New Stairs!!!

Since Monday was a holiday, the days are getting all mixed up - I thought it was Tuesday today! So I didn't even think to write the usual family post, which is done on Wednesdays. So I'm a little late, but here I go!

Nothing interesting happened until Saturday. Jeffery had a burst of energy to get some things done over the weekend, which is great! Just before Alexander's birthday in June, he decided he wanted to fix our stairs, which weren't sturdy. He took them apart and discovered that they weren't anchored to anything, just hanging in the air! So he took them down, and he was going to build new ones.

Well, months went by, and nothing really happened. Most weekends, Jeffery was either working, doing paperwork for his job, or working a home show. So no luck there. But this past weekend, there was nothing going on, so Jeff took the gift cards we had and purchased all the wood needed for our new stairs! Paul R. helped cut the stair stringers and put them up in the afternoon, and Jeff finished cutting and putting up the steps in the evening.

When Jeffery pulled up the old steps to put them in the backyard pile that is waiting to go to the dump, he saw a ton of ants scurry back into their holes. This is what remained:

Look at all the trails that the ants left! There are about 15-20 holes in this picture! No wonder ants were getting into our house - they all live right by the front door! So we spread some ant killer and Jeff levelled the ground to prepare for setting up the stringers.

Alexander was helping daddy draw the lines where he needed to cut the wood for the stairs.

So now we have stairs that are sturdy! They don't bend and wobble while we climb up and down them anymore! YAY!!

In other news (lol), I was trying to put the kids' laundry away after they had woken up from their naps on Saturday, and they were constantly getting into the basket of clean clothes and getting everything messed up. So I tossed them both into the crib so they were out of my way. And this was the result:

They loved being in the crib together. Alexander especially enjoyed it.

And Isabel enjoys being outside just as much as her brother.

But she does NOT enjoy being in the stroller when everyone else around her is allowed to walk around freely. (not that she knows how to walk on her own... yet.)

On Sunday, we went to my parents' place after church, and I was able to see Ethan in person for the first time! Yes, Ethan and Moriah (E-man and little Mo) are at home with Ken and Anne now, which is AWESOME!!! They are both doing much better with their feeding, and they are slowly gaining weight, which is awesome! I forgot to bring my camera, though, so there are no pictures. :(

Monday was our Thanksgiving dinner. Jeff's mom came over after work to enjoy dinner with us. We also had Ray & Ashley, Carly, Natalie and Jeremy come over, and also a new friend, Maeghan. It was a great group of people, and the conversation was lively (I couldn't think of another word to use for it, Ashley! lol).

The turkey was interesting, however. It was a 12 lb turkey, and the innards were not in a tiny bag inside the turkey, as I had expected. All the organs were just sitting in the cavity, and I got to take it all out myself. blech. I was proud of myself, since I got the neck and the kidney/liver out without wanting to vomit. Then there was the heart. blech! I'm not good with innards.

I rubbed melted butter with rosemary and thyme in between the skin and the breast of the turkey and baked it at 475 F for 20 minutes, then turned the oven down to 250 F for the rest of the cooking time. It turned out wonderfully! The turkey was the only thing we had left over too! We also had Jeff's world-famous scalloped potatoes, corn, stuffing, and turkey, and for dessert there was apple and cherry pies, both made by Ashley and Carly. There was no pie by the end of the night (thanks mostly to Carly's gargantuan stomach that never seemed to be empty!).

So yesterday I made a turkey noodle soup for dinner, and we still have tons of turkey left over! Here come the turkey sandwiches and casseroles, eh? lol

How was your thanksgiving, my fellow Canadians? And for my American friends, what are you planning for Thanksgiving?