Romeo: 
In truth I don't really love any parades, but my mom wanted us to take the kids to the Cedar City Thanksgiving Parade. It had all the small town trimmings, with lawn chairs lining Main St. in downtown Cedar. To my surpise, several of the entries were really well done. I saw everything from Darth Vadar to Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Some of my favorite entries included: the cast from Sesame Street, Strawberry Shortcake, the Old Lady who lived in a shoe, and something I can only imagine was the troll from Billy Goat's Gruff.
The one thing I will say about a parade at the end of November is it's COLD!! There was a storm front moving in right as the parade started, so the best in the house was inside the Xterra. I didn't mind braving the elements though, cause the more people who sat inside cars meant I had better odds on getting some of the candy being tossed out!
So, last night I graciously offered to sleep on the couch. It was kinda fun, since Coleton and Chloe were also out in the living room, but it didn't get me any more zzz's. At least when we woke up this morning, we had an immediate pillow fight and steamroller contest (Guess who won?!). It's getting dark and my mind is racing already - is there any place around here I can get a few hours sleep? Maybe the back porch is open? Hmmmm!!!
Kennedy, Liam, and Chloe all started the day with a cousin bath. It was fun to see the kids play together in the bathtub. Liam liked to climb over everyone to get the toy he wanted. Kennedy would usually let him know she didn't like being climbed over. I think Kennedy is just jealous that she can't walk yet! At one point, Liam gave Kennedy a good pat on the butt while she was standing up in the tub. Ah, good times in the tub. 
The weather was great, so we spent a little time giving kids rides on the 4 wheeler and finding a couple of geocaches. Kennedy had her first 4 wheeler ride and loved every second of it. She waved her hands and oohed the whole ride. We saw lots of horses, dogs and a couple of mules. We've seen turkeys in the past on our rides, but not today. Anyway, it was fun to get outside a little bit. The house was getting pretty hot from all the cooking going on. 
It was a great evening and we had a good time as a family. Kennedy loved the different plays and she applauded after each one. Even if she spent as much time eating crackers as watching the performances, Kennedy was a lot of fun and everyone in the ward really loves playing with her.
Coleton even hid his first official cache as part of our travels today. He's been wanting to hide a micro near his school for the past couple of months, so we finally accomplished his goal with the new cache, Late 4 School. It should be a good challenge for any worthy seeker. Coleton also found his 100th cache on our trip. We were trying to get to cache #400 for the Crew, but we only made it to #396. Until next week.
When Kennedy went down for a nap, Liam and I went outside and played on the little slide. That kid is fearless. He would have gone down the slide head first if I would have let him. He even tried to do a somersault down the slide. Luckily I caught him and I can still be on the good babysitter list! We look forward to our next playtime with Liam.
Later that day, Kennedy spent some quality time with the TV watching Baby Einstein. She doesn't like many programs, but she will sit (or stand) and watch the entire show of "On the Farm". Maybe this is why she is so good at saying all the animal sounds.
By the way, don't tell Jared but I have been known to shop at Walmart at times. Yes, they are cheaper. Hey, when you are buying formula every week, you need all the help you can get.
The first victory would have made for a fine evening, but then there was the second match of the night. No one on the team knew they would be playing twice on the same night, so much of the babysitting help from the earlier match had to leave. Guess who was the lucky one who got to stay and watch four little boys while the moms were playing? Some of the activities during my watch included: jumping off the chairs in the foyer (not my idea!), throwing all of Kennedy's toys at one another, kicking a volleyball up and down the halls, and some miniature version of the Ultimate Fighter (I learned that Daniel Ball is a master of Mou Tai, a form of ancient shoot fighting. I don't think he knew he was performing Mou Tai on his little brother, but he still took Joshua down pretty quick). In the end, everyone had fun and no one went to the ER. The women lost the second match, but it was a fun family night for all - even if I didn't talk to Tara the entire night!
I know some of you out there are shaking your heads in disgust, but Monopoly is one or the greatest games ever! My friends and I have a ritual of playing anytime one or more of them is in town. Last night Jason, Ian, and I had some intense battles with Jason's Lord of the Rings version of the game. I don't mean to brag, but someone won 3 out of 5 games. I may have been a widower because of the Deer Hunt Widows' Party, but I'm not dead yet!!
