Thanksgiving Weekend

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving Evan and I returned home from a movie to discover that the garage was flooded. The culprit was our water heater. Luckily between my dad and David, I figured out how to turn the hot water off. Hot water or not, we left for the next morning around 9. We made many stops along the way for Evan and I snapped this picture of beautiful fall foliage.


David called me many times on the way. Between him and Terry they managed to drain and remove the water heater. He also fixed corroded pipes. I love my uncle David. He's the best :)

Right after we arrived at the Lodge, Thanksgiving ensued. The food was awesome and the company was even awesomer (is that a word?)


After dinner the boys went outside to toss the football around. My mom, Ruby, Anna, Evan and I went on a walk.






Later we played 5 Crowns.


Molly got a fat lip :(
At night Jared made hot chocolate for the kids.



Then Jared and Darrel let off fireworks on the back porch.

One almost hit me! I think Jared did that on purpose.




Molly with her blankie and hat grandma made for her.
Molly was constantly putting on different kids shoes. I love this picture!

Molly also tried over and over again to bond with Ruby. Ruby kept giving her the cold shoulder. I think this was as close as Ruby would let Molly get to her.


Brotherly bonding:

Marshmellow guns!



Grandma showed Anna how to make hats.

Ruby and grandpa:



Grandma wanted a picture with all the grandkids and their beanies:






Ruby grabbed Max's hand. She loves Max.

Ian taught Anna how to draw. She loved it!

Shooting:

Even Emmy had a turn:
Candyland - Ian played Candyland with the kids for a long time. I think he made a friend for life in Emmy :)

Saturday morning grandpa and Xander went coyote hunting. They are two peas in a pod.

We had a fun weekend filled with games, food and family. We came home on Saturday and Ian's parents came over to help with the water heater. Luckily it was still under warranty. I'm so thankful for my family and Ian's family. We are so blessed.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving started off with me running the Turkey Trot and Ian and the boys playing football. I'm happy to report I did NOT have to stop for a Dr. Pepper. I did pretty good - I ran the whole thing except for about 3 minutes of it (I took my stopwatch).

We raced home after because Thanksgiving dinner was supposed to be at 12:00. I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and rolls - luckily Ian helped. Although, it's never good to have an artist in the kitchen. When I ran in from the bathroom to check on him he was just about to put some vanilla (yes, you are reading this right) in the potatoes. He'd already put some other spices in. I had a little freak-out (just enough to let him know it was NOT o.k. to take liberties with my potatoes). He then made his own little batch where he added all sorts of stuff (cheese, bacon, parsley, ect).

When we got to my mom's the football game was on.

The boys watched that for a while. Also, we all took turns sneaking some of my aunt Denise's rice krispy cookies that Kim had made. Mmmm....

Ben tried to sneak a roll.

Above is his sneaking face.

Finally...Dinner! Complete with brown sugar'd sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, 3 kinds of stuffing, turkey, rolls, corn, green bean casserole, assorted veggies and fruits. Delicious strawberry lemonade. And pie! Adam made Aaron's cream cheese pie. And Kim made her pumpkin delight. Both were awesome. I brought an apple pie and an apricot pineapple pie (my dad's favorite).

Evan voted to play instead of eat. I think he ended up eating 3 rolls and some whipped cream. Awesome, huh?After Trina, Darrel and my mom cleaned up while Kim played with the little kids. I helped here and there...but mostly I sat around and napped. Running + eating makes me tired!

I followed Ruby and her roll around for a while. She tried to feed me some and when I pretended to take a bite out of it she wasn't fooled. She pried my mouth open with her hand then shoved the roll in. She is one determined little girl!
It was a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving. We hung out at my mom's for a while - talking, playing and watching football and watching Modern Family. It was a great Thanksgiving.

More SYTYCD and Thankfulness

Lisa sent me these pictures yesterday. They made me so happy.

Kent!


Even though I look like I have some disease in this picture I still LOVE that we are in front of the SYTYCD wall! Don't be jealous, but it was everything we hoped it would be and more. Ian didn't want to be in the picture and I'm sure he'll regret that for the rest of his life.

Ade = awesome.

Robert was pretty good but the faces he makes drive me IN-SANE. Not in a good way, either.

Sooo...in honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post my thank-full list. Here are the things I'm especially thankful for this year:

1. My husband. I don't think he knew how high maintenance I was when he married me. But he loves me and he never lets me feel sorry for myself and he keeps me positive and he always makes me laugh. Plus he's an awesome dad to our children. Which makes him sexy too.

2. My kids. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with them. I am thankful Xander finished his science project (mostly). I'm thankful Ben loves math. I'm thankful Max finally lost his other front tooth. I'm thankful Evan gives me the best hugs. I'm so proud of each one of them.

3. My family. My mom. And dad. My super awesome sister Kim. And the rest of the gang. Especially those cute little nieces of mine.

4. My friends. I'm so lucky to have some super great people in my life (you know who you are). I'm specifically thankful for my friend Tiffany who has got me through some major rough spots this year, just by listening to me and giving me advice. She could have a second career as a psychologist.

5. My home. So glad we still have one :)

6. My neighbors - specifically my aunts and uncles.

7. My ward at church and the Bishop. Most of the women there feel like my sisters. And the bishop is awesome. Every time he talks I can feel his geniune love for me and the people in our ward. It sounds cheesy, but it's true.

8. That Ian and I both have jobs. And for the people I work with.

9. Baked goods. Cupcakes. Cookies. Pie. And Trifle (although I haven't had it yet, the way Tiffany described it, I'm pretty sure once I taste it I will be thankful for it - did you follow that?)

10. Music. When I'm super down and don't want to talk to anyone, listening to music and running get me through. It's the magic combination.