Thanksgiving 2009- (Nov.- Part 2)

Grant's baby brother, Aaron, returned home from his mission, the day before Thanksgiving.  We had the wonderful opportunity to be there when he stepped off the plane.  It was a really special moment and made me feel emotional, in a happy way.  I sure love that kid!  Since he was like 8-9 when we got married (see above photo- he is the little kid eating a meatball on the left), I feel like he is my little brother too.  It has been wonderful watching him change from a cute little boy into a handsome, sweet young man!  Anyway, the girls were nervous and excited to see their Uncle Aaron.  I was surprised that Karina ran up and gave him a hug, since she was barely 2, when he left.  Also, everyone had a balloon to give him so he ended up with quite a few.  :)  (Another fun thing is that two weeks before Aaron received his call to Las Vegas, his brother, Brian, and wife, Shannon, moved to Vegas.  There were times when they were only 7 miles apart.  Anyway, Brian and Shannon had the chance to sit by Aaron on the flight home.  Then, they walked off the plane right after Aaron.  So neat!)

I don't normally let my babies play in the pool without a life-jacket, however Aurora wasn't so keen on the idea of swimming in the pool, at first (the water wasn't the warmest).  Since I didn't feel like swimming that night, I let her sit on the first step to get comfortable.  She really enjoyed playing with the swimming baby and her Daddy helped her learn to blow bubbles.  Then I quickly changed my mind.  Maybe getting her comfortable wasn't the smartest idea because next thing I knew, I was climbing down the first couple stairs (fully clothed) after her.  And then the next thing I did was put on that life-jacket!!  :)

We had Thanksgiving with my sister-in-law, Michelle's, extended family, at a church.  Most of Grant's family was there.  (Jeremy, Tito, - we missed you!)  There was tons of really good food to eat and fun games to play.  Michelle's grandma and aunt had Bingo for the kids and we all provided prizes for it.  The adults played "Apples to Apples."  The next picture is of the youngest 2 cousins in our family, Aurora and Connor.  In the third picture, we all thought it looked hilarious when Aurora wanted to drink out of the Sparkling Apple Cider bottle, when it was all gone.  In the next picture, our extended family had most of the kids at the kids table- 2 of Jill's 3 girls, our 5 girls, and Phil's 3 boys.  After about 20-30 minutes, these girls were all that were left.  Grant and I were so proud of our girls for staying in their seats.  (When our girls were younger, they would've chosen playing over food and then been hungry when it was time to leave.)   The food must've been pretty good.  ;)  It was a nice day.

For Grant's Dad's 60th birthday, we were able to go bowling at our friend's bowling alley/pizza place, Rosa's Pizza, for a really incredible deal!!  Our girls had the chance to bowl for the first time and had a blast!  Riana even bowled a strike (with bumpers, but it was still awesome!)  Pictures-- 1-7) Grant, Sariah, tiny little Connor, Karina (with helpers Grant and then Auntie Shannon), Riana, and Tierra bowling, 8 & 9) Grandpa and Aurora snuggling, 10) 2 of my awesome sis-in-laws, Michelle and Shannon (Jill had to leave early to drive back to W. WA for work-- I stole this picture from Shannon) 11) Karina and her buddy, Auntie Shannon 12) Our awesome shoes!!  13) Riana's strike 14) Grandpa's card from his 11 grandkids 

We were so blessed to be able to stay in an incredible hotel for an even more incredible deal, thanks to Grant's sister, Jill, who works at a hotel.  She can't always get us this deal but it worked out that weekend.  We were able to stay at a Holiday Inn Express and Suites, in a Suite.  I was impressed with this hotel (we also stayed in one down in California and we were impressed then also.)  One thing I liked was that so many things were complimentary.  One thing that drives me crazy about some hotels is that they put waters, snacks, etc. in your room but if you open it, they charge you a ton.  That is so annoying with 5 young kids.  (We've never had anyone open one but only because the first thing we do is put those up.)  Anyway, this hotel had snacks and waters, in each room, which were complimentary (they had a sign and we asked Jill before opening them.)  They also had an amazing free breakfast, and free cookies and hot chocolate, each night.  Just a whole bunch of little things like that, but it made a difference to me.  We also had 2 queen beds, a full size fold-out couch/bed, and a small chair and leg rest (which we used for Aurora.)  So everyone had somewhere to sleep.  The pool was fun and we took turns swimming in Jill and girls hotel across town, or ours, and brought along our other cousins, as well.  It really helped improve our quality of life for the week we were there, especially since I am allergic to Grant's parents cats.  (I hope I remember to start taking Claritin a week in advance next time.  I hate taking Benadryl because it knocks me out, but Claritin takes a few days to work.)

In our family, we have a rule that when you are responsible (aka you can clean your room every time it gets dirty, all by yourself, and you can brush your teeth, and all that), you can get your ears pierced.  My reasoning is two-fold-- 1) I feel that at that point, they are old enough to make a decision to put a hole in their ear.  2) Also I want them to be able to care for their ears by themselves.   Well, Riana worked hard and earned the right to get her ears pierced.  She was nervous but really excited!  She is definitely a girlie girl and loves to wear all kinds of fancy jewelry!  She has been making lots of earrings in her Simply Beads class.  Anyway, it went great.  First they drew dots on her ears and had me approve them.  Then they had two ladies at Claire's pierce them, at the same time.  And since we went in Spokane, her Grandma got to come also.  That made it even more special!!  :) 

Here are some more pictures from all the fun we had at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  The first one is of our girls and their boy cousins (Joshy, Connor, & Tanner) watching a show with Grandma, on her bed.  The next one is Tia, Connor, Joshy, and Nina, playing in Bella's cage.  The last is of the brothers practicing their song for Aaron's homecoming, accompanied by Brian's incredibly talented wife, Shannon.  They sang a 4 part harmony (arranged by Grant), "Who is He in Yonder Stall?" and did AWESOME!!  But it would've sounded better as a five part (with their other brother Jeremy!!)   ;)

These two pictures are from Sunday.  The first is our friends, Brad, Syrie, and family, plus Aaron (minus their older son, Colton, who is one of Aaron's best friends.)  Anyway, when we used to live in Spokane, I taught their older boys, Casey and Kyle, in Primary, when they were 3 and 5.  Rachel was just a little baby.  Since then, they have added two more adorable little boys (Karl and Conner.)  They also homeschool.  Anyway, we just love this family and it is so nice to be able to see them, when we go visit his family.  And the last picture, is a picture of the girls and I, in their matching Christmas dresses.  So fun!

These two pictures are from our drive home.  I thought the moon looked so cool and the mountains were just beautiful!!  It was a really great week, and a wonderful visit, full of lots of fun memories!