Catch-Up

We are finally back up and running after being gone for Thanksgiving and coming back to no internet. So, to catch up on all that has been happening around here....

We had a blast with the Potters and Candace and April the weekend before Thanksgiving. Then, we were able to head down to Utah for some Thanksgiving vacationing with great food and family. We went Black Friday shopping thanks to Mom and Dad being willing to keep an eye on Sam while he slept. We scored some great deals on Blu-rays, a shop vac, a fancy grill and some various other items. We had a great time going shooting as is tradition in the Whatcott clan and Robert was thrilled to get his new gun's scope in prime setting for the few days he had left to go elk hunting. Then we enjoyed a night out with Candace and April and dates seeing the lights at Temple Square and trying some yummy Mexican food.

These first two pictures are to show how blustery the weather was here before we left for Thanskgiving. The wind was terrible and while we were gone our front door blew open again! I took the top one to show how unprotecting our garage can be against the wind! :) When we arrived home Sunday evening, Robert couldn't wait to open up and start putting together his new grill.

Here are a couple of shots of Sammy helping Daddy put the grill together (he loves to squint his eyes for pictures now) while Mommy enjoyed watching "The Blind Side" on Blu-ray. Robert was especially excited to buy this grill because you can grill either using propane or brickettes(?), which will be nice to use with all the steaks we get each year from our company-provided cow.

Some exciting news at our house: I got my Christmas gift early - an iPod touch AND, Robert was unable to go hunting yesterday and was quite dejected that he only had one day left to use his new gun and to score an elk (he didn't get one last year or a deer either year), but this morning he and his boss headed out early on the snowmobiles and he called me around 11 saying he had his prize! It wasn't entirely big, but the point is he got one and that we will have two kinds of meat to enjoy this year!

Last night we went and bought our tree - a real one again! We thought about buying an artificial tree during Black Friday, but both of us grew up with fake trees and we want to hold out a bit longer, so we have the fantastic piney smell filling our house and I can't wait to put up the lights on the house and the decorations on the tree (we bought it bundled up, so we had to let it open)

This last picture is just a heartwarmer for me not only because my little guy is growing up so much and getting cuter every day, but because he is getting to be such a big boy. We are working on letting him be more independent, so I told him to go to his bed to take a nap instead of taking him myself and tucking him in and giving him the talk about going to sleep and no playing. Not five minutes later, I opened his door a crack check on him and he is fast asleep! Also, more and more often I find him sleeping with his arms behind his head, like he is relaxing in a recliner - too cute!