Turkeys and Goodbyes

November was full of packing, turkey and farewells to some of our most beloved friends and neighbors.

At the beginning of the month, our little preschool co-op we were doing with two other littles took a trip to the Bountiful fire station.  Luke absolutely LOVED it. He was so curious (I know, you're in shock), asked so SO many questions and completely soaked up the whole experience. To this day, whenever we pass the fire station, he yells out, "Look mom! It's our firefighter friends!" He was a little weary when they put on all the gear and turned on the oxygen mask, but once they turned on the helmet flashlight and let him fiddle with it, his fear quickly turned to fascination.

Notice how close Luke is sitting the Elle? That's because they are going to get married and be the power couple of the century

For Thanksgiving, we had a little meal with just our little family and Uncle Bubs. It was perfect with the chaos of packing to move in a week.
 

I made a lemon meringue pie, per request of Dallin. I was quite pleased with my baking skills (as you all know, baking and myself are not very good friends), when the pie not only held together, but was so perfectly cooked that Luke could pick it up and eat it as a pizza. It was the only part of Thanksgiving dinner that he willingly and happily consumed.

 

Caleb is the master at sitting directly beneath my feet and incessantly patting my leg/clinging to my leg, with whines of protest that I'm not holding him/feeding him/playing with him anytime I'm in the kitchen preparing something and Luke is OVERLY helpful in the kitchen, so we busted out Nana's birthday gift of foam paint to keep them entertained while I cooked all day. I think it was a hit.

The following night, we were overly zealous and attempted to see the temple lights, forgetting it was the first night they were turned on. Preeetttyy sure ALL of Utah was there. I've never seen temple square so, incredibly packed! However, we got to see the lights AND were lucky enough to randomly walk by Santa and Mrs. Claus when no one was there. Luke was completely in awe of them.

Made it just in time for the fountain show

Luke was cold and only I could hold him, so we improvised

We sure do love Aunt Emma and Uncle Brad

Love when this boy is snuggly. Doesn't happen too often so I soak in every minute when it does, even if it is only when he gets cold...

 

Pure joy on Luke's face

We got a little snow the week before we moved, so the boys and I took a break from packing to build our first snowman of the season. Caleb loved eating the snow, as did Luke. I basically built the man of snow while Luke took all the credit for it. I think it is safe to say that I did not inherit my mom's ability to construct magnificent snow sculptures. It is standing. It has a top, middle and bottom. It works.

Enjoying the first snow of the season

The duration of November consisted of packing up and shipping out. Our neighborhood did not make it easy to leave with the numerous acts of service (including helping us pack, clean, bring us lunch, tend our children, drive our extra car up to Idaho and secretly leaving special envelopes of love on our front porch), but, alas, we had to. Majority of our belongings are in storage and majority went to DI. I won't lie, I kind of enjoyed purging while packing. I've been wanting to it for awhile and nothing helps you determine if something brings you joy when you are faced with having to upgrade to a larger storage unit to keep it! We said tearful goodbyes, then made the trek up to McCammon. 

Side story: I got pulled over in Ogden on our way up, which triggered the tears again, so I totally got away with a warning. Sorry, officer. Usually I'm not so cliche. You just got me speeding on a rough day!

Loading the UHaul. Luke was in heaven running up and down, sitting in the driver seat and honking the horn

How we kept the boys contained while loading the truck before sending them to a neighbors on moving day

Our last meal in Little Red

Before we left, we also wrapped up all of our services for Caleb in Bountiful. Always tough to say goodbye to people who have become a part of the family since they are there so often and really are invested in Caleb and his success.

Lisa was his developmentalist that came twice a month and he LOVED her. She made therapy sessions so fun and was such a great tool to keep us on track. She also made Caleb and Luke (and let's face it, me) feel so very loved every time she came.

That chicken puppet was Caleb's FAVORITE! He would get so excited whenever she would bring it

Karen was Caleb's Physical Therapist and was so great at giving us just enough to work on with him, focusing on preventative as well as ensuring that his physical movements weren't "lazy." Her calm approach was just what this overanxious mama needed.

Last, but most certainly not least, Paula. She had been coming to our home once a week since Caleb was 6-months-old when he failed his first hearing test. She is from the School for the Deaf and Blind and is AMAZING. She goes all over the world setting up programs for hard of hearing children, is so knowledgeable and just loving. Luckily, his hearing loss was due to fluid and has since been fixed with tubes, but she kept coming, taught us SO much sign language, basics of learning language and helping Caleb play catch up in the hearing department. She often would have dinner with us when she came and, in all honesty, became an honorary member of our family to the point that she was trying to find a way for us to stay with her when we told her we were moving. Such a phenomenal woman. We will miss her dearly and she has already said that she will jump at the opportunity to be our PIP lady when we move back.

When we got to McCammon, grandma and grandpa welcomed us with open arms. We played a pretty intense game of live Tetris with our beds since all four of us are sharing a room and gave the beloved leather couches to Emma and Brad. They honestly might be millionaires when they are done with them if they cut them open. They have SO much that rattles inside! We've decided it is either a TON of loose change or 20-year-old Cheetos and fruit snacks. Maybe a few Girl Scout Cookies.

We made it work (never mind the undergarments...)

Next up, our first month as McCammonites, Christmas and my baby bros wedding!