Ah, 2020. We had such high hopes when you began. But alas. We naive idiots had NO IDEA what we were in for.
It all started out okay, at least. Let's focus on that part for now, shall we? January--it was still normal then.
After our trip to California, we flew back to Denver. We had no idea that flying would become such a big deal! I actually took a few pictures in the airport, which I don't usually do. I took this one because I thought Aubrey looked so cute with all the bows Aunt Kara made for her in her hair.
And I took this photo because Clara was just so cute in her little carrier.
Anyway, when we got home, it was back to business as usual. The kids played.
Aubrey went back to school (and we had lunch with her once... Carter was in heaven).
Carter went to soccer.
We went to the park.
We played family games.
We visited the Denver Zoo.
We had dinner together as a family.
And the kids played some more. Here they were pretending to be those toys you push down and then wait for them to pop up high.
And that was life for awhile! Man, I miss those days. Maybe they'll come again...
As soon as Thanksgiving is over, we decorate for Christmas. This was the first time we got to use the artificial tree I got used from Facebook. It worked out really well!
Daniel also made this holder for our stockings. We never really had a good place for them before, so I was excited about it.
At the beginning of the month, we had our ward Christmas party. A man from the ward had a perfect Santa beard, so he dressed the part for us. Carter refused to be in the picture, but I got this cute one of the girls.
And later I got this selfie shot with all three kids.
I also got this funny video of Aubrey and Carter playing.
Whenever it got really cold, the kids would fill different containers with water and wait for them to freeze. Then they'd bring them inside and drink the water from them as they melted.
In the middle of the month we celebrated Daniel's birthday. He doesn't like to do much on his birthday, but the kids had the idea to sing to him and give him some fake cupcakes. Hehe, so cute!
And after they had gone to bed, we celebrated Daniel's birthday with some poutine. We got the fries from Five Guys (because, really) and bought the cheese curds at the grocery store, but I did make the gravy from scratch. And it was good!
As it got a little closer to Christmas, of course we had to keep up the tradition of frosting Christmas cookies with Nana and Papa. The kids always love it!
And Clara was there too, haha.
Afterwards we all walked around downtown Golden to see the Christmas lights. There were some statues along the walkway, and of course Carter was immediately drawn to the guy with the gun. He tried to grab it, but alas...
Then Aubrey, Carter, and cousin William found a butterfly statue. Their faces are all amazing here.
And here.
Oh, and here too.
The bridge over Clear Creek was lit up with tons of lights, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. This one will have to do.
The next day was Sunday, and the kids decided they didn't want to sit with us. We decided to let them go and planned to take them back if they misbehaved. But this is all they did! They sat on each other's laps and ate snacks. Works for me!
That day I took advantage of the kids being dressed nicely and did Clara's montly photo. But, of course, the older two kids wanted in on the action. Clara was okay with her doting siblings at first...
... but then she got a bit unsure. (Also, I have no idea why Aubrey and Carter are making those faces, haha.)
And then she became downright unhappy. Poor, long-suffering baby! Hahaha.
On Christmas Eve we made the traditional Mangum Chinese food. (Don't you love our fancy serving platters?)
And for the first time we made our own scallion pancakes. They were a but underdone but tasty! I just need some more practice.
On Christmas day we did stockings first, obviously. Carter got this fun, stretchy ball thing.
Clara got a few of her siblings' recycled toys in her stocking, haha.
And Aubrey got these Wacky Tracks. I loved those things when I was a kid!
And, despite Daniel's reservations, Carter got the bullets for his Nerf-style guns.
The big kids got their own suitcases from Santa, while Clara's present from Santa was this toy piggy bank. She has grown into it! Haha.
Carter got a soccer ball from Grandma and Grandpa as a reminder that his present from them was his soccer class.
I have no idea what he was opening here, but he looks excited!
Clara got her own personalized blanket from Grandma and Grandpa. I love the colors!
And Aubrey got some new Disney princess dolls (like Glitter Gliders) from Grandma and Grandpa.
Mommy's and Daddy's present to Carter was a new bike! We wrapped the helmet and then unveiled the bike after.
Carter also got a Batmobile that he had fallen in love with at Costco.
And Aubrey was very intrigued by this huge present...
... which turned out to be a balance board that can be used in a ton of different ways.
It didn't take her long to start using it as a reading spot. Here she is with her new Friend magazine, which she got a subscription to as a present.
After all the presents were opened, we put together the photo puzzle Santa gave the whole family. It's of Aubrey, Carter, and Clara.
I love this--Clara's little face on a puzzle piece!
Speaking of this cute girl, here she is in her Christmas outfit. I just had to document it!
After Christmas day we took a trip to California (with the kids' new suitcases)! Grandpa enjoyed Clara snuggles.
And all the cousins had a blast together, as usual! Carter and Bennett were particularly cute with each other.
And the older boys were very good with the littles.
We celebrated New Year's Eve with everyone, which meant doing poppers with the little kids several hours before midnight. We also did s'mores. Fun was had!
We had a good time, as usual, and it was sad for cousins to have to say goodbye. But I got this cute video of Bennett making Clara smile. I think it makes for a good ending to this blog!
It's funny that I named this post for Thanksgiving, because I actually have no photos from Thanksgiving! It's sad too, because it's my favorite holiday. But I'll be honest, it is a lot less fun with kids... or at least our kids. They don't eat anything but rolls! Literally nothing. And it drives me crazy! Anyway, moving on.
At the very beginning of the month, Carter got to enjoy his early Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa--soccer class! In his first class, there was only one other kid. So Carter got a lot of one-on-one time with Coach Scott (who was totally awesome, by the way). And I got a lot of videos!
When he started out, he had trouble not using his hands. I find that and the stomach sticking out so funny in this video...
He got better and better as the hour went by.
And in this video, he cutely asks the coach where the finish line is. Hehe.
Anyway, Carter did soccer for several months, so more photos and videos of that to come.
With Clara still being a fairly little baby, a lot of our time in November was spent focused on her. She's just so cute that everyone wanted to be with her!
I particularly tried to hold Clara as much as I could, because these kids don't stay little for long. And the kids even managed to get me in a few photos (that weren't blurry)! They both love taking pictures on my phone, so they each took a turn being in front of the camera and behind it.
There were also some cute sibling photo ops. I can never pass those up!
Aubrey also spent a lot of time reading to her siblings. So sweet!
The rest of the month was spent at a birthday party (at which Aubrey got made into a toilet paper mummy)...
... and at the park rolling down the hill (of course, Aubrey puked soon after this)...
... and playing with chalk at Nana's and Papa's house. (Aubrey wrote every family member's name. Cute!)
And, of course, in keeping with tradition, we did our annual leaf raking party. I love that we do this as a family!
It's so wonderful to see the look of pure joy on their faces from such a simple thing!
Speaking of pure joy, Daniel spent November planning and executing an earth sandwich with his friend in Massachusetts and some French research scientists on a tiny island on the exact other side of the world. I think this photo/graphic thing says it all.
It was apparently freezing that morning, hence the snow. And Daniel was not adequately dressed! He also had to leave at, like, 3:00 in the morning to get there for sunrise in Colorado and sunset on the island. Now that's insanity dedication for you!
And, finally, we reached another family milestone--kids sharing a room! We moved Clara into Aubrey's room, and it has actually worked out very well. We've had a few instances when it wasn't an ideal situation, but it has been mostly positive.
Oh, and I guess I lied. I have one photo from Thanksgiving... er, Thanksgiving weekend. And it's not my photo. It's actually Karen's. Oh, whatever, here it is.
