Thanksgiving Weekend

Before the official turkey day festivities, the girls each had a Thanksgiving Day feast in their classes. I was able to go to Ellie's and we were all able to go to Bailey's. It was fun to watch them in their environments with all of their friends. They both realized that they really like pumpkin pie. I think this was the first time they each had tried it. Bailey also made an Indian outfit to wear to her party.

On our way to Utah for Thanksgiving, we were able to stop at Mindy's parents house and see the new babies. I am so happy that we did. It was so fun to see them and hold them. They are so tiny, especially little Gracee, I have never held a baby that little. The girls had fun playing with Trae and taking turns holding the babies. Ellie even got to feed Brody. It was a great start to the weekend.

On Thanksgiving Day we went to my aunt's house. It is always fun to go there and hang out with my aunts and uncles and cousins. The food was great as usual, and the girls had so much fun playing. I love being able to just sit around and chat with great company and eat and then eat some more. It was a great day.

Friday morning brought on the much anticipated door busting. My sisters and I have been looking forward to this for quite awhile. We started at Kohl's, we were there for like 2 hours and someday was in line the whole time, then we hit Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Target, Michael's, Shopko, Big 5, Hobby Lobby, and Tai Pan. Oh, and Jenn and I did an Einsteins run while Mel went to Home Depot. 9 hours later we went home!! Good thing because I couldn't fit another thing in my car. This photo doesn't even show all of the stuff in the back seat. I will admit after noon I did start to feel dumb that I didn't have any makeup on, people were starting to look cuter at that point, but before that we fit right in. We were tired, but we had SO much fun. We did get most of our Christmas shopping done too!







The last activity of the weekend was to go to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season. This is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. I knew that the girls would really enjoy this year too. Our whole family was able to go, and my aunt Kerm and her family came too. It was fun to hang out with everyone and really get into the Christmas spirit. My cousin Chelsea had surgery on her legs a few days before, she was a trooper to let Ellie ride on her the whole time. Ellie said it was her favorite part, oh and the purple lights too. Bailey loved seeing and listening to the nativity and seeing the Christus. Ryan and I got married in Salt Lake so every time we are there the girls say "there is Mommy's temple." Yes, it is my very own, they built it just for me : ) I am glad they know that temple's are special. You can always feel the spirit when you are around one. I am glad we were able to take them there and really start to teach them the true meaning of Christmas. It is also tradition that we have dinner at Crown Burger after we see the lights. This is always hits the spot and was the perfect ending to a great weekend.

The Fam and Ellie riding with Chels

I love the Nativity's that they set up from different countries and the red lights were my favorite

Ryan and Bay and Drew with his favorite Curious George monkey

Merry Christmas