An Oregon Thanksgiving

Jonathon's brother, Nathan, and his wife, Emily, had a baby girl about 6 weeks ago. Since they really couldn't make the long drive with a new baby, they invited everyone to Oregon for Thanksgiving and the baby blessing. We knew it was going to be a lot of driving in a very short time, but we didn't want to have any regrets about missing such a momentous family occasion. We wanted to show our support and love for them and their two miracle little girls, so off we went.

We wanted to break up the long drive a little bit, so we stopped at my parents house in Idaho the first night and then continued to Portland the next day. The boys were amazing travelers. They watched a few movies, read some books, colored, and listened to silly songs over the iPod. The trip went very smoothly overall, despite a massive traffic jam in downtown Portland.

It was so fun to spend time with Nathan and Emily, see their beautiful home, and watch the boys play with cousin Grace. I also spent most of the first evening holding baby Leah because I knew when the rest of the family got there, I would have to wait in line. Leah is so precious and sweet. I forgot that babies come that small.

Since the rest of the family couldn't get off work, we postponed Thanksgiving until Friday so they would all have time to drive. On Thursday, Nathan and Emily hosted a dinner for her family, so we decided to go explore the area a bit. Jonathon took Crista, Tera, BJ and the boys to visit Multnomah Falls. I had already been there (and pretty much despise hiking), so I opted to take a nap instead. The boys, however, loved the hike. They got to run and play outside, see the cool waterfalls, and spend time with their aunts and uncle. Jonathon took several really awesome pictures from the hike. It was beautiful and so green.

 At the waterfall

Christian and Andrew exploring the park

 Being silly with Aunt Crista

 My boys 

The rest of Jonathon's family arrived late Thursday night. On Friday morning a bunch of the family went and played frisbee in the rain. Jonathon sent me a text as they were coming home that said, "We are happy, dirty, and wet... Oh, and Tiff is bleeding." The injury was very minor, but the dirty part was pretty major. The kids were drenched and everyone was covered in mud. Dad H. and Nathan spent most of the morning scrubbing everyone's shoes and then setting them out to dry. Despite that, they had a great time.

Later, we went shopping for all of the fixings for our Thanksgiving meal. Jonathon and I were in charge of the potatoes and gravy. We brought real Idaho potatoes from the farm, and they turned out great. Everyone pitched in to help create a lovely and delicious dinner. Nathan pieced together an enormous table (out of three small tables, some books/magazines to level the tables, and a huge piece of plywood on top) so everyone could eat together. It was awesome and worked perfectly.

 The Thanksgiving Table

 The kids "patiently" waiting for dinner

The Thanksgiving Turkeys... Beautiful!

On Saturday morning, Nathan was able to give sweet little Leah a baby blessing. Due to travel schedules, we had the special opportunity to participate in the blessing in Nathan and Emily's home. The Bishop came to preside and approximately 35 family members from both sides of their family filled the home with love and support. It was a wonderful event to be a part of. 

The whole family

The cousins playing before the blessing

Then we hit the road again. The boys were angels once again. We only stopped for the occasional bathroom break and lunch at McDonalds. They played at the playplace to release some of their energy, and then we continued on to my parents for the night. We finally arrived home Sunday night. It was a whirlwind trip, but we are glad that we went.