There is so much to be thankful for!!! We had such a wonderful thanksgiving. We were able to go down to Arizona to visit Gilbert's brother Brad, and my sister Melinda and their families.
We had a couple barbecues with Brad. He made the best hot wings we have ever had.
Sophia and Brad. We played in their backyard a lot on their cool playground Brad put together.
Holly, Sophia, Angie, Brad, and Aleina.Andrew had a lot of fun with the three girls. The girls had a lot of fun beating Andrew up the whole time. Somethings gonna have to toughen him up a little.
Brad and Angie made the coolest nativity out of wood for us. They carved and hand painted the whole thing. It was one of our favorite christmas gifts.
We went to Melinda's for Thanksgiving day. Melinda and I got to cook our whole own Thanksgiving dinner together for the first time. It was so much fun. Of course I was on the phone with my mom a lot while I was figuring out how to make everything. It was my favorite Thanksgiving i've ever had. Like so many other things I learn in life, it made me so grateful for my mom. It opened my eyes to how amazing my mom really is. It helped me really get into the true spirit of thanksgiving.
Melinda and I were going to make it a simple thanksgiving, but as we made out food wish list it just kept going and going. We tried buying roles but waited to long and every store we went to were sold out. So of course Melinda opted to making her own instead of going without them. They turned out so yummy!
This is the first turkey I have ever cooked in my life. It was so fun to learn. Thanks to all my mom's guidance on the phone everything turned out so good. Just a note for next time: the turkey cooked in half the time it said on the package. 3 1/2 hrs instead of 6.
Eric came with us for the week. We had so much fun with him. Gilbert mashed the potatoes until he thought they were done, then I mashed a little more just to make sure they were creamy and then Eric took over and really mashed them to perfection. They were the creamiest, best mashed potatoes I have ever had.
Andrew had the best time with his cousins. He especially enjoyed playing with Bennion. Every minute he and Bennion were telling each other jokes, chasing each other, laughing nonstop, and just having a good time.
The weather was so beautiful in Arizona. We got to eat outside in their beautiful backyard.
This is my first plate of three. I know I ate a lot but it was thanksgiving... :) Everything was so yummy and it lasted us the whole week we were there.
Andrew jumped on the tramp so much. If you look at him close he is pretty high in the air. Nini and Tasilyn were so fun. Their hair would go straight up in every direction from the static of the tramp.
The elliptical became the hot spot in their house. The kids thought it was the best toy ever invented.
Tasilyn was constantly taking her pants off. I had to get a picture of her caught in action. She likes to be free. If you notice in most of the pictures with her she is missing her pants, and it isn't because of Melinda's lack of putting them on her. It was a constant battle. :)
This is what Andrew and Bennion were doing pretty much the whole week we were there.
We all went fishing one evening. No one caught any fish but we had fun all being together.
Uncle Eric helped watch Ruby while we were cooking or crafting.
The boys played a lot of basketball in the backyard every night. The neighbors probably got tired of the late night basketball.
On our way home we stopped and saw the new bridge.
We got tired driving home so we stopped in to see Grandpa and Grandma Rowley. They let us stay the night, and we got an early start the next day.
Brad and Angie made the coolest nativity out of wood for us. They carved and hand painted the whole thing. It was one of our favorite christmas gifts.
We went to Melinda's for Thanksgiving day. Melinda and I got to cook our whole own Thanksgiving dinner together for the first time. It was so much fun. Of course I was on the phone with my mom a lot while I was figuring out how to make everything. It was my favorite Thanksgiving i've ever had. Like so many other things I learn in life, it made me so grateful for my mom. It opened my eyes to how amazing my mom really is. It helped me really get into the true spirit of thanksgiving.
Melinda and I were going to make it a simple thanksgiving, but as we made out food wish list it just kept going and going. We tried buying roles but waited to long and every store we went to were sold out. So of course Melinda opted to making her own instead of going without them. They turned out so yummy!
This is the first turkey I have ever cooked in my life. It was so fun to learn. Thanks to all my mom's guidance on the phone everything turned out so good. Just a note for next time: the turkey cooked in half the time it said on the package. 3 1/2 hrs instead of 6.
Eric came with us for the week. We had so much fun with him. Gilbert mashed the potatoes until he thought they were done, then I mashed a little more just to make sure they were creamy and then Eric took over and really mashed them to perfection. They were the creamiest, best mashed potatoes I have ever had.
Andrew had the best time with his cousins. He especially enjoyed playing with Bennion. Every minute he and Bennion were telling each other jokes, chasing each other, laughing nonstop, and just having a good time.
The weather was so beautiful in Arizona. We got to eat outside in their beautiful backyard.
This is my first plate of three. I know I ate a lot but it was thanksgiving... :) Everything was so yummy and it lasted us the whole week we were there.
Andrew jumped on the tramp so much. If you look at him close he is pretty high in the air. Nini and Tasilyn were so fun. Their hair would go straight up in every direction from the static of the tramp.
The elliptical became the hot spot in their house. The kids thought it was the best toy ever invented.
Tasilyn was constantly taking her pants off. I had to get a picture of her caught in action. She likes to be free. If you notice in most of the pictures with her she is missing her pants, and it isn't because of Melinda's lack of putting them on her. It was a constant battle. :)
This is what Andrew and Bennion were doing pretty much the whole week we were there.
We all went fishing one evening. No one caught any fish but we had fun all being together.
Uncle Eric helped watch Ruby while we were cooking or crafting.
The boys played a lot of basketball in the backyard every night. The neighbors probably got tired of the late night basketball.
On our way home we stopped and saw the new bridge.
We got tired driving home so we stopped in to see Grandpa and Grandma Rowley. They let us stay the night, and we got an early start the next day.
We had such an awesome Thanksgiving break. With Gilbert's job hours we were able to get a whole week and a half off. Melinda and Gene were so hospitable. We had the best time making memories with our cousins and Aunties and Uncles. Thanks for all the laughs, good chats, and yummy food.
