November Recap

In a Nutshell...

November was a slightly more laid-back month for us, although challenging for us the first half of the month with Mark being SO busy with hunting and harvest, and me being SUPER busy at home with two little boys, on top of a busy end to the month with company and multiple Thanksgiving get togethers.

We finally settled into a routine with our boys, and BOTH boys really started sleeping pretty good finally, even if we have bad nights here and there.

We had an early snow on the 5th that stuck around almost a whole day that really cooled things off, unfortunately, so we spent a lot more time inside the house.

While I had a few days at the beginning of the month that I filled in for my boss half days while he was on vacation, Kendrick and I settled back in at home for the month before I return back on December 2nd. We enjoyed lots of snuggles and warm coffee (or at least I did) while trying to keep the house somewhat in order, on top of prepping for a week of guests with Daniel, Iryna and Sofie coming for a visit.

Mark enjoyed hunting with his Dad and buddy Jamie the second and third weekends of the month, and was still busy with harvest and farm activities until the 20th! We then traded off parenting duties and I got to have fun with some girlfriends on the fourth Saturday for the day.

We entertained Mark's brother and family for the week of Thanksgiving and enjoyed catching up with them. We celebrated twice (once in Worthington with Mark's Dad and family, and once at our home with Mark's Mom), on top of having a pizza and gift night the night before Thanksgiving with just Mark's Dad, Pam and the kids.

Here is our month a little more in depth:

Exploring the Farm (November 2)

Cashel and I went out to visit Mark and his Dad at the farm (while Kendrick hung out with Grandma Pam and Aunt Jess at the house). Cashel is so enamored by all that the farm has to offer. It is a wonderful place to explore!

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Fun in the Leaves (November 10)

Cashel and I had some fun raking the leaves into a pile and playing in it while Mark was at the farm and Kendrick was napping.

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http://markandamyjohnson.blogspot.com/2013/11/fun-in-leaves-november-10.html

Coffee with Sara and Ava (November 14)

I caught up with my new friend Sara over coffee with our youngest little ones at River City Eatery here in Windom.

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Dinner with Mandy and Claire (November 14)

I had a great time catching up with my dear friend and former college roommate Mandy and her daughter Claire when they brought us supper to meet baby Kendrick.

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Chinese and Christmas (November 22)

Since we knew it was going to get crazy soon with our company coming and Amy going back to work as soon as they left, we decided to decorate for Christmas a weekend early this year.

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Girls' Day and Date Night (November 23)

After a very crazy few weeks with harvest and hunting underway, I finally got a nice break and joined some girlfriends for a relaxing, fun day in Worthington. We had visited over coffee at Ben Lee's, did some shopping downtown and at Blooms~n~Baskets, and then met our hubbies for supper at Ground Round later that evening. After spending so much time with the boys lately, it was a welcome relief, even if I missed them dearly!

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The California Johnsons Visit (November 23-30)

Mark's brother and his family stayed with us the week of Thanksgiving. We had a nice time catching up with them while they were here, and Cashel got to know his cousin Sofie a little bit better :)

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Thanksgiving in Worthington (November 28)

We celebrated with 34 Johnsons and friends in Worthington at First Baptist Church this year.

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Looking Ahead...

We are looking forward to a more low-key December. We're all glad Mark will be around more this month, and are planning to do much less traveling this year than in the past years around the holidays. We will do smaller Christmas gatherings with just immediate family this year (which, of course, means a rather enormous Christmas with my family, since there are 26 of us in my immediate family), and we are looking forward to beginning our own traditions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our boys. We haven't always made it a priority in the past to be in our own home over the holiday itself, and we're looking forward to not being rushed and busy and chaotic and on the road, but rather just settling in with a hot cup of coffee and enjoying a few laid-back days as a family.

Amy will be heading back to work in December, which will be an adjustment for us all, but we know we'll adjust and find our new rhythm.

A Week with the California Johnsons (November 24-30)

Mark's older brother and his family joined us for a week surrounding Thanksgiving. It was nice to have some time to catch up with them, even if it was a tad chaotic at times. We didn't really do too much, but did enjoy the time they were here!

I'll get into some separate posts about events we attended in a bit, but here are some pictures from the time they were here!

Thanksgiving in Worthington (November 28)

Mark's Aunt Barb and Uncle Dean graciously hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving at the First Baptist Church in Worthington this year. If you recall, they did the same back in 2011, and we had a wonderful time together. We had 30 that year, and this year, while we had 3 (Drew, Denise and Kirsten) who didn't make it this year who DID make it in 2011, we added so many more that we still had a huge gathering of 34!! Part of the larger group consists of THREE new great-grandchildren (Cashel, Carter and Kendrick) for Grandma Vi (this makes six for her now). It was a crazy day for us with 2 of the little ones, but I think it's a safe wager that everyone had a great time!

The Meal

I have to say that I think this is the first Thanksgiving I've attended where I didn't leave stuffed, and where I didn't get my food pics before half the food had already been devoured! It's just a little more difficult when the meal hits at nap time and you're a parent of a toddler and almost 3-month old. Either way, we had some delicious food! The decorating team did a great job making the place festive :)

The spread included both turkey and ham (with Grandma's ham sauce - yum!), green bean casserole, a couple fruity type salads, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, a nice selection of breads, freezer sweet corn, cranberry sauce, seven layer salad, other hors d'oeuvres, and of course, stuffing.

Digging In

Family

Barb had asked Skyler and I to set up shop (you know, our DSLRS, tripod and timer) to take some family photos of us all together! How we managed to have these turn out so great, I have no idea haha :) It was a little loud and crazy (and by little, I mean VERY). Unfortunately, Caleb and his girlfriend had to take off, so they didn't quite make the picture, but here are the 31 Johnsons who were left. (The 34th guest was cousin Megan's roommate.)

It has been a while since we've had a picture of Mark's entire family all together (13 of us and Grandma Vi) with his Dad and family. What a whirlwind year it has been, but we were so grateful to see Kent's smiling face :)

Here are all the cousins (and spouses)

Here is Grandma with her children and their spouses (Mark's Dad's generation)

And here is our newly-expanded little family :)

It may be a number of years before major holidays are a little less chaotic for us, what with at least a few more years with toddlers in the house, but it was still good to see everyone (even if we weren't really able to visit very easily). We are so very thankful for the chaos, and for such an understanding extended family who is so encouraging and accepting of our wiggly little ones :) One thing I can guarantee: It's only going to start getting crazier before it starts to settle back down (if that ever happens) ;)

Girls' Day and Date Night (November 23)

After a very crazy few weeks with harvest and hunting underway, I finally got a nice break and joined some girlfriends for a day in Worthington. We met at Ben Lee's in downtown Worthington around 10am and visited through lunch (which we also had there) before devoting the rest of the afternoon to shopping.

Heather (below) and her hubby are expecting their first little one in early February, and she was looking so darn cute with her little belly :)

I thoroughly enjoyed a yummy vanilla chai latte, and was just soaking in the festive atmosphere :)

I was also really excited to see my good friend Erin, who moved to Marshall a couple years ago. It was crazy reminiscing about where our lives were when they moved! I was pregnant with Cashel, she was pregnant with Bentley and hadn't told anyone yet, Nancy was pregnant with Madelyn, and AiWen and Josh had just gotten married and were fresh back from their honeymoon in China.

I was shocked to run into Mark's cousin, Megan there! I miss this lady!! She was there meeting a friend for lunch. She lives in Sioux Falls, and it seems like although she's in Worthington a fair amount, we never manage to meet up :(

So like I said...we had coffee...then LUNCH (see below), which was delicious!

We all sorta ate at different times as well, as we all showed up at different times and weren't all on the same schedule, so some ate while others ran errands, and vice versa. It was a little hit and miss as far as all of us being together, and a couple of the ladies had their kiddos with them at various points throughout the day, but we still were able to visit a little around that.

We thought it was kinda funny that Erin and I had pretty much the same coat, just different lengths. haha

Eventually we DID all make it together (without kiddos even!) for a little shopping downtown at Main Street Kids, Schafer's Health & Gifts and Lit'l Wizards (which is THE cutest little shop for kiddos of all time - with SUCH unique stuff!)

One of my favorite little shops in Worthington is a little ways out in the country - Blooms 'n Baskets. SUCH a cute little shop!

I decided on this yummy candle (which is almost completely burned up already haha)

Nance and I stayed a few minutes longer while the other girls had to get back to town a little earlier.

Later that evening, we met our hubbies for supper at Pizza Ranch and played catch up a little more as a larger group.

It was crazy seeing how big Bentley had gotten since we last saw her! Here are Joel and Erin :)

While Kris told us we were crazy (yeah, we probably are), I did convince Nancy and Heather to do a little belly comparison pic :) Nancy is 24ish weeks here and Heather is 29ish weeks.

Kristina wasn't able to join us for the rest of the day, but she and Jed and their sweet daughter Aleigha did join us for supper! Kristina is expecting their second little one in late March!

Nancy, Curt and Madelyn joined us as well! Nancy and Curt are expecting their second little one as well in early March!

Heather and Jamie will finally be joining the ranks of us crazies in early February!

Mark and I enjoying a night out on our own while the boys spend time with Grandpa and Grandma Pam.

And here is Josh and AiWen and their little Ella, who is about 5 months old here!

After spending so much time with the boys lately, it was a welcome relief, even if I missed them dearly!