Thanksgiving Revisited

I got my pictures! Hooray! (Thanks Don and Ashley!) We really had a fun time in Utah and looking at these pictures reminds me.

We had so much fun! Though Ava was very much out of her element on our trip, which displayed itself in some less than pleasant ways. There was a lot of yelling and screaming but also a lot of enjoyment. She needed her "breaks" and frequently watched Chicken Little on the portable DVD player alone, in our room. When I would take her out of a room after a fit, with the intention of discipline, I would sit her down and I could feel her little heart just racing, and instead of getting mad, I realized that she was just really overwhelmed. She would grab onto me and just let me hold her until she could calm down.

Living far away from all of our family for the most part (mom and dad are just 5 hours away!) always makes me a little sad especially because I worry about our children not getting to know their relatives very well. It takes Ava quite a while to warm up to people. In fact sometimes I think she's still not warmed up to me!:) Ha! But when we visit Utah I am always taken aback and really thrilled by how readily she takes to her grandparents. She sure loves her "Mama Ninda" and "Papa Don".

Here she is listening to Grandma Linda read her a story...

This happens rarely at home. Most of our reading is done on the potty-that's the only way she'll sit still. But Grandma Linda worked her magic!

She spent quite a bit of time "making a cake a Mama Ninda" with the playdough,

One of the other fun parts for Ava was getting to spend lots of time with Olivia. I worried how they would take to seeing each other 24-7 but I thought they did great! Olivia was very generous with her toys, including her "dress-ups"...

Still no shirt

Boa Adjustments

Cousin Lovin'

And better still was getting to see all the cousins and spending time with the little "big girls"

Olivia, Ava, and Ellie

To see some more of Ava and Olivia's ADVENTURES click here please. Mine's the one in her underwear, of course.


Us grown-ups had some adventures too, mostly involving Guitar Hero on the Wii. Everyone was so awesome at this game!

My shreddin' sisters-in-law!

Everyone except me of course. I really stunk, actually got booed off the stage a few times. I took my seat in the back where I belonged!



We also enjoyed a "ladies lunch", visited a fun antiques place a couple of times, I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time, and ate lots and lots of delicious food.



Lucy and Luke got along just swimmingly, can't you tell?

Two cuties

We ventured into the cold for a picture and got Luke all bundled up...

One evening we had an Alta Apartment #213 reunion. 3 of 6 were able to attend and it was neat to see some old familiar faces and meet their little families.

Lara, Me, Kalisa

I hadn't met Lara's husband or son before so that was pretty cool. Her husband seemed so nice and I also found out she's expecting #2 in April!

Adam, Caleb, and Lara

I am sad I didn't get a picture of Kalisa's cute little girls before they went to bed. But at least I got one of the host couple!

Brad and Kalisa

Thanks for sharing your house with us! Lori, we missed you!



Whew! See, I told you we had fun! Finally, I snapped this one right before we left for the airport. I think Luke thought if he went to sleep then we wouldn't have to leave. Or maybe he had a premonition about what our travel home would entail and knew he should rest up. In any case, I thought this was pretty cute.



To all you friends and family in Utah: We love you and thanks for a great time!!


Today I am grateful for: The 3m command hooks that stick to anything and don't peel the paint.