Thanksgiving weekend was a lot of fun. It started out with the perfect thing...a trip to the gym! Mark played in his annual Turkey Bowl with his high school buddies at Albion Middle School. Then it was back to the kitchen. This year was my first attempt at making rolls and I am happy to report that it was a success! They were so yummy! We ate a wonderful meal with all the trimmimgs at my parent's house. My brother and his family drove from Montana arriving at 1:30 AM. It had been a year and a half since I had seen them!! My niece Olivia was only 3 months old the last time I saw her and now she's almost 2. It was great to spend time with them. After dinner and watching the rebroadcast of the Utah/BYU game, we hit the road for St. George. I wouldn't let the kids have any drinks during the drive because I was determined not to make any stops. But, after Mark downed 2 Diet Mountain Dews we had to make a potty stop in Beaver. At least we went to, according to Aunt Shana, "the nicest gas station bathrooms on the I-15 corridor." We arrived at my bro-in-law's house in Hurricane around 9PM, but didn't get the kids in bed until 10:30.
I decided to get up at 5:30 and do some Black Friday shopping on-line. Shortly after I crawled back in bed, Mark got up to go referee the Dixie Invitational soccer tournament. The rest of the weekend was a blur of hikes, swimming, pancakes, kids running everywhere, football, driving inbetween Washington and Hurricane, more pancakes, more kids, and a lot of laughter. The highlights of the trip for me were:
The patio on the roof at the Marsh's house--the scenery is so beautiful!
In-n-Out--always delicious and cheap
Live Nativity at Tuachan--short and to the point
Sacrament Meeting in Hurricane--really good talks, and Lexi sat with the Marsh's!
Having all the cousins play well together all weekend!
We went tubing with some of our ward friends and had a great time!!
iding on a Star Wars four-wheeler! My parents had taken the four-wheeler out of the box, put it together, and had it charging in another room with the door shut. They had rewrapped the empty box for Landon to unwrap and then were going to bring it out to show him. Needless to say, it was a waste of wrapping paper. I can just imagine Landon's face when he opened that door and saw the four-wheeler just sitting there waiting for him to hop on. Yep, leave it to grandpa and grandma to get the largest, loudest, but way cool gift of Christmas 2008! After some yummy breakfast it was off to g-ma and g-pa Parry's. Lexi got hooked up with a new Barbie and Landon loves his new Caterpillar fork-lift. All in all, it was a great day! We hope you all had a very merry Christmas!
This past weekend, I attended a funeral for a 4-month old baby girl that past away from SIDS. She is the daughter of a neighborhood friend that moved about a year ago. It was the hardest thing I have ever sat through in my life. It is amazing how much an infant can touch our lives and in such a short amount of time. I recently saw my friend at the grocery store and met her little girl for the first time. I remember distinctly her beautiful smile. That day, my friend's biggest concern was what kind of cake to buy for her husband's birthday. One month later, her world was completely turned upside down. I came home from the funeral and just hugged my kids and cried. I was just so grateful to have them. So, next time your kids are fighting or driving you crazy, take a minute to be grateful that they are actually there to drive you crazy!
Mary and Joseph walking to Bethleham
Joseph handing baby Jesus to Mary 
A shephard abiding in the field (or just striking a pose)
An angel (yes, again) bringing good tidings of great joy
The shepard visiting Mary and Joseph in the stable
A “wise” man traveling from the East
Thanksgiving weekend was a lot of fun. It started out with the perfect thing...a trip to the gym! Mark played in his annual Turkey Bowl with his high school buddies at Albion Middle School. Then it was back to the kitchen. This year was my first attempt at making rolls and I am happy to report that it was a success! They were so yummy! We ate a wonderful meal with all the trimmimgs at my parent's house. My brother and his family drove from Montana arriving at 1:30 AM. It had been a year and a half since I had seen them!! My niece Olivia was only 3 months old the last time I saw her and now she's almost 2. It was great to spend time with them. After dinner and watching the rebroadcast of the Utah/BYU game, we hit the road for St. George. I wouldn't let the kids have any drinks during the drive because I was determined not to make any stops. But, after Mark downed 2 Diet Mountain Dews we had to make a potty stop in Beaver. At least we went to, according to Aunt Shana, "the nicest gas station bathrooms on the I-15 corridor." We arrived at my bro-in-law's house in Hurricane around 9PM, but didn't get the kids in bed until 10:30.
We recently had our family pictures taken, so I thought it would be a good time to start a family blog.
