Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving around here was pretty epic. My parents, brother Logan (and family), sister Reagan (and family) and Whitney and Tim graced us with their presence. We borrowed some folding chairs and tables from our ward and for the first time, actually shared a meal in the dining room! We've been in this house for 2 years and never used the dining room because we don't have the furniture yet. Sitting on those folded chairs, it wasn't fancy, but surrounded by family, it was wonderful. 

After seeing the movie Dan in Real Life, I like to do a crossword puzzle challenge with guys against girls whenever family gets together. The girls team has Mom with her PhD in English but the boys team has Tim and Allen who both served missions in France- and for some reason that is a huge asset when working on crossword puzzles. The girls were so close to winning this time around, but the boys beat us yet again. Boo. Maybe next time. 

I put in a request to Piper for a reprisal of a cousin's play featuring "Wisdom Bird" and lickety split she created a script, started rehearsals with everyone and handmade all the costumes out of scrap-booking paper. She spent pretty much a whole day on it. Piper really outdid herself this time! This is my favorite cousin's play to date. 

After the big feast, we played a game introduced to us by Krystal where everyone writes down a person, place or thing on 5 slips of paper. In the first round, whoever is up can use words or actions to get people to guess. In the second round, they can only use words, and in the final round, only actions. Some standouts were Lindsey Lohan (didn't even know Dad knew who she was!), Caitlyn Jenner, taco salad, and kilt. We are hooked, and we can't wait to play again!!!

Quick shout out to Harley who is seriously the sweetest with her little cousins. She's old enough she could do her own thing-- and I never expect the older cousins to babysit the younger ones--but I always find Harley playing with the little girls, reading to them, engaging with them. I love her so much for it. Harley is a helper, and she doesn't make a big deal about it.

As the light faded outside, it was time to put the kids to bed. Lately Brent and I have done "inspection" which is really just a way to ensure the girls aren't sneaking out of bed because they need to brush their teeth or pee or get a book. We ask them if they've done all that and they respond with either a "check" or an "uncheck" and that determines if they pass or fail inspection. For the record, Sydney always throws in an "uncheck" even if she's done everything. Well, my Marine brother Logan happened to be around and has been through real, military inspections so we handed this one over to him.

He was pretty dang thorough!. It was really cute to see the kids snap to for him, I have to say. Once the little ones were all tucked in, Logan and Krystal had to get going but like I said, it had been a pretty epic Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful for my family and that they chose to gather in our little corner of the world for the holiday.

Aurgh, I need to stop leaving my phone where Reagan can get it!

Paisley! I consider you an accomplice to this crime!!!