November!

November was a super busy month for us and I can't believe how fast it zoomed by! I spent the first week of November in Turlock.  It was a fun week of sewing (my Aunt Susan was helping me finish a project) and visiting family and friends.  I spent one evening with my good friend, Barbara, and she showed me some mums that I had at our wedding reception that she has kept alive all these years!

They are still very pretty and have multiplied and I was just amazed.

I also spent some quality time with Jayde, my aunt and uncle's black lab.  She is adorable and really big and likes to hug and kiss and wrestle ALL the time.

Every once in a while she would wear out and fall asleep, but it wasn't very often.  She's so lovable that she wears you out!  But oh, so cute.  It was so fun being with my family....thanks guys!!

Before we knew it Thanksgiving was here.  Mom and Marlowe came down to spend a few days over the holiday.  It was great to have them here.  We cooked and baked pies and visited.  In fact, we cooked for two days and then sat down to dinner and were done eating in about 20 minutes.....so sad.  After dinner, we went to see Disney's Frozen.......IT WAS AWESOME!  On Friday we had my stepbrother, Travis, and his wife, Brenda, and her brother-in-law, Cory, who all live in Chandler (see photo below) over for a second Thanksgiving.  Corinne and Benworth joined us too.  Then we went to see the Christmas lights at the Mesa temple.  They did a couple of new things this year.  It was very pretty as usual.

After we got back we ATE MORE PIE and then tried to work it off playing ping pong.  Travis is really good and gave Scott some good competition.  I think they each won an equal number of games.

On Saturday, since Thanksgiving was over, it was time for the Christmas season to begin!  Scott put lights up on the front of the house and we put up the Christmas tree. And thanks to Jo Ann, we even had some gifts ready to put underneath.  One of the neighborhood girls came over this week, saw the presents under the tree and said, "Sister Klundt, if you don't mind me saying, it's a little early to have presents under the tree."  Well, she may be right, but I like having Christmas all month!

We put the tree in the family room this year which I really like since that is where we spend all of our time.  We don't have a fireplace anymore so we have been racking our brains trying to find a good place for the stockings.  This year we thought the entertainment center needed some Christmas cheer.

All this month I have been blessed with the company of neighborhood kids after school.  They come over a couple days a week after school, sometimes 4 or 5 of them, sometimes just one or two.  My good friend Agnes, who is 7, started the tradition, she has been coming over for quite a while, and she has recruited the rest.  They love to jump on the mini tramp, play UNO and Scene It, and take Riley for walks.  Before they do anything, they take all of the blankets out of the ottoman and spread them over the entire floor, along with all of the pillows from the couch.  Then and only then, are they ready to play.  I love the company as it is very quiet here during the day with only Riley to talk to, which conversations are very one-sided.  Yesterday they were fascinated with our tree and asked me about every ornament.

And of course, Riley still watches over all.....

Well, that's about it I guess.  It has cooled way down here although I know it's nice and toasty compared to the winter wonderland in Utah!  We are looking forward to having all of the kids here for Christmas!!  Until then......