Thanksgiving Week

This year we spent Thanksgiving at home. This means we got to enjoy the whole break without having to travel. That was one definite positive to staying home. Went didn’t do anything big or exciting while we were home, but we did spend some good quality time together and did about one cool or different thing a day, so for me it was the perfect amount of ‘busy’ over break.

Monday our fun activity for the day was going swimming. Before that I made the girls do chores like cleaning the bathroom, so that made swimming that much more enjoyable. Kylee and Tia love riding the slides, so I made sure we went when the slides were on and let them ride them as much as they wanted. It was really nice for me to get in the water and “swim” around too. I have been experiencing more swelling as of late and going swimming definitely seemed to help with that, so that was awesome. Also, before we went swimming we stopped and looked at some model homes and I am pleased to say that I didn’t fall in love with a single one. There was even a big one that I hated. It sounds weird, but I feel like it just showed that my house still fits me and seems good, so we are good. Of course there are still things I would love to improve like the amount of living space and the amount of counter space, but really if that is all I have to complain about I am doing really well. Anyway, we had a good time both looking at homes and swimming. When we came home we all were ready for lunch and a nap.

Tuesday, I went to the doctor so Gaupo took care of the girls. They watched some I Dream of Jeanie, went to the park, and then Gaupo took them to the library where they sat at his desk and enjoyed some candy. So, for my girls it was the perfect morning. Personally, I enjoyed it too because I got some quiet time to myself, got to see the babies move, and even did a little shopping where I found a gift that Kylee can get Tia that I think she will really like. That night when Gaupo worked we actually went back to the library and the girls enjoyed playing on the computers while I got new books. It was a really nice day.

Wednesday was kind of long. It was definitely the day that I was like what is the point of being home alone for Thanksgiving. I know I am not alone. I have my family, but this lovely group of 4 is so small compared to the giant family events that I love. Anyway, I slept in so the morning got off to a late start. Then we made the brine for the Turkey. We have never brined a Turkey before, but I do think it makes a difference especially with the leftover turkey. So, we made that and then we visited our friend Sis. Colleen Miller. She think my girls especially Tia are just awesome and we haven’t been over since Tia and I helped her, so it was good to visit and be with her. When her physical therapist came we left and came home and had lunch. Then I mixed up a double batch of crescent rolls and then took a nap. When I woke up I needed to work on my job for a little bit, and then made pie crusts.  Then it was time to make rolls. Which, I finished that up in time for dinner. We had canned soup. I always think it’s funny I make delicious homemade rolls and then have canned soup. Oh well, it was easy and I was starting to get tired again and I still needed to make pumpkin pie. After everything was cleaned up we bathed the kids and then I made the pumpkin pie, watched a little bit of I  Dream of Jeanie and then went to bed. I was so tired, but sadly didn’t sleep too well.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I actually really enjoyed Thanksgiving Day. Gaupo took care of the turkey and potatoes and I roasted some veggies. Since most of the cooking was done the day before we played a Clue Jr. with the girls and then took them to the park. Gaupo actually took them for a bike ride while I walked and we met up at the park. When we got home we got the feast ready. We shared some pie and turkey with a family in our ward and then had our own feast. Kylee said it was almost a feast. When I asked her what was missing she said, “A feast has a lot of food and people.” I said, “This is a lot of food.” She said, “Yeah, but we don’t have a lot of people.” I couldn’t argue with that I did miss the company. I love the chatter that happens at the Thanksgiving meal. I love my girls, but they don’t stick around at the table to just chat after they are done eating. So, dinner was super good, but it was over really quick. The clean up was actually pretty easy too, and we even ate on REAL dishes. However, it was nice to take a Thanksgiving nap and know that I wasn’t missing anything. Everyone was sleeping. When everyone woke up we just hung out for a while. We had a little bit of dinner and then we watched a movie together. After the movie we put the kiddo’s to bed and Gaupo worked on the basement for a bit. I know lame to work on Thanksgiving, but we had been ‘resting’ all day, so Gaupo  said he actually needed to DO something. Before I could totally die from shock or wonder if I was really talking to the guy I married, he kind of explained that he had played his games so much that they needed time to build up stuff and so he couldn’t really play them anyway. However, it was good for us because it got all the framing complete. After working a bit we got cleaned up and went to bed.

The girls and I waiting to dish up dinner.

Gaupo helping everyone get food.

Friday was a good day, I know it was but I can’t really remember what we did. I had a super rough night the night before, so I was pretty tired, but we managed to get Christmas up. Kylee was in my room by 7:00AM asking to decorate. We made them wait till Gaupo got home from picking up our stuff for the new bathroom, but then we did as much as we could. We eventually had to stop because I was hungry and exhausted. The girls didn’t want to but I explained to them we needed to stop or they would probably get yelled at because I was so tired and needed food. So, they agreed and we finished the final touches after naps. That night we also had a baptism for a girl in our ward, so Gaupo left around 5 to fill up the font and the girls and I had dinner and then went to the baptism.

Saturday was a healthy balance of work and play. We went down to the basement as a family and worked on getting it cleaned up. It went pretty well. Gaupo made good progress on the stairs and the girls helped me sort and organize the wood scraps so I could sweep up the sawdust from all the framing. After working on that, the girls went and played and I worked on money and making seven layer pie. I also made a grocery list after which we had lunch. Then Gaupo and I opted not to give the girls naps, so I took them with me grocery shopping while he worked on the stairs. The electrician came out and talked with us about our project and then we went ice skating. Well, I helped the girls get their skates on, but then I just watch Gaupo help them. He took them out by himself first and after one lap of that he opted to let them use the walkers. Either way the girls had a blast. It was fun to watch them skate. I did really want to go out there, but boy howdy that would have been a terrible decision. So, the girls got pretty tuckered out with that activity, so after dinner it was baths and bed for them. Then I used the quiet time to prepare my primary lesson.

Gaupo and the girls ice skating.

This Thanksgiving went over a lot better than the last one we had to stay home for, but I think that is because we are more established as a family. Also Gaupo and I know what we like for Thanksgiving and we tried as best we could to eat and do those things that make it feel that way to us. Also we have two very wonderful capable children now and so it wasn’t like we alone, so that was nice.  I still think it’s worth the drive to go spend the day with family, and staying here actually helped me appreciate all the work the host families of my past have put in to Thanksgiving, so I could enjoy it. I really enjoyed being home for the break. It was nice to not have anything we had to do. We didn’t have therapy, school, the last half of the week Gaupo didn’t even have work. We just got to do whatever we wanted and it was nice to enjoy it.

I have been so blessed this past year. We have been able to visit family. We are expecting and expecting twins. The girls seem to be progressing in the things that they need too. I had the wonderful opportunity to serve in the Relief Society and now in primary. We have been blessed with work and promotions there. We have a home and also get the opportunity to learn and work on that. We got to take the self-reliance class TOGETHER. We have really enjoyed learning and growing as a family this year. We have been richly blessed and we were already so blessed with great families, the gospel, good church leaders, callings to help us grow, wonderful children, work, food, and so many other wonderful things. I feel deeply blessed to be where I am now. It hasn’t all been easy, but it is most definitely worth it.