Thanksgiving '13

It has been four years since we spent Thanksgiving with the Hill family, and we weren't disappointed.  We had a full schedule - Mom, always goes above and beyond - so the kids were never bored or wanting for activities.  We went to the movies and bowling, played football-bkb-volleyball, showed our competitive side playing Trivial Pursuit and Risk, argued:), ate a lot of good food, and had a lot of great conversations.  Everyone was home, and it really was such a treat to be surrounded by our family!  We hardly saw our three older kids during the entire vacation - they were too busy playing with their cousins to have much to do with us.  The kids were really into making these elastic bracelets and popsicle stick airplanes this year.  The little girls also had a great time being dressed up and being taught  dance routines from the older girls.

Mom and Dad put on a fireside for the kids, that I'm sure they will remember for a long time.  I also got to spend some time with Grandma Jeanne!  She is such an amazing woman, and I can't believe she is doing as well as she is after her knee replacement.  It was a great time!  I am so grateful for my family and the memories that we are able to create and the relationships that we are able to strengthen each time we get together.

I have to admit that at times I am reluctant to embark on a Hill Holiday - we have a tendency to have some heated "discussions", but regardless of our difference in opinions and our need to fight to death at times, we love each other.  I am so grateful for each one of my family members, old to young, that add such a unique and essential part to my life!

 Kamryn & Emmy (JD); Leah (Bobbi); Lyv

 Cole (Steph); Tanner (Bobbi); Jack & Sam

 Shawn and Big Ryan playing some major football in the Turkey Bowl!

 Thanksgiving Dinner helpers:

 Minnie Dad - a.k.a, J.D.

 I made Mom pose with her lovely pumpkin roll

 I didn't even bother trying to get Dad to look at the camera, he's a party pooper when it comes to pictures! But a great turkey carver.

 Carli (Bobbi); Hayden (Steph); Tyleigh (Chad); Brittney (Bobbi)

 Crafting it up!

 Penny & Kaderick

Bailey (Emily's friend); Emily (Ryan); Brittney (Bobbi); Tyleigh (Chad)

 Charlie (Ryan), Cy (Chad), Ledger (Steph)

 Cole - Ledger - Tanner and Jack received the coveted turkey legs this year!  So excited about this!

The Clean Up Crew 

 Getting all pretty with the older girls!

 Bowling!  A favorite Hill Family pastime!  I love the bowling shoes.  There is something about the Ronald McDonald feet that just do it for me!

 Enjoying some sno cones in November!  Yummy!

 My beautiful Grandma Jeanne and my sister Steph - these two are twins!

 The ENTIRE Crazy Fam!  (minus Christine & Tom)

Max's 1st Birthday

My baby is one!  Man, this year has gone by so quickly.  More than any other child, the months just flew by, and I got a little choked up when Shawn and I were talking about this fact.  Max celebrated the day like most of his other days.  Lots of eating, lots of sleeping, and lots of attention! 

 Jack's 1st year birthday cake tear apart set the bar pretty high for all of the rest of our kids.  It is a tough act to follow, but I had high hopes for Max.  He seems to have a sweet tooth and doesn't mind getting a little messy.  But alas, he fell into the Sam-Lyv category of tasting the frosting and deciding that this wasn't worth all the mess.  We gave him a fork to encourage him that the cake was edible, but he just did a typical Max = tore it apart and then (this is my favorite part) throw it piece by messy-sticky piece onto the floor.  

We did get to FaceTime Grandma and Grandpa Summers, and so they joined the cake eating party!  I love technology for this reason.  We gave up getting him to try to eat the cake after this and settled for an awesome bath instead.  This boy LOVES his bath! 

Here are some fun facts about Max:

At age 1 he is not walking, and doesn't seem to have any intention on righting that wrong in the immediate future.

He is a fairly picky eater - not a fan of fruits and veggies, but loves yogurts, cheese, crackers, etc.  So you can imagine how insane this makes me, as I worry about him getting all the nutrients he needs, since he's done nursing.

He weighs 23 lbs. 3 oz; 30 3/4 inches tall, and has a whopper of a head!!  OFF of the charts!!

He sleeps ok - mostly through the nights, with an occasional exception, and naps one long nap after lunch.  My kids didn't ever get the memo that babies are supposed to sleep and want to sleep as much as possible… seriously I'm not that exciting, we're not out adventuring and playing, why don't they sleep???

Max has the sweetest, cuddliest, scrunchiest personality!  I love this.  He always lays his head on my shoulder right before I lay him down, and I can rock him back to sleep, which is something my others never let me do.

He loves to disorganize my organization - his favorite places: the DVD case, the tupperware drawer, the tablecloths cabinet, the dishwasher; the dish soap and the toilet are other favorites!

He doesn't like toys, he loves to be outside.  He has crazy hair and the only way to fix it is a mohawk, since it sticks up anyways.  He makes really funny random faces.

He's a chatter box but doesn't really say words = he can say sounds like: Mama, Dada, hot, uh-oh, and yes.

I am so grateful for the blessing that Max is my life.  When I get pregnant I always wonder what this next child will bring into our family, and as soon as they arrive it is like they were ALWAYS there.  He is such a handsome, happy boy.

Last fun fact -  You know you have a problem when the doctor says, "I don't know what is with your boys and their testicles, but…"- the doctor noticed that one of his testicles felt smaller than the other. Jack has had "issues" and he'll be going in for his 2nd surgery to secure the 2nd little fella in December.  To make sure all was well down there, we had to get an ultra-sound.  It turned out to be fine, and the tech thought that maybe when Max cried they tend to go up.  (He was SCREAMING bloody murder at both exams)…so all is well, my future posterity is still a possibility!  I expect a thank you from my boys and their wives in the future!)

Pretty Spooky

We love Halloween.  Dressing up has become a tradition for Shawn and I as well, and we could not resist taking advantage of "looking" the part this year.  Shawn's been wanting to do a Wayne and Garth costume for a while, but this year my hair is long enough-the right color-and I'm without baby; so Game On!  

 The kids dressed to match taking us to a Galaxy Far Far Away!  It was easy, cheap and fun!  All but Max loved their costume.  Poor guy he last about 15 minutes in his.

 Luke Skywalker

 Darth Vader

 Princess Leah

Master Yoda - a sad Master Yoda!

 Our pumpkins were a neighborhood hit.  Shawn's is always the favorite...can you guess which one is his?


This year the kids hit up only our neighborhood, but came home with sacks overflowing!  They decided (and I'm SOOOO thankful that they did) to cash in their candy for cold hard Cash!  A local dentist donates the candy he collects to the troops and gets cavity free kiddos walking away with a little spending money: so it's a win-win!  They kids totaled $14 = 14 lbs of candy!

 Lyv had the hardest time parting with hers so she ended up with a ziploc bag full of her favorites.  I can't say I blame her.  I was able to pass out candy with Max as my helper, while Shawn took the olders out.  They had an awesome night!  I already can't wait for next Halloween.