the Halls.- Check!

Step 3: Open up the suitcase he brought along and look at the contents- A few funny shirts he brought along to wear this year, along with a gift card to Target to go pick out some new ornaments for the year.  So, Check! Into the car we went for a quick jaunt to Target.

What a silly elf. Time to start the traditional game of hide and seek now that our elf "to do" list is complete.  Let the holidays begin!

Festival of Lights

On Friday, we carried on traditions with our after-shopping traditional brunch at the Cowboy Club. Then we were back at Papa's for some games and to relax for the rest of the day. Then we left in time to stop by the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork on the way through. Our kids love this little tradition on the rides home from Thanksgiving. Do we know to how Thanksgiving right or what?

Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving this year started off with the traditional early morning shopping trip to Kmart with my sister where we scored some deals and then helped my mom score some once she joined us as well. Then it was off to My Dad's house for some fun.
This little turkey got dressed for the occasion

And Grandma Judi broke out this awesome table cloth which kept the kids busy.

We made some cinnamon roll turkeys, played some Xbox and watched a bit of the parade on TV before football started up.

My sister and I compared our lists for the night's shopping trip and went on a recon mission to find out the best paths to take. Then it was time to dig in. And dig in we did!

This one dug in so fast her turkey coma couldn't wait until we were done eating.

Then the shopping missions started! We were off and running and like the pros we are, we got everything we wanted on our lists! And then some!

We are truly Team USA of Black Friday shopping, even if I did have to start training a new protege' in my usual one ditched us for her boyfriend this year......WHAT? 

Pre-Thanksgiving Date Night

Once work for the week was finally done, Mike and I got to head to Price for our annual Pre-Thanksgiving date with the teenage (and maybe a little older) nieces and nephews. My sister and her husband started joining in last year and I'm so glad they did. We started off with the traditional Pizza Hut date.

And then it was voted on to try on a game night for the after dinner activity. We went to my sister's house and dove into a mean game of Redneck Life. It was such a great time and many many laughs were shared.

Thanks for the nice evening all! This has become one of my favorite traditions for sure.

Trans Siberian Orchestra

On date night #2 while the kids were playing for pre-Thanksgiving with Papa, we got our holiday on with the Trans Siberian Orchestra. It was a very loud, but good time. Here's a little sample from the evening.

Since it was a late afternoon show, we got to enjoy a nice dinner afterwards just the two of us with the gift card I received from my Mom for my Bday. 2 nights out in a row, with no kids and no cooking! Does it get any better than that?

Paint Nite Date Nite

Papa picked up the kids early for Thanksgiving break this year which left Mike and I a couple of nights to do some dates. We started off with some Paint Nite action.  We got to enjoy a yummy dinner at the Restaurant that was hosting the even first, then donned our aprons to get our paint on! 

He was so serious about his work....... haha

I'm pretty proud of this one even if there are a few things I still want to tweak, just a bit. 

It was a very nice outing for the two of us where we were able to do something we both enjoy.  That doesn't happen around here too often.

The Thankful Tree

This month got started off with a little project, a Thankful tree.  I crafted it and asked the kids to all pick a couple of things to start it off with for some leafage to start showing. 

 They have loved it and have loved adding to it occasionally throughout the month.

Since this is the last night together before some of us leave for Thanksgiving, I thought I would share what the Ouren's are Thankful for in 2015:

Caleb:  Food, football and Mom letting me play football
Zaden : Faith, my Mom, zebras, Sophie and pigs
Zaric: hard work, Caleb, nice moms, Zaden and Thanksgiving
Faith: being nice, dinner, treats, Sophie, pumpkins, preschool, when Dad is nice to me, my brothers and toys
Mike: My wife and fun memories
Becca: A warm home, my kids, Michael, hugs &kisses, finding happiness and laughter.