A St. George Thanksgiving 2013

Since my parents bought their vacation home in St. George, it has become one of our very favorite places. So far, it has always been sunny, warm, and full of fantastic family memories. This Thanksgiving was no exception, but we sure missed Beau, Sharee and Baby Beau! Some of the highlights:

COUSIN TIME

it doesn't matter if you live near or far, hanging with cousins is the best!

FINDING LIZARDS

this may have been their first successful catch, pretty exciting!

SWIMMING, SWIMMING, and MORE SWIMMING

my dad heats the pool up so the kids can stay in the pool for hours. regardless of the weather it creates days and days of fun and makes it hard to leave the compound. love these crazy boys and their zest for life and adventure. the babies were huge fans of the pool too!

once we were out of the pool, warming up by the fire was really the only option. it was chilly out there!

he was seriously asleep. not lying. 

FLAG FOOTBALL

my parents keep flags down in St. George and the boys love finding time to play a game out on the golf course. it really is so much fun watching them all growing up and playing together. the best!

COUSIN BATH TIME

while the big boys are doing their thing, the little ones love gathering in my parents bath for some tubby time!

FOOD PREP

we spent much of Wednesday night prepping for Thanksgiving. we had some very willing helpers :)

PIERCE AND MADDY

these two had a lot of quality time together and shared a lot of love

THANKSGIVING PHOTOS

we spend most of our time in st. george in our grubbies, so when we get the kids (and ourselves) looking good, we have to at least get a few photos ;)

One of my all time favorite pictures of my boys!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

we had a wonderful thanksgiving meal...even if i didn't get to enjoy it. i got the stomach flu the morning of thanksgiving, then ended up throwing up for the next 24 hours. i kept thinking i felt better, but my body said differently. so grateful no one else came down with it since i prepared a bunch of the food the night before. being sick on vacation is no fun, but sick on thanksgiving is the very worst. it was painful to sit by and watch all that delicious food be consumed. on the up side...it is the only thanksgiving where i have dropped a few pounds.

after the yummy meal, there were games to be played, mad libs to be read, and a little thanksgiving devotional. we have so much to be grateful for!

TURKEY TROT

the next morning we had our own 1 mile turkey trot. since i had just stopped throwing up, i was the photographer and baby listener.

This boy came in first place and didn't even break a sweat...he's a runner for sure.

Parkie got second place, just a minute or two behind Luke.

number 3

my mom was thrilled to have finished...she stayed with Jace, who got grumpy when he wasn't in the lead, so he decided to jog slowly...love that boy!

watching this boy blow bubbles was a complete crack up.

DOUBLE SHOT

there is lots of double shot being played at all hours...James is seriously a pro at it and can beat all the kids and most of the adults too. impressive.

FOOTBALL

there was lots of football watching over the weekend, but no game was more dramatic than Michigan's loss to Ohio State. it was so close and i was there for the final moments. Mike's reaction was priceless.

TEMPLE LIGHTS

we love going to see the lights at the St. George temple. they are beautiful and the weather is usually pleasant with coats. it's a great way to kick off the holiday season. Jace is so good with all the little ones.

having a little one again is such a treat. he was enamored by the twinkling lights and loved the nativity presentation.

DEVOTIONALS

each night we had a little devotional...a spiritual thought before we prayed together. it made for an extra special time.

EXPLORING

one of our favorite things to do in St. George is to hike and explore. this time mike wanted to head into the unknown. when we got there, we couldn't see any trials. admittedly, i had a bad attitude, as did a few others, but the boys love nothing more than blazing their own trial, and we hate nothing more than being left behind. it was a great morning exploring the beauty around us.

There was no way to get across the river, so the boys built a stick and rock bridge. it may have been their favorite moment.

one of the things i love about my husband is that he is not afraid of anything and is totally competent in everything he does. he traveled down a slippery mountain with little Tripp, the climbed the red rocks with him without missing a beat. fearless. that is where my boys get it.

these two could have played with sticks and mud all day

look at that sky

these boys are not afraid of anything. i have enough fear for them :)

Pierce and Maddy decided that at the sharpest point of the hike, they wanted to go with grandma and grandpa, then pierce had the great idea of having them swing him :). Grateful for grandparents in such good shape :)

we made it to the lake

after the hike we stopped for a little treat

TUACHAN

we had never been to Tuachan, and it is an amazing place! We were lucky enough to see the live nativity there, and it really kicked off our Christmas season. it is a gorgeous backdrop for a very fun time!

millions of lights everywhere!

Santa

Awesome concert before the nativity. the kids loved listening and singing along.

Parker would not let us leave without making s'mores! oh, another memory...i singed my hair when i lit the fire :). good times.

Good-byes

it was a whirlwind, amazing weekend and we could not have asked for better anything. before we left grandma gave us this awesome advent calendar to remind us to be grateful and thing of Jesus all December long. we LOVED it!