I'm Dreaming of a White. . .. .Thanksgiving!

It seams that Thanksgiving came quickly this year.  I had so many things I wanted to do during November to get ready for the holidays and when I got to work on Monday the 21, after a week of birthdays, it hit me that the upcoming Thursday was the beginning of the holidays, and that November was nearly over, and that I didn't get anything done that I was hoping to do.  I think the time went by so fast because Doug was gone and I had every moment full of kids and homework and sports events and everything else that takes up a parents' time.  It is hard to believe Doug was gone for six weeks, because it just all flew by. I was excited for Thanksgiving because we were going to meet him in Dayton and spend the holiday weekend with his family. The kids were really excited too because they LOVE to visit their grandparents, and Grandpa informed us that they got around 9 inches of snow the weekend before that was still mostly there. 

Wednesday morning we loaded up Dougs pickup and headed north.  We decided to take the truck so that we could take all the snow gear, sleds, and whatever else we needed to have a great time.  We left around nine am and began our seven hour journey.  I drove most of the way because Austin had a lot of homework to do as well as his Sterling Scholar portfolio to finish before Monday.   We had a good day traveling, watching movies, working on the portfolio, and stopping every two hours for Mady to go to the bathroom.  About three o'clock we stopped in Farr West, which is north of Ogden, for a late lunch and fuel, and to visit our favorite store, Smith And Edwards.  It is a store that has everything for not much money, and we can always find something we can't live without.  This time Cami got a new winter coat and gloves (her other coat was two sizes too small), a few Christmas presents, and of course a treat or two for the rest of the journey.  Austin drove the last hour and a half because I had a bad cold and wasn't feeling very good.  I'm really glad he can drive and is a good driver.  The kids and I had a really great time traveling together.  Arriving at Grandpa's was very exciting because we got to see Doug after six weeks.  Cami was the most excited and ran into the house to latch herself onto him, she had the hardest time while he was gone.  It was so good to be together as a family again, and Grandpa was right!  There was still enough snow to play in.  Here are some pictures of our weekend.

I was so glad to see Doug!  I had to make up for six weeks of
not kissing him.  lol

Dalyon racing down the hills in the calf pasture.  He stayed outside
and played as much as I would let him.  Fun!

Austin on Grandpa's snowmobile.  They drug each other
around on an old hood from a car.  There was just enough snow
to run the snowmobile.  Yeah!

Cod is going to pull Austin around on the hood now.  This is
old fashioned "redneck" fun.   I wonder if the hood is from a ford?
I would imagine that if it is Grandpa's, it is a ford hood.  lol

Cody and his pal Logan.  Logan loved hanging out with him.

Cody sliding down the hill in the calf pasture.  They had so much
fun!

Cami and her cousins got into the fun too.  I thought they would come
back in after only a few minutes, but they stayed outside for most of the day!

Cody was the first to dish up.  Dinner was ready by 11:30 so we decided
to let the kids eat first.  Cody wanted to eat with the adults until he found out he had to
wait, so he decided to eat with the kids. His favorite part of the meal is
the sweet potatoes Grandma makes.   Funny guy.

The living room was full of guys watching a football game, waiting for
the kids to get their food.  In the back is Cody and Logan,  Addie and Lilly,
Bracken, and Chandler on the right, and Uncle Brett on the left.

Kids are seated and eating.  Grandma always makes the best
thanksgiving dinner.  The kids always look forward to her slush and sprite,
and I love her stuffing.  Everything always tastes so good at
Grandma's house. 

Here is some of the family waiting to dish up.  On the right is Todd and Twila, on the
left is Kerry and Olivia, Bracken and Dawson in line and Katie in the way back
dishing up a child.  We definitely filled Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Doug and Grandpa watching all the commotion before dinner.

We had a really great time.  On Friday I talked Doug into taking me on one of my favorite dates with him and we went out to breakfast and did some Christmas shopping.  We went to breakfast first and missed the black Friday crowd then went shopping.  While we were in Shopko we ran into an old roommate of mine from Ricks, Laurie Nelson Edwards, and had a really fun reunion.  I haven't seen her for fourteen years, since her wedding and I was so grateful to see her again.  She lives in Springville, Utah and was visiting her Father-in-Law in Logan for the holiday.  We had a very relaxing Friday, watching TV and eating and resting.  Doug and I went to a viewing of a classmate of mine, Brady Durrant, that night.  Brady passed away unexpectedly from pneumonia the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  I was sad, but was cheered by seeing Preston's Festival of Lights and fireworks that night.   We loaded everyone up again on Saturday morning and took our time coming home.  The weather was good for our drive and we got home late Saturday night. Doug came home with us and will be here taking care of his other business during December, then will possibly go back to Montana/Idaho/North Dakota in January.   It was a nice weekend to be together as a family.