Thanksgiving Eve

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and I am most grateful that I have (almost)all my kids and grandkids under one roof. We are missing Greg but he comes tomorrow so that will make us complete! This is a rare and special treat. I am so so happy that everyone gets along and wants to be together with each other and with me and with Rob.

After a pancake breakfast we played Camping with Sasquatch, a super fun game that two men in our ward invented.

We took a walk and went to the playground.

It was so fun and the weather was perfect!

After Makayla got picked up we went to Nana’s hotel and went swimming. They heated the pool and we had a great time splashing around. Marshall and I played baby shark:)

After a pizza dinner we headed to Disney Springs. Jenna and I took the kids to see the Christmas trees. We wanted to see Santa but the wait was 2 hours long and we never made it back when they called our number.

The rest of everyone went to play VR Star Wars. They unanimously thought it was super cool! Poor Sawyer missed another fun day because he was sick.

The evening was a little stressful for J and I. It was super crowded and the girls forgot to bring their stroller so we were each carrying a baby and trying not to lose Marshall. He was so  good but it was very crowded and he’d slip between people to get a good look at a tree and we’d have to look for him. Then when we exited through the ornament store we broke one. Eventually we found a quite bench by the merry go round and made camp until the rest of the family found us. That was the best way to stay safe and sane. The kids did get to ride the merry go round and the twins nursed.

When we were all together again we looked at a few shops and then went for ice cream.

Penny chose a banana split, which was too much for her to eat but what a special treat!

It was such a fun day!

Clayton’s arm got tired so Bub helped him out:)

Tonight Tatum and Penny are sleeping in my room. As I am writing this I am thinking about all the years I slept with Baba Olya and Alec growing up. Eventually Michael joined us too. Those are happy happy childhood memories. I loved laying in bed and watching the lights of the cars driving by flashing across the ceiling. I loved listening to the echoes of conversations downstairs late into the night. I would tell Alec stories and we would whisper secrets in the dark.  We would go to Baba and Deda’s house in the summer and on school vacation breaks so life was slow and time was spent with family and taking walks, helping in the kitchen, playing in the yard and sitting around the dinner table. 

I hope we are making some memories that are similar. Or at least as pleasant!