Week of Thanks

Talia and Tucker had a week off for Thanksgiving and we stayed in California for the week.  We went to the Winter Wonderland at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.  All of the sculpture were made of ice and Talia and Tucker were able to go down a big ice slide.  The ice sculptures were amazing and it was a -10 degrees so that is why the kids were wearing parkas.  My favorite thing was the nativity.  It was beautiful!!  We would have stayed longer to look at the sculptures but it was so cold.  After visiting the winter wonderland we walked through and toured the Queen Mary and it was very interesting.  We had a great time.

We started off Thanksgiving Day by running a Turkey Trot.  It was a free 5K that was organized by the exercise group I work out with.  Talia and Tucker ran the whole thing and never stopped.  They ran it in about 30 minutes.  I was really proud of them. Trent ran most of it and did a great job also.  Tate even ran the 5 K with us.  I didn't get any pictures so I took pictures of our running shoes.  We spent Thanksgiving afternoon with a couple families from our ward, the Richins and the Woods.  I cooked a turkey for the first time and made a couple of sides and a few desserts.  Everyone helped and brought part of dinner and it was delicious.  After dinner we talked and played a few games including the thimble game.  Then we had dessert which was amazing.  My friend Sarah brought cheesecake and I made pumpkin dessert.  The kids also made oreo turkeys.  It was a very fun day and I love this holiday!!!  I love that we have a holiday to recognize how blessed we are.  We missed spending time with our family but it was a good day.

A Visit From Grandma Eyvon and Grandpa Dave

My mom and dad came to visit for a week and it was so fun to have them come.  We started the trip off right by going to the temple the same day they flew in.  Talia had turned 12 in May and had missed the Ward Youth Temple Trip when were out town in the summer.  My mom is the ward Family History Specialist and had some family names for Talia, so she was able to go and do baptisms at the Newport Beach Temple.  Trent and my dad helped out and my mom and I got to watch.  It was a special experience for everyone.  Tucker had to wait in the waiting room.  It will be his turn soon enough.  I am so grateful that Talia could share this experience with Trent and I and her grandparents.  I hope she always remembers this special day.

My mom and dad's visit was during the week when the kids had a day off of school so we took them to the Wild Animal Park that day.  It was very fun to see all the animals but the highlight of the day was watching the Cheetah Run.  We were able to see a Cheetah run over 100 feet 2 or 3 times.  Cheetahs are beautiful animals and their speed and acceleration were incredible.  It was a very fun day.  We also spent a lot of time at football practice and swim practice and then Grandma and Grandpa were able to watch one of Tucker's football games.  The week went by way too fast.  It was sad to see them go.  Thanks for coming to visit mom and dad.  We had a wonderful time!!

Ferocious Football

Tucker decided last minute to play football for the Corona Chargers.  It was a long season and a lot of hard work but Tucker learned so much and gained a lot of strength and confidence.  His team had a great season and they made it to the 4th round of the Super Bowl tournament.  He had some great coaches and teammates and Tucker was sad to have the season end.  There were lots of tears, bruises, sprints, running of laps, tackles, practices and games.  It was a character building experience for Tucker and even though it kept us very busy it was well worth it.  He is planning on playing next year and hopefully we can help him be more prepared.