Thanksgiving 2012

 We spent Thanksgiving in Marysvale this year!  It was a way nice and needed vacation.  Going home always rejuvenates me.  Got to spend 4 days with all of my family in one place!  It was awesome!

 What would a Privitt get together be without some shooting?  Josh and Danny are obsessed and so are our kids!  Kind of unfortunate, now that bullets cost an arm and a leg.  The kids loved setting up the targets.  We blew ups some Tannerite and had a good time!  Even I got in on the action.

 Since we were all together we decided to take some family pictures.  They turned out pretty cute, considering I did all of this with a tripod!  The kids laughed and laughed as I ran back and forth.

 All the Privitt Cousins!

 Awww, I love these people.  They are some of my very best friends!

 We decided to get our Christmas tree before we headed home.

Oooh, and we played in this freezing stuff!  My kids sure love snow.  Even though I grew up in it, I am not a fan!  We had a great afternoon though hanging out on the mountain.

Surprise Party

About a month before Tyson's birthday, I asked him what kind of a party he wanted.  He told me that he wanted a surprise party.  I told him that we couldn't do a surprise party, if he knew about it and he told me it was okay.  He would act surprised!  Silly boy!

Well, Josh and I talked about it and decided, why not?  So we set it up for the Friday before Thanksgiving.   Josh picked Tyson up from school and took him into town for a "date".  They went shopping and hung out in the man store (aka Sportsmans Warehouse).  The kids arrived and had so much fun hiding and waiting for him.  It was priceless when he walked through the door!  I'll let the pictures do the talking!

He was so surprised!  It was totally worth all the effort to keep it a secret and I would do it all over again for the cute little smile on his face!

 We had an obstacle course that JD, Zarek and Carsyn came up with!  The kids loved it.  They kept wanting to do it over and over.  We probably spent half the party time doing that.

 We did stomp rockets!  Always a favorite acitivity!

(top to bottom: Jacob, Jake, Brenden, KJ and Logan)

 We wore party masks and ate cake!  I found this awesome superhero party stuff in the clearance at Walmart.  It was 3D, which was way fun.  The tablecloth and all the wall decor totally moved in front of you!

And of course we opened presents!  Spoiled kid.  It was by far, the funnest birthday party ever!  You only turn 8 once and it's kind of a big deal!  So happy it turned out and that he was surprised!

Attached at the Hip

The Witch, Harry Potter and the Army guy!

Drag Races

We had a chance to go to the Drag Races in Vegas.  Big O' gave us 4 tickets, so we left Piper with Grandma and took the boys down for a day of cars.

 They were in heaven!  Being Josh's boy's, how could they not love cars?

 It was loud!  Especially the Top Fuel Cars.  It's insane how quick they are. 

 Jd actually lost a tooth while we were down there.  It just fell out.  We kept teasing him that the shaking of the chairs was what rattled it out.

 My boys also fell in love with remote control cars.  I wish I could afford to buy them Traxxas cars.  They are so cool.

They probably would have stayed and raced cars all day if we had let them.

Josh was totally in his element and had so much fun! It was a great day.  Afterwards we took the kids down to Fremont Street to watch the street painters and the zip line.  Then we had dinner at Steak n' Shake.  I enjoy these moments where we can just be together and enjoy a fun day.

Karate

 Tyson started Karate at Barella Martial Arts back in April.  He absolutely fell in love with it.  He is doing so well and it's so fun to watch him progress.  He's now an orange belt, but these were taken just a few weeks before he advanced.

 The program is amazing.  They teach self-respect and discipline and so many other important things.

Plus I figure, that a kid who is scrappy and loves to antagonize should learn to defend himself.  Even if it is just from his brother.

Superhero's

Pumpkin Patch

 Our friends the Johnsons, have a pumpkin patch in Santa Clara.  The last 2 years we have gone there to pick out our pumpkins and have a night of fun.

 There is something about walking through a patch and picking out a pumpkin.  It's such a fun tradition.

 Tyson kept getting things in his flip flops.  Told the boy to wear shoes.

 They have lots of really fun games and activites for the kids and parents to do!

 Tyson spent all his money on this tractor driving.  This picture was taken right before he rammed into the girl in front of him.  He's got a lead foot.

 Piper spent all of her money riding horses.  Not sure what JD spent his on, he is big enough now, that he doesn't stay with us when we go to things. Super sad that he's gotten so big.

 Both of my boys caught a chicken.

 Which earned them a 2 dollar ticket to the country store. Thank heavens it wasn't the chicken!

With our coupons we bought smore kits!  The kids loves these cute little kits and it was the perfect way to end the evening.