Thanksgiving 2010

Utah is a cold place. It can only boast like 3 months of sunshine and warmth each year. That’s not very impressive. Utah does, however, happen to be the place where ALL of mine AND Dave’s family live. Now that IS impressive and is why we, too, live and love it here.

Yesterday we started our morning off by decorating our Charlie Brown tree (this would be our small, kid-friendly, tinselly tree that we put upstairs). Dave turned on some Christmas music, Kate helped hang ornaments, and I snuck a little dance in with my honey (he’ll kill me for saying so). Cole sat nearby in his bouncer chair, hardly amused by all the holiday cheer.

This year was Dave’s parents’ turn to host Thanksgiving. Before digging in, each person took a turn saying what they were thankful for. I was so proud when Miss Kate said, "I'm thankful for my baby." Kate also got to eat with her cousins at the kiddie table (am I the only one that has vivid, happy memories of doing this very thing as a kid?)

The Mom and Dad:

The Ladies Man:

The first picture makes him look bigger than he actually is; see a more accurate depiction below.

Baby Makayla (left) is 12 1/2 weeks, Cole (middle) is 4 1/2 weeks, and Ava (right) is 10 1/2 weeks. Fun to see the difference a few weeks can make.

One thing I love about Thanksgiving with Dave’s family is they do a white elephant exchange after the dinner. We do the whole “steal it a third time and it’s locked” rule. I will say, however, there weren’t too many steal-worthy gifts this year. Here’s what we ended up with:

Dave got the Margarita mixins (just add your favorite vodka). I scored a lovely potted plant. Kate got the disguise gear, which we brought. And Cole earned himself a vase that would probably be worth a big something on Antiques Roadshow.

So glad for a great extended family that is so close by, and for my very own little family of four!