All I Want for Christmas (is my two front teeth)

I'm not sure what you were doing yesterday, but we certainly spent our time wisely.

Here is the product of our efforts, for your viewing pleasure:



All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) from Ben and Jenn on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Road Trip

 This year we spent Thanksgiving in Virginia with the Bairds and Ludlows, which meant a 12+ hour drive.  You can tell things started getting a little hairy by the end of the drive!  

 Ben and I chose to make the drive even longer by stopping through North Carolina and Southern Virginia.  We wanted to drive through the areas around Duke and University of Virginia, which were very lovely and in the midst of perfect fall splendor.  BUT we paid the price!  Archer was not very pleased with the extra 6 hours of driving!  He looks happy here, but it was actually a very low moment, in which the only thing we could figure to do was to get donuts.  

 And the only place we could find donuts was this place called Donut Connection, which wasn't the most desirable place to eat donuts and chocolate milk for dinner.  And the donuts were crappy.  You can see that the other three boys were about done with driving too.  They got their wiggles out by grabbing each other and wrestling in a little swarm that circled around the store.  

And then this sign provided way too many giggles for the over-tired boys in our group!

 Finally!  Cousin time!  Cousin time = heaven!  This is a huge bunch of them at Kara's house playing the candy bar game, which is a childhood memory that Ben loves to recall and was happy to relive.  Dave Ludlow wryly identified the game as the game that makes everyone hate each other and create discord in the home, because everyone steals each other's candy bars and gets really, really angry.

And the real reason we came: THANKSGIVING!!!  I had to snap a picture of 16-year-old Nate's dinner plate.  Monochromatic starch and protein, and lots of it.  I marked it down in my brain as a foreshadowing of my future (teenage boys!).  My plate turned out to be a little more colorful, but every bit as delicious.  

 Look at all these future teenage boys!  Give us 5 years, and we will have to double the amount of food we prepared for the same number of people.  Being with the Baird and Ludlow cousins is true Heaven for my boys!

 And Archer was in heaven being with cousins too.  The teenage girls absolutely loved him and pampered him.  I thought this was adorable when he fell asleep in Megan's arms.

And here is cute Brooke with Archer.  Jessica was super adoring with him as well!

 Henry lucked out by having a birthday on Thanksgiving weekend.  He was more than happy to have a cousin party, and he chose bowling as his special outing!  

 Can't remember why Sam was feeling this way, but everyone else had a great time!  The cousins typed in Henry's name as "HENRY B-DAY MAN" on the bowling screen.

And because he is awesome, Henry chose a donut cake!  These were delicious Duck Donuts - yummy - and the easiest birthday cake I've ever had to make. Donut redemption that erased all of our Donut Connection memories!

My instagram caption: I could not be more thankful to have had this boy in my life for the past 10 years. He is kind, patient, loving, flexible, clever, creative, witty, and fun. He brings so much joy and peace to our home! #happybirthdayhenry#thebigten

 These cousins were super sweet with Henry all day and tried to make his day special.  I found out later that Caleb had made a special breakfast in bed for Henry that included pancakes, bacon, and hot chocolate.

Megan and Jess had a fun time playing Cursed Pyramids with Henry!  

We did a lot more fun things together, all of which were not documented with photos.  :(

 And...the dreaded drive home.  Some people enjoyed it more than others.

There were highs and lows.  Sam certainly got to rock out to his tunes late into the night.  I predict that one possible future career for Sam is D.J.

Latergrams: in which Archer is a tiny baby and we adjust to our new lives

Can you tell which Iverson boy is which? And who does Archer look like? This kind of makes my head spin!#myfoursons #iversonboys#matchinggame

Dinner tonight at Sam's new restaurant: "Old Faithful Drum." Kids' meals come with a toy, and grown-up meals come with a new phone. 😊 And don't worry, they have "drink-a-milk" for babies! #samo

Totally amused by Archer's tummy time skills. He has rolled over front to back at least ten times!#tummytime #brotherlylove

 All suited up for the nightly soccer game with Dad! They now have to tuck in their shirts to start the game, like the MLS players. And like the MLS players, they untuck them as soon as the game starts.#soccerboys #orangesockslove

Henry declared today to be the 2nd best day of the entire school year -- the day his teacher decided to shell out the 1997 encyclopedia set to the class. He got to keep the "H" volume and the Science Annual. FYI: the best day of the year is the last day of school. 😊 #justlikechristmas#encyclopediafan

Archer's first apple-picking on the first day of fall. We thank Yom Kippur and Grandma for making this possible. 🍁🍎🍏.

Grandpa Dave's special tummy hold: Archer-approved!#threeweeks #babyarcher

I've never met two people more obsessed with every little detail of newborn babies. #grandmaandgrandpa#newbornlove

The greedy face of monopoly.#woodmonopoly #catanwinner#henrysfirstwin #settlersofcatan

Dad brought me two Rubbermaids full of garden tomatoes, since I can't seem to grow them. No problem getting them through security!#precioustomatoes #cheesesandwich#bestlunchever

I predict a new 5:00 ritual. Not as fun as grandparents, but it may get us through to dinner! #onourown#witchinghour #swingtime

First General Conference was a success! He slept at all the right times...and made me cry extra during Elder Holland's talk. ❤️ #ldsconference#iamamormon #spirituallyfed

Translation: I am feeling left out right now because my mom and dad are paying more attention to the baby. "Mom can you get me a pencil please?" "No. No." #ellisrevealed #truefeelings

Kinda sorta thinking baths might be okay after all. And almost thinking about smiling. #babyarcher #mylove

First storytelling festival for Archer and for Evanston. Not as charming of a setting as the Timpanogos festival, but it was certainly a delightful evening of stories, songs, and laughs. We support this new tradition! (More festivities tomorrow too!)#evanstonstorytellingfestival #datenight#archerthethirdwheel

Today's perfect fall weather called for a second apple picking trip...this time to the place in Wisconsin that we really love. It's the real deal.#oriolespringsorchard #fallperfection

Ellis found a bum apple! 😜#lifewithboys

To be honest, the food offerings at nearby Harvest Time strongly influence our choice in "favorite apple picking spot." I really don't think anything tops these donuts! Add cheese, crackers, and apples, and it's the perfect lunch. #harvesttimeorchards#fallperfection

Two weeks to teach him how to say "hoo!" #halloweenpreview#archergriffin

Little Archie loves his dad! Dad gets the bedtime shift with him, usually around 10 to midnight. They have been enjoying lots of Steven Colbert together! #lovethemboth

Loves attention from his brothers, snuggles, and kicking.#archergriffin #twomonthsold #superfresh

Doesn't this look like a fun game to play (and clean up)?#samsfavorite #restaurant

Henry has figured out that Dad will cave on bedtime if he asks questions about probability. #equations#nerdyboys #boardgameinvention#gametheory

This was the look I got today as we got ready for preschool pickup.#notimpressed #fourthchild #sweetarcher

This boy is the most determined tooth-puller I've ever met. 6 days after losing top tooth number one, he twisted, wobbled, and yanked at the second one until it finally came out! Now he has an adorable first-grade smile just in time for Christmas.#alliwantforchristmas #twofrontteeth#ellissmile

Just another kitchen dance party night brought on by Dad's dishes music. #decemberistsandfun#heshallhavemusicwhereverhegoes#costumecreativity

Our family is 12 years old and counting! We had a fun night of celebration. Watched some baby movies of each boy, and I cried with every one. Sad to see the years go by because they have all had such precious memories!#iversonday #anniversary #myboys

These three were thrilled to pieces over Ben's "water on the head" game. I hate to see my babies grow up, but it sure is fun to have big kids old enough to play and laugh together! #iversonday#puredelight

Fourth boy. Fourth heart murmur. Fourth cardiology visit to tell us that it's an innocent murmur. ❤️#mysweetboy

At the doctor's office, we found a whole shelf full of Archie comic books that caught my eye. Has anyone read these? I get the impression that they're for a slightly older audience...#archie

My fourth and first graders! I'm so happy they have each other at school. They just recently started walking home on their own when I can't get there. #sogrownup #henryandellis#schoolpictures

Just a little mother-daughter comparison, for you people who think Ellis looks like Ben.#lookalikes

This one goes out to the people who think Ellis looks like Ben. Votes? #lookalikes #lastone

The light of my life! I love him so much that I wake up at 3:00am just to be with him. 😊 #archergriffin#threemonthsold #sleepinterrupter

Went downtown with@kelleysuelarsen to meet up with@turleysix for lunch! Kelley was good friends with Jenna in Denver before Jenna moved to Boston. And today we introduced Archer and Isabelle, who were born only one day apart!#bostonfriendsforever

#needalittlechristmas

Archer's favorite is to be straight as a board. We can't convince him to curve! So tonight he is an airplane in his winged sleep sack. ✈️#dangstraight