Thanksgiving Fun!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We went up to Casper and spent about 12 days! We spent the first half at Shane's mom's house and the second half at my parents'. We saw lots of our friends and most of our family!

While at Lenay's the girls made gingerbreatd houses with their cousins.

Layla's philosophy is the more candy the better. And all on top!

Lylli just wants to get hers done.

And Seryn is very meticulous about where everything goes!
They had lots of fun!

Seryn's house! (She did it all herself. I didn't do anything!)

Layla's house is at the far right and Lylli's is next to hers. (Hailey and Ella's are the huge ones.)

We spent the holiday over at my parents' and had a wonderful time! While there, the girls even got to give Grandpa a shave! They thought that was fun! I think he was incredibly brave or crazy!

This is the before shot. You always need one of those.

Lylli was the first one. I think Dad trusted her more. Or maybe since she was oldest she bullied her way first. (shrug) Who knows.

Then there was Layla. She was a little eager and went a little fast, but figured it out pretty fast!

And Seryn. I was surprised she was as careful as she was, although I probably shouldn't be. But she was very worried about hurting Grandpa.

And after the girls had him shaved, Lylli gave him a hair cut!

We had a great time at home and hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Our Cosmetolgist

Seryn is one of those girls who is always going into the bathroom to clip her nails or comb her hair, put on make-up, or just make herself look pretty. And if I let her do it herself, she'd be painting her nails EVERYDAY!

Saturday night, I went into my bathroom and found hair in my sink. Yesterday morning, I discovered she'd cut bangs for herself so she could have bangs like me, Lylli, and (even though she's growing hers out) Layla.

The funny thing is, she did this by herself. I had to trim up the sides, but she cut them pretty straight. Do we have a cosmetologist in the works here? Perhaps!

(And since Seryn is the queen of face making, I added this one too.)

Fun with Grandma and the Gibbs!

This last weekend, my mom came to visit! Since she was planning to be in town, my sister decided to come too. We had a lot of fun! I had things planned, and we all know how that can go. Instead, my mom brought a bunch of old prom dresses that my sister and I had worn in high school. So we had a giant dress-up party!

Lylli in my wedding dress.

Seryn in one of my prom dresses!
Surprisingly, Michelle and I fit into some of our old dresses. Others, we didn't! (At least not if you count having to be zipped up, fitting.)

Natalie, Lylli, Me, Seryn, and Michelle. (Lylli's wearing my baptism dress.)

I even fit into my wedding dress!

I realize I'm wearing a pained expression, but it was tight!! And I think that I should get points for even being able to zip it up! Especially since I'm 30 lbs. heavier than I was when I got married nearly 10 years ago!

And Saturday night, all the girls wore Kleenex in their hair and had curly hair Sunday for church!

This is the second year my mom has been here for her birthday! The kids had a great time throwing her a party. Layla was upset that we forgot the balloons, but the cake and ice cream were good! What a fun weekend!

This is the girls making cards for Grandma before she came! I just had to stick it in here because they're so cute!

Healthy Activities

I need to get into the habit of blogging again. So, I'll start today.
We still LOVE our kitty. He's getting bigger and I've had to ban the kids from playing with him some days. (They love him a little bit TOO much!)

See how Seryn holds his neck so he won't get away?

Jerry has been to visit us a couple times over past two weeks. The girls love seeing him when he stops by!

And Jerry is a good sport!

My friend has lots of family in Provo and her family all have fruit trees. Last weekend, she took me to pick some peaches at one of her grandma's house. So, last weekend, the girls and I canned peaches and jam. They had a great time!

Lylli commented on how good it was that we were preparing and preserving something healthy.

Saturday afternoon, last week, we finally took the girls up the 'Y'. We have been trying to do it all summer. But it was so hot! Then Shane and I got sick. We were finally able to go! All three girls walked all the way up and down! (Seryn collapsed on the last 1/4 mile down and we put her in the backpack.)

It was quite a hike! The girls loved it! And we could hear the football game! Shane thinks I should hike this daily! But with Seryn on my back, I don't know that that will happen!

Layla didn't realize how high up the 'Y' was. And she thought it was funny that though the 'Y' looked little from our house, it's really HUGE! :)

Cheshire

Isn't he SO cute! Cheshire is our new kitty. He's nine weeks old and lots of fun!

We've had him for a week and a half. He loves to play. And he likes his belly rubbed, like a dog. Weird! Everyone thinks he's the baby!

My Poem

I posted this on my writing blog, but I thought I'd post it here too, since you all know Shane. I wrote this for my English class. If you're curious about the form of the poem, I wrote it down on my other blog. http://rachelrager.com. It was fun to do!
Shane was supposed to be at Father's and Son's last night with a young man in our ward. They got up and realized they only went because they thought the other one really wanted to be there. So they came home and played video games. I asked Shane to give me a topic for my poem, and he told me to write one on how he plays games. So I did. It made Lylli and I laugh!

Alone Tonight, Always the Same
by Rachel Rager

Alone tonight, always the same,
I sit and write my poetry about
My husband and his game.

He sits on the couch with a soda, nice and tame,
Along with the dog; what a pair.
Alone tonight, always the same.

I wonder if it’s Halo, or God of War. Who’s to blame?
Does it really matter?
My husband and his game.

Perhaps I should find a new hobby, one that’s not lame
Like painting, or yoga.
Alone tonight, always the same.

But then if I did design something, anything to frame,
Could I hang it in front of the TV to block
My husband and his game?

Alas, I sit here, with only a computer to hold my claim.
I sit here with my poetry.
Alone tonight, always the same.
My husband and his game.