thanksgiving photos, thanks to my cute SIL

thanksgiving recap

well, we're back!  what an awesome break it was.  nothing better than cousins to entertain our two busy girls!  it actually felt like a vacation for me.  wahoo!

we spent most of the time in idaho with the brunts, but a few days in utah on each end with the neffs.  hazel and i had perfect snowman-building snow to play in....

we opened christmas jammies early this year, so they could be enjoyed through december rather than opened christmas eve and only enjoyed a handful of times.  i'm pretty sure cora has worn it during the day several times already since we've been back!

some highlights:
hanging out with the girls in mimi and grandpa's new hot tub
petting horsies during our family photo shoot with randi
my turkey relish tray
the blow-up playground mimi and grandpa got for the occasion that kept my girls busy for hours
seeing my girls in their new superhero capes from honey
making a snowman with hazel

hazel's thankful tree

a little snapshot into our 3&1/2 year-old's little brain.  doing this thankful tree was such a great teaching opportunity with her.  i was so proud of her for coming up with "Jesus" and the "scriptures", as well as "music", "school", and "disneyland".  i can't wait to see what great things she comes up with next year :)

our thankful tree.

not to brag, our life is so good right now.  

don't get me wrong, it is so SO hard, and we have lots of {unseen} challenges, just like everyone else.

but it's also incredibly good.  we are so blessed.

cora is right at this very moment crying in her crib, fighting a nap she so desperately needs.  (don't worry! i won't let her cry for long:) and i have anxiety about some things that just can't be fixed right now.  there's endless projects and to do's that need to be done, and i'm feeling inadequate and vulnerable and hopeful all at once.  but if i sit back and look at my life, it is easy to see how incredibly blessed we are. 

friday, i had this brilliant idea that we should start a thankful tree.  hazel is the perfect age for that right now, and i thought it would be a great way to teach her such an abstract concept.  i bought a stack of colored construction paper, and cut out the cutest bare tree for our wall.  hazel has been impressing us with her scissor-cutting skills and cutting several leaves each day for us to write on what we are thankful for.  the tree is filling up so fast, and i can't wait to show you what it looks like when we're done.  it's been an exercise in remembering our Savior, and our Heavenly Father from whom all our blessings come.  it's helped me recognize friends and loved ones who are such an influence of love and good in our lives and are such good examples to our girls.  truly, i am so grateful.

and here's some things these girls love right now....

cora

brown bear, brown bear what do you see

pointing and saying "this" (ie. this way) to tell me where to go

petting the neighbor's cat {i actually don't know who that cat belongs too, and i'm just hoping it's been vaccinated ;}

coming with me to get the mail

putting little objects in holes - she frequently finds sticks to put in the wire at the playground

bubbles

yogurt {obsessed}

dragging her bunny around on a blanket

saying "up" as we climb each stair

chasing birds on the beach {hazel loves this too!}

the tram at disneyland is hilariously maybe her favorite "ride" that we go on there.  i think peter pan is also beloved

hazel

loving smile, her after-school program with some cute friends

puzzles

playing games

reading - she is turning into such a bookworm and can sound out lots of words already

ham {LOVES it, and asks to have it in her lunch every day.  i usually send her with a homemade "lunchable" complete with ham, cheese, and crackers;}

talking about holidays, and getting very excited to go to mimi's for thanksgiving!

disneyland

listening to music in the car - from princess songs to my old school playlists and everything in-between

talking about "our schedule" and looking at what is coming up that day and week

thanksgiving part 3!

friday we went to walden pond!

we can never get a decent family photo with everyone looking.  will someone please teach me their secret?!

then back to the minute-man bridge...

then we went to lunch, and on to rockport, which is just the cutest, quaintest little port town ever.

 of course we had to buy some toffee from the candy store while we were there... and then nearly polish it off on the car ride home... $9 of toffee never goes as far as one would think...

we are almost done with thanksgiving posts!  yayyy

thanksgiving in plymouth. part two of our series.

on thanksgiving day we got ready and went to a monument i had never heard of in plymouth, massachusetts.  then we had thanksgiving dinner at plimouth {yes, that's how they spell it there} plantation, and our little heffalump, as you can see, is the cutest baby known to man.

agfag

then we took our full bellies and took a tour of an imitation wamapoke indian homes/grounds and a town full of "real life" {aka actors} pilgrims. see hazel above, singing jingle bells to me ^^^ also, look at hazel's face in the photo below.  right after this picture was taken she laid her head down on my shoulder and fell right asleep.

then we went and saw the most underwhelming national monument ever, plymouth rock.
and took a tour of the mayflower...

such a fun day!  thanks so much to mimi and grandpa for taking us!

more thanksgiving weekend pics to come!

a boston thanksgiving, part one.

since john's aunt jayme, ryan and janessa, the harman fam, and us are all stranded out east for thanksgiving, george and leslie flew in and we made the most of it.  we all crammed into sweet jayme's two-bedroom apartment and had a blast!  the first day we went to faneuil hall market, ate delicious lobster rolls and clam chowder, looked in pretty little shops (see cupcake christmas tree below), and played on the pier.

we drove past the beautiful boston temple:

then we went to bunker hill memorial, and while the girls slept in the car with mimi, john and i hiked the 294 steps to the top.  

you can see all over boston from up there.

we saw the minute-men bridge, where the "shot heard round the world" was shot.  there are several homes where literary greats have lived right around that area, including ralph waldo emerson, who wrote the "concord hymn" commemorating the battle, which he actually witnessed with his own eyes! {i will have it be known that hazel requested a silly-face picture, and then didn't join me^^^}

there you have it!  day one of our boston thanksgiving.

things i am grateful for:

a husband that isn't smelly.  ever.

delicious food.

time with family.

the privilege and blessing i have to grow a baby.

a toddler that loves people and has a kind heart.

cozy socks and beanies.

my few talents.

freedom to be who i want to be.

french vanilla hot chocolate. 

boots.

and especially: the love we share in this little family of ours. that i get to keep them forever and ever.

our thanksgiving weekend.

we had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend with john's family.  we all congregated in idaho falls and had just a blast!  leslie made an amazing meal, and i am happy to report that all the delicious food we ate over the weekend got me caught up on my pregnancy weight gain.  (i was previously a few pounds behind.... ;)

we also watched wreck-it-ralph, which was funny and cute, went on atv rides {not me, obviously}, played a lot of zombies {john + other boys}, and did some black friday shopping.

it was tons of fun!  thanks george and leslie for hosting all of us in your beautiful home!

hanksgiving.

i love the holidays.  love love love.  this week was a breath of fresh air - we needed the break so badly.  on thanksgiving day, we played soccer in the morning, and then went to my dad's parents' house for a delicious dinner.  my grandma is a fabulous cook and we totally gorged.  my aunt made these cute turkeys out of candy.  {aren't they awesome?!}  and monkey ate a full turkey leg by himself.  

on friday we went to  the muppets movie with my mom's side of the family.  we were entertained by it, and who doesn't love the muppets?  we then ate homemade chinese food, and i will always uphold that my family's won-tons are way better than any take-out won-tons.  {i think john would agree}.  the weekend was full of black-friday shopping and tons of family fun.  

p.s.  have you seen new girl?  we kind of love it.  it is hilarious.  hope you had a wonderful "hanksgiving" too!

thanksgiving morning.

to make those long boring hours waiting for turkey time to go by quickly, we all played a fun game of soccer yesterday morning.  i got schooled by the younger siblings, even ben.  it was so much fun - think we've settled upon a new wonderful neff tradition.

day of thanksgiving.

i know everyone in the blogging world is posting about what they are grateful for today.

sorry, i'm no less unique.  each year when we wind up coming towards this delicious holiday, i feel that i act like such an ungrateful person, because i rarely acknowledge the overwhelmingly kind things that people do for me.  i'd like to take this opportunity tell those that i love how much they mean to me, and how grateful i am for them.  

muti, vati - thanks for giving me life, and teaching me how to be a good person.  i am not perfect, but what good qualities i have come mostly from how you raised me.

brothers and sisters - thanks for the fun, the laughs, and the examples you are to me.  we usually get along, but sometimes we want to punch each other in the face.  thanks for not.  

uncles and aunts - you guys are goobers, and you make me laugh constantly.  i wouldn't have my pepsi addiction without all of you, and i really love my pepsi addiction, so thanks.

in laws - you guys are awesome.  thanks for accepting me and making me feel like i belong.  love you all!

john - thanks for all your patience with me this last year of marriage.  thanks for all the things you do that make me laugh.  thanks for loving me, even when i'm ridiculous.  thank you for being the kind of person i want to become.

grateful for:

changing leaves

diet pepsi

fun-size snickers

christmas music, particularly the singers unlimited

having a new craft to do

afternoon naps

turkey

giving someone a wink

for all those times i wasn't car shopping

indian corn

chapstick

pink highlighters

advice from my parents

neilson's mini concrete with caramel and brownie bits

remembering last summer

long chats with john

songbirds

a little list... of the things i am looking forward to for the holidays.

1.  eating chex mix

2.  picking out a christmas tree

3.  getting fat and caring not about it

4.  teaching monkey the must-know thanksgiving and christmas songs

5.  reading the best christmas pageant ever with john

6.  having time to fold laundry

7.  having a reason to wear scarves, cardigans, and boots

8.  seeing the lights at temple square

9.  being patho-care tree free

10. curling up next to the fire and watching the muppet's christmas carol {seriously. i love it.}