Thanksgiving-Christmas in Idaho

This year for Thanksgiving, my whole family (minus Ben on a mission) was able to gather together. at home in Idaho. Since we wouldn't be together for Christmas, we had a combined holiday. It was such a wonderful few days to enjoy our family. We went swimming at Uncle Mike's pool, had a treasure hunt for the kids, played lots of games, ate amazing food, went Black Friday shopping, got to attend Callie's baby blessing at church, and enjoyed each other's company. The only negative part of the whole trip was that I twisted my knee on the step in the pool and could hardly walk for a couple of days. That was a bit of a "pain," but I kept it iced and didn't let it get in the way of doing too much.

Thanksgiving was wonderful as always. We started the day with a hayride/2 miles turkey trot. Then some people played football, and the rest worked together to make a feast. Everything was delicious!

The day after Thanksgiving, we had our traditional Christmas Eve Party. It was pretty funny having it so early in the year and right after Thanksgiving, but I was glad to be able to have it while the whole family was together. Christian and Andrew played a Christmas song on the piano for their talent, and Hyrum sang "Follow the Prophet" for his talent. He insists that we sing "Follow the Prophet" every Family Home Evening, so he knows it pretty well. It was cute that he was so excited to sing it. Then we read the Christmas story and opened presents from Grandpa and Grandma and the siblings. In the last few years, I have really enjoyed giving away presents. I really work hard choosing things that will hopefully be extra special. It is more fun than getting presents, although that is pretty darn fun too :) This year, I had Kym for the gift exchange. I knew that one of her favorite paintings was a Greg Olsen painting called "The Way of Joy." It isn't one of his standard ones that is easy to find, so I ended up ordering it from his website. Our gift money budget ($25) made it so that I could only get her a fairly small print because it was so expensive. By a happy mistake, they sent me a huge 16X20 picture of it that was beautiful! I called the company to inform them of the mistake, and they said to keep it and not worry about it since it was their mistake. It was so fun to give it to Kym and see her reaction. I hope she loves it for many years to come. For the kid's cousin gifts, I made some updated Family "Go Fish" cards. I got them printed and then laminated them. It was fun, and I love that it will help all of the cousins (especially the younger ones) get to know each other better. Here is a picture of all the cousins together.

The gifts that our family was given were so thoughtful and wonderful! Matt and Katie gave Jonathon me a set of yard games (Yahtzee and Kubb) that were made from wood and stained. They will be so fun to play with this Summer. 

Carter's family gave the boys a travel kit to come see them in Idaho again. It had fun snacks and games in it. It was darling, and the boys loved it (and used it).

Kym's family gave the boys the cutest Harry Potter gifts ever. Each boy got a box wrapped in brown paper, tied with a string, and with a tag that said "Merry Christmas! From Mrs. Weasley. So cute! Inside the boxes were candies labeled "licorice wands, pumpkin pasties, lemon drops, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean, Peppermint Toads, and Golden Snitches." Each treat was so beautifully put together with just the right packaging and labeling. I was so impressed, and the boys were ecstatic.

Also included in the boxes were Mrs. Weasley crocheted sweaters for each of the boys. Kym found these perfect matching sweaters at DI and then crocheted the letters on each of them. I couldn't believe how awesome they were! Christian got an "H" for Harry, Andrew got an "R" for Ron, and Hyrum got an "H" for Hyrum. The boys immediately put them on and wouldn't take them off for 3 days. They even slept in them. Finally, I forced them to take them off to wash them. They couldn't be any more perfect.

For her present, Jadyn got my old dollhouse that my dad made me when I was about 8. I had saved it all these years, hoping to be able to give it to my daughter. I never did get a girl, and I wanted someone to be able to enjoy it and love it. I was so happy to give it to Jadyn. Dad refinished it and made it beautiful again, and I hope Jadyn will have so much fun with it.

Before we left, we took some family pictures. We took them outside by the tractor for Mom and Dad's yearly Christmas card. It was nice that everyone was able to be in it. Notice the boys are wearing their Weasley sweaters. Haha! They begged me to let them wear them, so why not. We also made sure to get a picture of Mom and her girls. I love my family so much and I thankful we had this time to spend together.