Christmas Buildup

Christmas is sneaking up on us here in the Millet household. But if you ask Peter, he's been waiting forever for it to arrive. Mainly because the kid has been listening to Christmas music since October... We kicked off the month with Travis' annual work party for the kids. The really cool one where Santa flies in on a F-16 (you can just see the tail behind Santa in this picture). You can be sure the boys go wild over this.

 We then did some decorating which included making glitter pine cones (that was a bit of a mess but fun)

and finding the perfect Christmas tree.

The boys were so excited to help decorate -- Benji especially was responsible for large clusters of ornaments along the bottom of the tree... 

 But I think it looks beautiful all finished, especially with this handsome man in front of it.

This year we were able to bring back our gingerbread house party making tradition. And we did it in a BIG way too. About 30 of Travis' co-workers showed up and we had candy everywhere. Peter  and Benji were going crazy but I think everybody had a great time and managed to come up with some impressive creations (with that many engineers of course we had some pretty impressive structures) -- mainly due to this incredible new trick I learned. Burnt sugar, who knew?

 Here's Trav showing off his rocket

 And Pete with his candy house. I'm amazed that any candy actually made it onto his house for all he ate that night.

And just to round things off, here's Trav and I at a friend's ugly sweater Christmas party. Yes, those are our ugly 'sweaters.' I'm boring like that.

Also, I suppose by way of announcement here's a Benji original that came during family prayers the other night. I was helping him pray and prompted him to say "please bless the baby in mommy's belly to grow big and strong" and this is what he came up with: "Pwease bwess the baby in mommy's bellwee dat it will grow big and strong like the baby in daddy's bellwee."

Well. Out of the mouth of babes and all.

Trav may have gone running the next morning.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a fantastic adventure for our family. We got to see a bit of the Lees but spent most of our time with the Millets in one giant house in Riverton, Utah. 

I tell you it was a constant party -- I mean, look at all those grandkids under one roof!

The boys were in heaven with so many playmates.

And Grandparents to snuggle with.

Papa Golden and LeAnne even paid a visit to the kids dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

 Benji has been asking about Santa ever since.

We did manage to get some group shots. Here are the Millet siblings with Deb.

 plus spouses.

 We had such a fun time (even managing to hit some Black Friday sales with all those built-in babysitters) and ate our hearts out. I think we managed to pretty much wear the boys completely out since this is what they looked like mere minutes after hitting the road home. Totally sacked out.

At least until Benji somehow managed to shove a pretzel stick up his nose and we had to stop to help him blow it out. Hilarious for us, slightly traumatic for him.

Like I said: it was an adventure. 

Happo Howaween

Meet Jake and Peter Pan. 

 Pretty cute, no?

The boys were terribly excited for Halloween this year. Mainly due to their having planned their costumes for the past couple of months.

We went to several parties this year in preparation of the big day -- including one at Peter's elementary school where he hung out nonstop with his best friend Noah.

Then, at our church trunk-or-treat Travis and I went as a chimney sweep and a gypsy. Awww.

 Finally, the big night came. Seeing as we've actually never done the door to door thing with the kids, we were all pretty pumped for the evening.

 Despite their inexperience, the boys caught on pretty quick and loved every minute of their sugar-induced euphoria. Peter especially could barely stop himself from sprinting from one door to the next. And probably because they were so dang cute, the boys cleaned up candy-wise.

As Benji says "Happo Howaween!" Until next year...

Pumpee Patch

I recently realized I've yet to document our gardening adventures this year. Probably because it was a bit...daunting...

After the success of last year's garden, Travis had the bright idea of planting a 3,000 square foot garden. It was slightly ridiculous. 

Sadly, it didn't really get tended very well (surprise, surprise) so it turned into a bit of a jungle. That said, we did get lots (and lots) of fruits and veggies out of it: potatoes, onions, beets, jalapenos, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, lettuce, cucumbers, sunflowers, strawberries, carrots, all kinds of squash, sugar snap peas, green beans, cauliflower... 

Since the weather has started to get cooler around these parts, we decided to dig up all the lingering produce this weekend -- which turned into quite the production. It literally took all day to pick the food, clean it, and then either freeze or store it for later use. Think a freezer chock-full of frozen veggies and over 100 lbs of various squashes, onions and potatoes in storage.

 This is a very, very small glimpse of what we picked in one day.

I can't begin to tell you how satisfying it was to simply walk out to the backyard and pick fresh produce for dinner each night instead of having to buy everything from the store. That said, I'm already begging Travis to not be quite so ambitious next year.

We did get a few great pumpkins (which Benji calls 'pumpees') growing this year and decided to carve up the largest (30 lbs!) for family night.

Peter specifically requested a 'scary face.' 

Halloween, here we come!

I'm waiting for your call SNL

A few days ago we discovered Benji's newest talent: telling jokes.

That's right, our 2 year old can rock a punch line.

In case you can't understand him, here's the comedy: 

"Why chick cross road?"

"HaHa! Get uder side! HaHa!"

Beach Week

This past week Travis had a class down in LA near Manhattan Beach so we decided to join him for the week -- free hotel, free food, and the beach only 10 minutes away? Count us in.

Trav had to do his thing and go to class during the day but the boys and I had a great time trying out new beaches.

On the first day, we went to El Segundo (which is just south of the airport -- so you get all sorts of jets zipping right over your head) and pretty much had this gorgeous beach to ourselves. 

 Benji still is not a fan of the water (and I quote "No! Sea monster eat me!") but Peter was always ready for a romp in the waves. 

 Benji with his 'mustache' and Pete's sandcastle.

 Day two we headed to Manhattan Beach -- which is definitely more touristy, not to mention crowded. But it does boast a nice little (free!) aquarium at the end of the pier that the boys loved. They also adored running at top speed down the pier.

This is the best I could get of the crazies together.

After the beach we walked a few blocks to the Manhattan Beach Creamery (which I had read glowing reviews for) and indulged ourselves in some mighty tasty ice cream.

 I also got a couple macaroons which I have been dying to try ever since reading The Chocolate Kiss. Heaven.

 We had lots of adventures on our trip -- how could we not with two boys? But let me preface the following story by saying that both kids (and me probably) we exhausted that particular night. No naps and lots of time in the water and sun can make for some tired kids. We also had been stuck in traffic (the worst) and it was waaay past dinner time for the kidlets and so, shall we say, all sorts of emotions were coming out. So. We had let Peter pick what we'd have for dinner that night and of course he chose Red Lobster -- something he's been begging us for since he went on a preschool field trip there last year. Peter was insistent that he wanted 'breaded lobster tails' just like he had on his field trip but of course, Red Lobster does not serve any type of breaded lobster anything. Cue lots of drama and meltdowns. Finally Trav decided to get a big seafood platter to share with Pete so that they could figure out what type of lobster our little man liked. When the food finally came, starving Peter dug into the lobster only to say emphatically "This isn't what I liked!" He then proceeded to try some of Benji's popcorn shrimp only to declare "This is what I was talking about!" Popcorn. Shrimp. Sheesh. Next time we'll know and be able to save $40 on dinner. Lesson learned. Although it was pretty hilarious that anytime someone asked our 5 year old what his favorite food was, he'd answer "lobster tail."

 The day after that fun evening, we took it easy and swam in the hotel pool for a bit and then I put both kids (okay...and me) down for a nap. Three and a half hours later and we were all much happier and ready to resume our adventures. 

Another thing both boys loved about our trip was hotel life. Even though it was a suite, we were all in one big room, which I was a bit nervous about truth be told. But they did pretty well. Mostly they liked having cable and eating Fruit Loops at breakfast every morning. But these are my favorite pics after baths one night -- both boys with hand towels wrapped around their skinny waists.

 We tried out Hermosa Beach on Friday which was lots of fun. Mainly because it was Travis' last day of class and he was done around lunchtime so he got to join us there. The boys love it when Daddy is there because he digs giant holes like this one for them to play in. 

He even was able to convince Benji to go in the water. A little bit. 

 If you ask Travis however, his favorite part of the week was his first attempts at crab fishing. He bought this crab pot and tied it off the pier several times hoping to catch some delicious crab. Sadly, he wasn't successful -- I think a crab 2" under the legal limit was his best catch -- but he's definitely been bitten by the bug and I can foresee lots of crabbing in our future beach trips.

It was a wonderful (if not a little exhausting) week with my favorite people in the world. I'm so glad we were able to spend so much time together in such a gorgeous place.

Labor Day = Beach Day

With Monday being a day off and all we decided to be spontaneous for once and head to Ventura Beach for the day. 

I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled the boys were. Maybe because we love that beach. Or because it was perfectly sunny and not too crowded. Or because Daddy dug a GIANT hole for the kids to play in. Whatever the reason it was an amazing day.

(yes, that bald child is my son. Peter has been begging us to shave his hair off for weeks now.)

If you ask Benji why it was so great, he'd tell you it was because of all the sand.

  There is also a huge pirate ship at the beach which the boys love with a zip line running from it. Peter went all by himself this time while Benji and Daddy rode it together.

Perfect day at the beach. Sometimes I adore California.