Thanksgiving

We decided to go to Idaho for Thanksgiving with the Waite family.  We had sick kids before we were supposed to go so we were't sure we should go.  It is rare that all of us get together so we hated to miss out.  Everyone except Vicki's family was planning to come.  In the end we decided to go sick kids or not.  We left Matthew and Emma home because Emma wasn't feeling good on Wednesday morning when we wanted to leave.  We left about 8:00 Wednesday morning so we could get ahead of any storms moving in.  We only stopped in Bozeman and Ashton.  We made it to Grandma Karan's before the snow started to stick to the road. Aaron traveled very well. He only woke up and fussed just before Bozeman and then again at Ashton.  We needed to stop there anyway so it was perfect. Dallin didn't feel very well all day. He was a good sport. I am sure traveling while not feeling good is miserable.  He was sick on Wednesday and Friday, but felt pretty good on Thursday, thankfully.

We were actually the first of the Waite families to get to Grandma Karan's house.  Jonathan and his family were a little behind us.  Molly's family, Blaine and Mark, and Candice all came Wednesday evening so we had a wonderful house full.  Gerry and his boys came up Thursday morning.

Grandma's house had just enough snow for the kids to go sledding down her hills.  They loved it! Great memories with cousins.

It was great to get to visit with everyone.  We hadn't seen most of the Waite family for about a year and a half.  Most of the cousins loved holding Aaron.  He didn't get set down much over the two days we were there.  The food was delicious.  The conversation was great.  It was a wonderful visit.

We got up Friday morning and packed up to head home. Grandma Karan and Molly were heading to La Grande for Uncle Ritchie's funeral.  We wanted to leave early enough to stop in Billings and attend the temple in November.  Aaron traveled really well again.  He has gone on a road trip of some kind every month of his life.  (August Idaho and Utah, September Utah, October Utah, November Idaho)  Maybe we will stay home for December.  We went to the temple and then took the children to Toys R Us and Costco to do some Christmas shopping.  It was a good day.

I didn't want Matthew and Emma to miss out on Thanksgiving dinner so I told them we would cook one here at home as well.  It is Matthew's last Thanksgiving before leaving home for his mission.  We finally cooked our own on Saturday, December 10th.  It was fun to eat a turkey dinner together with as many of us as we could. Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to get the camera out.  The Andreasen kids wanted to stay and eat with us, but I wanted it to just be a family time.  Linda did do lots to help us get ready so after we ate we called her and let her come and make a plate of food.

We have so much to be grateful for in our lives.  Thanksgiving truly is one of my favorite holidays. I want to live each day in gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Here are some pictures from our Idaho Thanksgiving:

Watching the BYU basketball game on Wednesday night

Eating Pie

The beautiful nativity at the Billings Temple