Our Thanksgiving Weekend!

This year we spent Thanksgiving weekend at my parents house. We had a lot of fun!

Emily played in a tent...

Hung out on the hammock with her Grandpa (my dad)...

She briefly wore a Turkey clip :)...

Played some more...

We ate a ton of great food that my mom cooked...

And then it was time for Emily's bath!

She and I were both sick with colds (heck, we still are..) so sleep was a little rough for both of us that night.

I thought this picture was funny :).

                   

But the next day was an exciting one because my sister got her mission call in the mail and she found out she will be serving as a LDS missionary in Berlin, Germany for 18 months!! 

We are extremely proud of you and love you so much, Kristin!!

Emily Loves Aunt Kristin

As you've read, my sister was able to come visit from school for the week of Thanksgiving. We took these precious pictures of her first meeting her one and only niece, Emily. I just had to share them!! It was love at first sight for them both :).

Emilys Baby Blessing

 

Saturday night after we got back from Oak Glen, my sister Kristin helped me give Emily a bath. Sunday at church the next day (Nov. 27th) she was getting her baby blessing and we needed to get her all cleaned up for her big day!

We were lucky enough to have a bunch of family in town for Thanksgiving so it was perfect timing to have her blessed at church. We missed the family members who weren't able to come but we know they would have if they could. 

Here are some pictures we took right after her baby blessing...

It was a good day for all of us :)

Oak Glen Ranches and Farms

The weekend of Thanksgiving was relaxing and enjoyable for my family. (Although Michael had to work so not really for him...) We went to Oak Glen on Saturday, which is up in the mountains here in Southern California. There are a bunch of farms that each have little shops and stores for visitors. Their specialty is apples so there were a ton of caramel apples, apple cider, jams and jellies, pies. etc. The scenery was my favorite part. My sister took some beautiful photos.

In between stops, I would feed Emily in the car when it was needed. She seemed to be enjoying herself too...

This is right outside one of the many shops...

We all took turns holding Emily...

It was such a fun experience! I will need to take Emily again when she is a little bit older.

Our Thanksgiving In Pictures

Delicious food my mom prepared for us...

 My grandma and grandpa were able to fly in from Ohio for the week!

My sister got to come home from school in Utah for the week too. It was the first time she got to see Emily!

Kristin holding Emily...love!

My brother Steven and my sister Kristin....

 My mom and dad...

My dad with his one and only grandbaby, Emily!

Can't forget about the pups! My parents dog, Tyler, with Jexi. "Stay...." *snicker snicker*

Snuggles with my two girls :)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

My mom insisted this year that I help her cook for Thanksgiving. She needed the help and I had never done it before. She thought it was about time I learned how. It's a good thing she made me do it because I'm so proud of what I did!

Cherry pie...

Pumpkin pie...

Apple pie...

The pies were what we got done on Wednesday night. While we were cooking, my friends Kelli and Jackie came to visit. Jackie was in town for Thanksgiving and it was the first time I got to see her baby bump! She's having a boy!

It was really fun to catch up with them. We've been friends since high school and still love each other to death! Our conversations are a little different now, though. :-)

Thanksgiving day arrived and my mom and I had a bunch more food to make.

I helped with a couple different kinds of potatoes, the green bean casserole, and a fruit salad. This is what we had minus the turkey.

And this is my parents dining room table. Isn't the setup gorgeous? My mom does a great job at making things look pretty.

Jexi and my parents dog, Tyler, loved getting fed scraps. Can you tell Jexi is on her hind legs?

After stuffing ourselves silly, we spent a couple hours playing games.

It was a fun couple of days! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too!