I'm thankful for...

FAMILY!

(How cute is he?)

This weekend I had so many family and friends over! It was AWESOME! The first to arrive was Uncle Levi. He's my little brother which makes him Zeke's youngest uncle. Then after hours of traffic from the Bay area, our good friends Lindsey, Kurt and little Chase got here. As soon as they got settled in my older brother Casey got here with his family: Laurie, Henry, and Miles. It was a party. Sorry Jacqui. She couldn't make it due to the new baby. Whatever. Laurie took a lot of pictures with her awesome camera, but I still snapped a few.

So the first night we all got settled in. Sort of. It was a tight squeeze at my house, but everyone had a bed of sorts. Then around 1am, Kurt and Lindsey decided they needed to leave. Chase doesn't sleep well away from home, and I guess he had been screaming since we went to bed. We all felt terrible, and they were greatly missed.

The next day, we all woke up to "Run to feed the hungry." It's the 5k I've been training for. We didn't get out of the house on time, and by the time we finally found parking, the race had started. Casey jumped out early, and made it with the 10k start, but Laurie and I just jumped in a few blocks from the start. We still did most of it, and by the time you count the hike to and from the car, we walked way farther. The problem was that with the jogging stroller we could barely move. It ended up being a really tight walk the whole way. It was so festive though. People were holding signs thanking us for donating, and it was through a cute neighborhood in downtown, so people were out front drinking mimosas and bloody mary's for thanksgiving cheering us on.

Then we got home, and I started cooking. I made some of my famous deviled eggs (can you really mess them up?) And by the time I was finished with the appetizers, it was time to cook! I had brined the Turkey in a very herbal mixture, and it turned out AMAZING! I was so proud of myself. Casey said that it was the best thanksgiving food spread ever. Josiah had requested I make a ham, so we bought a small spiral sliced, and that went over HUGE also. Here is the before. Don't mind the GHETTO ness. Paper plates, and patio tables. What-ev. We had fun. Josiah's cousin Brice came over for thanksgiving dinner too, since he lives like 2 blocks away.

The next day, the boys went shooting. They actually drove eastward up into the mountains to shoot in the morning, and then to San Francisco on the west to go to a japanese knife store in the afternoon. They pretty muched circled the width of California.

Laurie and I decided to take the boys to Old Sacramento. Miles LOVES trains, and so I knew it was a must see. They have a train that runs all summer for rides, but it closes in September, so we thought we had missed it. However, for the Thanksgiving weekend, they had a Polar Express! It was SO fun. I find myself getting misty at holiday thoughts. I LOVE the HOLIDAYS!

So Excited to see the trains!

Finally all snuggled up on board!

Miles couldn't even look at us for the pictures!

Henry just sat like this the whole trip. I couldn't believe how quiet they both were!

The next day was Saturday, and it was time to say goodbye to Thanksgiving, and HELLO to CHRISTMAS! We all went in the morning and got a tree at a fun little farm, and then in the evening we decorated. Josiah hung the lights on the house. Casey couldn't resist helping once he found out someone was going to have to get on the roof.

What good boys!

Then we decorated gingerbread cookies that I had made from scratch! They were pretty delicious. Miles kept putting buttons on, and then taking them off and eating them. And Henry and I put shorts on one gingerbread boy, and he was a fighter. His words, not mine.

Later that night, I decorated the Tree. It was SO fun.