The Bryan Family Sampler: 2019

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Halloween 2019

The night before Halloween Matt and Josh decided to carve pumpkins. I always buy them but we don't always get around to carving :) They did most of the work on their own...bless them!

That same evening Abby and I went shopping to put the finishing touches on her costume.
She had recently bought a blue sweater and based her subtle Cookie Monster costume around it. She wanted a blue hat with eyes so we hit JoAnn and miraculously found a blue visor and the perfect furry blue fabric to cover it in. We also found some cookie buttons to make earrings.

There were some open shape earrings on clearance so all we did was glue the button on...we didn't have to worry about trying to cut off the back.

Ben has been just about every one of his favorite characters for Halloween.

With Abby being Cookie Monster, my mind wandered to Grover. Ben used to watch Sesame Street while he ate lunch when he was little and he loved Super Grover...he used to do the cutest little thing at the end of his theme song. I think he's forgotten about that but he still recognizes Grover when he sees him so I thought we'd give it a try.

Some blue sweats, a Grover t shirt, a cheap cape and helmet and we were set!

I didn't really expect to get a picture with the helmet on because I thought he wouldn't tolerate it beyond a couple of seconds so I was extremely pleased with these great shots!

It's hard to see Cookie Monster's eyes but I felt like it all turned out pretty cute :)

Abby gave Matt the idea of being a "Leaf Blower" and Josh decided to be a mirror image of himself...complete with his hair parted on the opposite side.

This was my kind of Halloween with super chill costumes :)

When I bought this dress a couple of months ago Andy expressed his thoughts of it looking like a pioneer dress. His opinion was agreed with by at least two other people so I texted him halloween morning and told him I was wearing a costume to the temple :)

Matt with some of his neighborhood friends when they came to our door...

Mom and Dad came over as usual and enjoyed dinner and festivities with us.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Abby Turns 15!

We celebrated Abby's birthday along with my brother Jameson's (who's birthday is the day after hers) the day before her actual birthday...

Team work!

Ben couldn't miss out on the action and had to have a candle of his own to blow out.

Grandma's good at picking out funny, singing cards...

#birthdaybesties

On her birthday, we went to the DLD to take a stab at the test to get her driving permit. She hadn't studied at all but, what the heck? The first time she missed it by three but they encouraged her to take it again and she passed!

More candles for Ben to get excited about...

Abby's a big Bob Ross fan...

Matt gave her a card with some cash in it...

Abby is a sweetie!

She is such a good big sister to Ben and takes care of him willingly.

She's also good about giving fashion advice to her other two brothers.

She's talented, funny and is a good friend to all.

We love you Abs!

October Odds and Ends

My cute Grandma had another fall and was placed in a home for some temporary care.

High school had a day off for parent teacher conferences so Josh, Abby and I were able to go visit...

We had an early snow and I thought these tiny snowballs on my rose leaves were a pretty picture...

I got working on my Christmas ornaments.

One year I had them done by labor day but most years I am scrambling to get them ready in time to deliver by mid December.

I also did my annual caramel apples...

The kids had their fall piano recital...

For the last several years I have struggled making dinner for my family.

I had a hard time deciding what to make because I knew I couldn't please everyone. There were only a few meals that at least half of my family would eat so I ended up getting into a rut. Consequently, I would then try new dishes that no one but Andy and Ben would end up eating and eventually, I felt like I gave up.

A friend suggested I have my kids make the meals. That wasn't a new idea...I had heard it before but for some reason, this time, it clicked for me.

I assigned each of them a day of the week and they get to choose the menu and make the meal. I do the grocery shopping and help when needed but the rest is up to them. We've only been doing it for about a month and a half now but it's been wonderful so far!

They now take responsibility for what to make so they can't really complain and it's teaching them valuable skills for when they are off on their own.

Another perk is that by the time my turn comes around on Thursday, we often have leftovers from the previous three nights :)

It has really taken a burden off of my shoulders and dinner time isn't nearly the drudgery that it used to be.

Also, the kids have all had a really good attitude about it. I kind of expected them to drag their feet but they have been almost eager to participate!

We ended up having a really serious snow towards the end of the month. It was super cold that week and we all felt like autumn had been passed over a little too quickly :)