Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend was FULL of food, family and fun! I'm sure I sound like a broken record, but I seriously can't believe that it's already Thanksgiving! I hate that this time of year seems to fly by faster than the rest. This is the time of year I want to slow down and enjoy more. I guess I just need to make that happen. I need to stop and "smell the pumpkin and peppermint" so to speak. Well, I did relish the slower pace of this weekend. I loved that Jeff didn't have to work. I loved having my best friend around for 4 days straight! I loved watching the boys enjoy time with their cousins. I loved spending time with siblings-in-law and parents-in-law. I feel incredibly lucky to have married into such a loving, kind, accepting...and crazy family! I was able to reflect on my life this weekend as I contemplated the blessings I'm grateful for. There is too much to list, but on the top of that list is my faith and my family. I was born into the greatest family EVER! I love my siblings. They are my best friends. I love my parents. They have always been my biggest cheerleaders. I am grateful that I was raised in a church that taught me to have faith in the unseen and to serve the needs I see. I am eternally grateful to have been led to a man that is my best friend and my greatest love. I can't imagine my life without him. I am grateful for his love, his mercy, his patience, his support. I am grateful that I am his everything and he is mine. I am grateful that I have been blessed with four children that I didn't bear and one that I did. Motherhood has been the most monumental challenge yet the most gratifying blessing in my life. My heart is full. My life is full. I am not sure why I have been so blessed, but I am truly humbled and grateful for all I have.

We started our Thanksgiving festivities on Wednesday night with our annual pie night. Stan, Kristi, and their boys came into town that night. We loved having family, friends and neighbors over to enjoy a sugary feast! Pie is definitely something that deserves it's own night. This year I made a pecan pie cheesecake with caramel topping and candied pecans. It was DELICIOUS!

Thanksgiving Thursday Katie hosted our dinner. I made homemade mashed potatoes and green bean casserole to add to the turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc. All the food was delicious! But it didn't end with the dinner! Seriously! 20 minutes after we cleaned up, Katie breaks out another counter full of "snacks" for the evening! I couldn't believe it. I think we could have fed a small nation with all the food. The rest of the evening we played games, worked on puzzles, watched football, and just enjoyed being with family.

This was round 2!

Friday morning, Brad came down to visit before Stan and Kristi headed back to Idaho Falls. I loved having so much time to just be together as a family. It was sad to see everyone go...but we consoled ourselves by putting up the Christmas decorations! Bring on the next holiday! This truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

I couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving weekend!

Salem Hills High Basketball

Today was Dallin's first high school basketball game! I can't believe he's in high school. Time is flying by too quickly! Why can't we keep our kids little?! It was almost surreal to watch him play high school basketball. He is not on the starting team, but he got plenty of play time. I love watching him play. He plays with heart. He is not afraid to be aggressive and there are very few players that can match his speed. He was definitely a part of the reason his team won!! There are going to be many games this season, but I promise I won't inundate you with basketball posts. Here are just a few pictures from his first game. Great job Dallin!

St. George

This weekend Jeff, Jonas, Daniel and I headed to St. George to meet up with Jeff's sister, Julie, and her family who were in town for Julie's mother-in-law's wedding. (Dallin stayed behind because he made the basketball team!!! Woohoo!! But that means he has never-ending practices. Boo!) We had so much fun! I have been to St. George a couple of times but never really explored much. This time we got to explore a little more of what this city has to offer and now we want to go back to see more! There just didn't seem to be enough time to see what we wanted to see. Plus, we were really there to just spend time with Julie, Jon and the girls, which we thoroughly enjoyed! Jeff, the boys, and I arrived earlier than Julie did so we went to the temple to walk around the grounds. Each temple is breathtaking, but I love how white the St. George temple is. It almost seems to glow in the sun. I loved being able to walk around with Daniel and Jonas and share stories with them of the history of this temple. I am so grateful for the bravery and fortitude of the pioneers. I can't imagine the hardships they endured to come to Utah and settle these less-than-ideal places. I'm especially grateful for their faith that inspired them to build these beautiful temples.

After we walked around, we decided to walk the few blocks to the tabernacle. Unfortunately, they were renovating the tabernacle so we were unable to go inside; however, there was a fun splash park and carousel in the historic downtown square that the boys enjoyed while we waited to meet up with everyone for lunch. Gma Penny and Grumpy met up with us there and enjoyed the carousel too.

That evening, we were invited to join Jon, Julie and the girls at Thunder Junction park where they were meeting up with Jon's mom, Dana, and her fiancee, Mark. This was quite the park! It is an "all-abilities" park so there were several pieces of equipment that were designed for those children who may not be ambulatory. There were swings, a zipline, slides, a splash park, a train and so much more. Both of the boys had a blast running around! Jonas really enjoyed the water. Daniel ran around with Megan and Heidi. I was happy to see how comfortable they were interacting. It is hard when family lives so far away. Unfortunately, we see them so infrequently. Still, they made quickly made up for lost time. After the park, we headed to our hotel for the night.

Heidi, Daniel and Megan

Daniel pushing Megan on the swing.

L to R: Alice, Megan, Sarah, Heidi, Jonas and Danny

The next day (Saturday 11/12) we leisurely got up and enjoyed lounging around the hotel for a couple hours before we took our boys to the Children's Museum. I am seriously in love with St. George! It was such a fun, inexpensive museum. Jonas LOVED being able to touch and explore everything without me telling him no. Danny even found exhibits that intrigued him. The museum is right downtown and is housed in the old Dixie Academy. It is beautifully done and creatively designed.

Once we finished up there, we again met up with everyone for lunch. Obviously, we had to share our time with Jon and Julie with Jon's family so we maximized what time we did have with them. After lunch, they had to run back to the wedding venue to get ready for the event. We again lounged around the hotel (Danny went swimming and Jonas took a nap) before going to the wedding.

Clockwise from bottom: Heidi, Jon, Julie, Grumpy, Jonas, Jeff, Penny, Megan, Sarah, Alice

It was a beautiful evening! Dana has always been so sweet to our family. She is a remarkable woman and we are so happy for her! Julie's girls were beautiful flower girls. After the ceremony, we were all able to hang out for another couple hours before Jeff, the boys and I needed to drive home. It was a great weekend! We really enjoyed our time with Jon, Julie and the girls. We wished they lived closer! Hopefully, we'll be able to visit them back east next year.

Heidi, Megan, Alice and Sarah

Grumpy, Gma Penny, Daniel, Katie, Greg, Julie, Megan, Jon, Sarah, Jeff, Heidi, Alice