goggle goggle

we worked and worked on what a turkey says to get ready for thanksgiving.  cody finally got it down, and even put in into song.  it mostly sounds like 'goggle goggle' but is pretty awesome.

we headed to sierra vista after finding out last minute that ryan was going to have thanksgiving off.  we didn't leave until 7:50 on wednesday night and had a layover in las vegas, so it ended up being a pretty long night.  luckily cody spend about half of the first flight looking out the window like this...

having a little table set up for the kids was about the coolest thing of cody's life.  he loved having as many snacks and meals at that table as we'd let him have.

not long after we arrived in sierra vista (after staying the night in tucson with sean and nicole), cody met grandpa's new dog, sally.  unfortunately cody went away one way with the leash caught on his feet and sally went another taking cody down.  he ended up with a mouthful of blood and a pretty good sized fat lip.  he wouldn't hardly let us touch it until the next day.

thanksgiving was delicious with contributions from all the varga families.  and, of course, no one took a single picture...

friday morning, a bunch of us headed to a little ghost town that was putting on a little fair.  first thing we ran into was the fire truck.  

cody was in heaven when they gave him his own fire hat and two stickers.  he followed this fireman around for a good 10 minutes while we waited for the other car to arrive.

 the brochures boasted a petting zoo, which actually turned out to be three alpacas that the kids could pet.  luckily owen and cody aren't too picky.

cody loved helping push the twins' stroller, which was an extra bonus since it kept him from running all over the place.

several tractors were on display.  this machine broke up rocks.  cody loved the noisiness of it.

probably the most fun was the exhibit where you could make your own rope like the farmers used to do.  owen gave it a shot first.

and then i helped cody make one of his own.

aubrey and i worked on teaching owen how to jump rope using his while ryan fashioned cody his own little leash.

we ended the morning with a picnic lunch on the porch of the general store.  it was a fun morning that wore us all out for good naps later that day.

aubrey and i snapped pictures of each other to prove that we were there, just behind the cameras.

there was a little bit of swimming 

a little bit of shooting, a little bit of gingerbread house making, a little bit of game playing, a little bit of family picture taking (to come), a lotta bit of good eating, and a whole lot of fun to be had with quite the houseful.

cody sure loved the babies, kellen and kai.  when they would cry, he would walk over to them saying 'shhh' and pat their heads.  he was pretty much thrilled when i asked him if he wanted to hold them.  he climbed right up on the couch and held out his arms.  hopefully he is as kind and gentle in another couple of months when he has his own baby brother. 

with kai 

with kellen

we had a few signs posted when babies were sleeping down the hallway.  one day logan was very concerned that he didn't know which baby was sleeping when the sign was posted at the hallway entrance.  so he made a sign for each baby that we could put up on their respective rooms.  he gave it to me right as we were packing up to head home and i told him we wouldn't be sleeping there again.  no worries, he told me i can use it on any vacation we take.  perfect!

(cody is sleeping in here. please keep out.)

we're so grateful we could spend another thanksgiving with the whole varga crew.  with the possibility of moving far, far away for residency, the big get-togethers may become much fewer and farther between, so we're happy to have had an extra, unanticipated chance to hang out with everyone!