[recap] Thanksgiving

I just found this post in my queue and still am not sure how it never got published. But here it is.

Thanksgiving 2011.

Justins family came out for Thanksgiving this year. Which means I had to actually cook my first turkey. Yikes. Thanks to the help of Justins mom and this being her 30+ time, it turned out great! The spread was deliscious. Turkey, gravy, Sweet potato cassarole, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, fruit salad, stuffing, fresh cranberry sauce, and rolls. Yummy. This is definitely my favorite meal of the year!

WE also took this chance to get some christmas card photos in, since this is was when we were all together.

Unfortunately, Justin's brothers were all studying for med school, the GMAT, and engineering something, so we didn't get out much. (I'm not even sure James ever left the house, poor kid). We did watch a lot of movies and go play our annual soccer game (no babies were born this time). It was a great week.

Mom and Sister weekend

My mom and sister came out for the weekend for a long weeked. It was so nice to have them here. We had to take a day trip out to the coast, but since we dont all fit in one of our cars, we rented a van for the day. It was perfect. The boys loved getting out of the house.

our attempt at getting a family picture.

It was freezing cold, so while Justin was out surfing, we went to check out the helicopter rides. Rhys loved watching them take off, but loved even more when he got to go up in it with Nana and Courtney. He was slightly afraid at fisrt, and apparently did not say a single word the entire time. But he was all smiles after, and would proclaim it to everyone he met that day.

Beach house- Recap

For our last weekend in cali, my dad rented a beach house in Newport for a few days. It was awesome to wake up and walk right out onto the beach. We played, ate yummy food, bike rides, celebrated dad's birthday at The Melting Pot, played some more, watched several gorgeous sunsets, and built numerous amounts of sand castles.

"Look at me, mom. Im crawling too." I guess its mutual wanting to be like brother.
We spent a lot of time outside. Everyone loved papa's bike rides. The wedge, Corona Del Mar. I could live there...
Gorgeous sunsets.

I love my little family.
Cali did not disappoint. The drive home was not nearly as fun. Or eventful for that matter. The boys and I were over driving by about hour 10. And as soon as we crossed into Oregon, the clouds rolled in and the mist started. Welcome home.

Cali Continued

We spent the next week doing an array of fun activities and really relaxing. We we to Huntington Beach to hang out with Justins brother, James.

The shooting range with my brothers.


Got pedicures with the girls.

Went to the movies and shopping.

And had a lot of cousin time.

Cabin

Can can you not love life waking up to this??

Moving on. So the next day we headed up to a cabin with my mom in Arrowhead. Its so nice to just get away and be together as a family. We had a blast! We stayed up late playing games, laughing, poking fun at each other and eating. I really love my family.

Ashlyn and Rhys play so well together, except when they don't. HA!

We got up and went to play in the snow. There really is not alot up there, so we had to drive 45 minutes further up the mountain to a hill that is shaded most of the day to find enough snow to take a sled ride on. This picture makes me think of march of the penguins...

Rhys loved to "squuuiiiiisssshhhh" the snow balls. The sledding was kind of a bust. We didn't actually have sleds. And the amount of snow was minimal. And, well, my kids did not love it. Ashlyns monkey feet.

Court, Mom and Wes. After our snowman, we walked across the street to this diner for lunch. It was really good! Or we were all really hungry from our snow day.