Thanksgiving at the Cabin

Thanksgiving morning we started off with a nice hike around our rented cabin.

 The view was amazing from our cabin and there were photo ops all along the hike.

 Of course I'm in my winter clothes and Jeremy's in a t-shirt. On the hard part of the hike, Drew warmed up like her father and I ended up carrying two coats.

 Drew reenacted her Wonder Woman pose.

 Unfortunately for Daddy, Drew got a little tired on the hike so he had an extra 40 lbs. to lift on certain stretches.

 Otherwise she did great and really loved being outside.

 Our rented cabin was less than a mile from Nancy and Don's cabin and when we got in the car to go to their cabin, Nikki did not want to be left behind. She got in the front seat and couldn't be moved. She didn't like the music Jeremy had chosen.

 A little chilly, the pond isn't totally frozen over yet but it's close!

 Drew got to watch the boys do some snowboarding down the driveway while we stuck to sledding. She was very excited when we got going fast enough to hit the jump.

 The day after Thanksgiving we took a little longer getting ready and enjoyed the view.

 Tim, Renae, Cole and Carson left early today to get back for baseball games on Saturday. Cade stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa to play with Drew. They had a blast together.

Futbol: el fin

After weeks of this...

 and this....we were so happy to reach the end of the season.

 But wait! Is that a smile?

 And who is that blonde girl chasing after the ball and shouldering the small boy next to her?

And why is she standing in line, following her coach's directions? 

 GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

What could possibly have motivated her to this level of excellence? Snacks? A fancy tea party? A trip to Jumpin' Jammin'? 

 Check out that focused gaze. She had one end-game in mind:

 the trophy.

Well done, girl.

Lutefisk Dinner

As part of our Scandinavian heritage, and loyalty to Grandpa Gabe, we try and go to the Lutefisk Dinner every year. As you can imagine, the meal is filled with exotic foods like boiled potatoes, creamed corn, and beets. But the real reason anyone shows up to these things is for the Lutefisk and Lefse. The Lutefisk is a disgusting white fish that is doused in butter in order to disguise the horrendous flavor. Grandpa loves it. Normally we all go straight for the Swedish meatballs instead, but this year Nancy brought plastic baggies so we could all give our portion of Lutefisk to Grandpa to eat later in the week. Yuck.

 And the Aquavit, a grain alcohol that has somehow made it to our family Christmas meals, which everyone chokes down as Grandpa yells "you're supposed to sip it!!"

We love our lefse and have it at every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Basically it is a potato-tortilla spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar (cinnamon-sugar if you're feeling saucy). Those Scandinavians really  like their white carbs.

Go Sun Devils!

A couple weeks back, we drove to the Rose Bowl to tailgate and watch Roxi Jarvis cheer for ASU vs. UCLA. Drew is always excited to see her friends.

Th whole gang was there! Nice face, Chad. 

(Taylor 5, Teagen 4, Cooper 4, Maya 8, Drew 4)

 Even Auntie Kels made it down for some action.

 Drew couldn't be happier...friends...and chocolate.

 Chad and Jeremy were super happy to see each other too. Chad named their corn hole team "Country Livin."

It's See's Time!

If you plan on buying See's Candy this season please consider buying from Drew for her preschool's fundraising program. Below is the official flyer and I listed the prices underneath. Every little bit helps. Thanks!

Truffles 1 lb.= $18.90

Assorted Chocolates 1 lb. = $16.50

Milk or Dark Chocolates 1 lb. = $16.50

Nuts & Chews 1 lb. = $16.50

Toffee-ettes 1 lb. = $16.50

Peanut Brittle 1 lb. 8 oz. $15.90

Assorted Molasses Chips 8 oz. = $8.25

Assorted Peppermints 8 oz. = $8.25

Assorted Gourmet Lollypops 1 lb. 5 oz. = $15.80

Jolly Snowman Box 4 oz. = $6.50

Mini Holiday Fancy Box 4 oz. = $6.50

Gift Certificate 1 lb. = $16.50



A very Bowen Halloween party!

Ready for the party....and the 3rd time today Mommy had to get Drew dressed in her costume. 

Grammy gave her some lipstick so she really wanted a closeup.

The Super-Family!

Most people did not guess Mom and Dad's costume. Hint: she is an apple and he is wearing an iPod.

Best costume of the night: 1986 Mike Scott. Rob has had this costume for months! Complete with blond mullet, gold-rimmed glasses, orange belt and a nail file and vaseline in his back pocket. 

Rob's inspiration:

 Clark Kent meets SuperGirl...or, as Wendy put it: SuperStayAtHomeMom because she's wearing Uggs.

The reason we had to buy red tights for Drew....apparently even the 4-6 year-old costumes are "sassy." 

Peanut-Butter and Jelly Tombstone sandwiches for the kids, so cute!

Sidney and Charlotte were the babysitters and had tons of stuff for the little ones to do: Drew is volunteering to play Duck-Duck-Goose.

Meghan, who was a pig, was not happy with the prize she won.

Drew was VERY excited to win her prize and has asked us if it's ok if Sidney babysits her sometime. Woo hoo! A babysitter!

Drew-isms!

It's time for everyone's favorite segment where we try and figure out what this 4-year-old is talking about!

"I like bananas. Do you know why I like bananas? They have no bones."

"Daddy why is your tummy so big? I think it's big because of all the food you eat."

"When I hear a song I like, I smile....I'm not smiling."

When getting ready for a bath, she is sing/shouting while taking her clothes off. She turns the corner into the bathroom, naked as a jaybird and says, "Beautiful Singing? Check!"

"Mom, I don't know the words to this book. But the author is John Iperton." (totally made-up name)

"Let's play family. You be the daughter and I'll be the mommy. I'm a small mommy and you're a big kid. Your name is Sunny-Boy."

In October, the Grattons have...

...gone to the World's Largest Children's Book Fair at OCC with the Mattoxes and listened to Molly Shannon talk about her book, Tilly the Trickster,

...gone to Pumpkin City, 

...and not had much fun at soccer (I don't know how we're going to get through 5 more weeks).

Saturday, November 12 is the last day of soccer for Drew followed by the big Soccer Festival, and then a not-so-well-deserved 10 month break from soccer until next fall.