Turkey Shoot

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family,

The twins and I started our 5-day vacation from school and work on Wednesday.  The only outsiders we've had contact with is Kendra's cousin, Megan, and her fiance's family.  it's been wonderful.  We haven't purposefully excluded or ignored people.  It was just an unintended consequence of us not reaching out and inviting people over.

i took Easton to the hobby shop to buy a model rocket that we could build together.  We passed the model section of things to build that are just models as opposed to the model rockets we shoot that really fly.  He spotted a space shuttle orbiter and requested we buy and build that one instead of one that launches.  I offered to buy him others such as motorcycles, cars, planes or battleships, but he was set on the orbiter.

I agreed and we went straight home to start on our first model building project together.

The most difficult part was getting him to follow the directions from step 1 to the end, in order.  I guided him through the process and we came away with a very well built model.  The hour after this was spent flying missions around the house.  it was a good day.

When it came time for Layla's playtime with Daddy we brought out her tub of pet shop toys.  The great room was filled with sets.  Most of our playtime was dedicated to setting up the structures and Layla explaining every pets name and what they play.  That was fine with me as long as we were doing what she wanted, then I consider it a success.

i took the twins to In-N-Out for burgers.  I left them at the table while I loaded up on ketchup and napkins.  When I came back they both had red marks on their foreheads.  I asked what happened and they said, "we were giving each other a head-five".  Not sure where it came from, but instead of giving high-fives, they bonked heads and cheered, "head-five!"  I said if they were to continue doing that they need to be more gentle.  They slowly moved their heads towards each other and cheered, "head-five!" This is the kind of stuff I don't think parents of different-aged kids get to see.  Easton and Layla are on the same level with age and size so there are some fun moments that occur just because of that.  

Easton was a great helper for day-1 of our home decoration strategy.  I bought 20 boxes of lights and accompanying hardware two years ago in an after-Christmas sale.  Easton helped me assemble the tile roof light hangers.

I even let him climb the ladder a few steps up to see how it feels to be tall.

We are about half way done and it's looking great.  Here is the view from our front door of the roof lights, path lights, and cactus in the Arizona sunset.  A few beads of sweat rolled down my cheek as I worked in my shorts and t-shirt hanging Christmas lights.  only in AZ...

Kendra taught the twins how to play wall ball against the garage and four square.  Our driveway is set up well for the school playground games.  It's good to get them a head start on these because someday soon they'll be challenging their classmates.

Kendra made a full Thanksgiving Day meal for just us 4 Webbs.  homemade rolls, turkey in the oven, and stuffing.  it was the biggest meal in the history of just us chickens and it turned out wonderful.

Since we had no one else at the house to take pictures of us I was the only camera man around.  We went for a walk to work off the extra food we consumed.  We walked through our greenbelt hand in hand naturally.  I held Kendra's hand and the twins followed suit without a word being spoken to ask them to do that.  We walked towards another group of neighbors and it felt a little odd as if we were walking hand in hand to pose for a music album cover.  Even so, it is the most natural thing in the world for us to hang onto each other in the happiest and saddest of times.

In the backyard the twins decided to lay out on the pool chairs to feel the warm sun on their backs.  They asked when the pool will be warm enough to swim in and were disappointed to hear it is still several months away.  It took some convincing for them to understand how important it is to just enjoy the season we are in now and not wish their life away.  When the heat comes, we'll get pool time, but lose park time and outdoor fun.  It's a trade off so just enjoy today to the fullest!

This was the best picture we could get of the 4 Webbs with a camera on a tripod with a timer.  I'm completely content with my family and our life.  I'm blessed beyond anything I could have imagined a few years ago.  If I never get another blessing for the rest of my life, I would have enough goodness to last me forever.

And what event with the 4 Webbs would be complete without a little humor and silliness.  Kendra bought these hats for us as a joke.  We laughed at each other and the pictures of ourselves.  Happy Thanksgiving to you!

See you soon.