We visited family in Utah for Thanksgiving. We stayed at my mom's house one last time before she moves (again) to the house that I lived in from 16 years old until I got married.
Dinner was at a sister's house - a 50 min +/- drive from my mom's. The kids were glad to get out of the car. We were there for 6 hours. It was nice to visit with my youngest sister and her tough-looking-but-friendly husband. Too bad we didn't get to spend more time with Amber and Cody. We enjoy playing games with them. It was a wake-up call to see my little brother. He's getting old! (No offense, Aaron.) And if he's getting old, I'm getting old; a fact that has become a bigger reality to me this year. I think Aaron may always be a 16-year-old boy in my mind, since that's about the time I left on my mission. My sister, Andrea, and her husband hosted and put a lot of work into preparing and recovering from the 30+ people in their home. I saw my Aunt Bonnie for the first time in several years. I think she's got a magic potion because she doesn't seem to have aged since I last saw her! I also met her husband, Eric; a very pleasant fellow!
Here are some of the men in my family. Crazy...all of them!
The day after Thanksgiving, I spent much of the day with my mom...cleaning up her house to move back into and doing a little light shopping. While we were gone (with Sarah, of course), Chad took the kids on a hike. It was a bit cold, but I think they had fun.
They are such great looking kids!
And possibly needing a little therapy.
That night, I asked my mom if she'd be willing to watch the kids (all 6) for a little while so Chad and I could get out. I was feeling a little guilty for abandoning him all day with no one to visit with or anything to do. While we were gone, the kids got to make cards with Grandma. I think they had fun!
The next morning (about 8 AM), Chad took Daniel, Nathan and Leah back to the hiking trail to see if they could get farther without the littler ones. They'd heard there was a waterfall and wanted to see if they could find it. That's some cold hiking! They saw lots of ice, snow and mud, but Leah had to go to the bathroom before they got to the waterfall. It was probably OK since the trail was getting more difficult and they weren't really prepared for hiking.
I love this picture of Daniel helping Leah up the slippery trail!
Nathan suddenly became interested in leaves this trip.
When we got home, we noticed a wet spot in the bathroom carpet. Ugh. Chad took the back part of the wall off in the bathroom and found the problem(s). That leak has been at it for at least 2 weeks. And it of course couldn't be an easy fix...the parts are old enough to be hard to find. We are now considering replacing the whole tub and re-doing the surround. Merry Christmas, house!
Here is Chad's temporary fix after breaking into the wall. That board was first used under my daybed mattress when I was a kid. We've used it for many things over the years, but never as part of the wall! It's held up by packing tape. Anyone else have something they'd like Chad to come over and work on? He's really quite handy!
And look at my Sweet Sarah. She really likes those animals dangling above her. Here, she is talking to them. :)
In other news, Daniel's jaw has started hurting again. We made it a month. But it was a great month! He'll see the DR on Friday. He also has an orthodontist appointment next month. That will be fun.
That looks like a fun thanksgiving!
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