Thanksgiving this year has been in the books for a while now and the Family was all pretty excited! It has been awhile since my whole family has been together! Our gatherings are getting harder and harder with my Parents on a mission and plus all our families are getting older and bigger. So, it was extra special for everyone of us to be there for Thanksgiving. Our group text we have as a family, was pretty chatty all month long about how excited we all were for Thanksgiving. I mean we are always super chatty, but we were EXTRA chatty about being all together!
The week finally arrived that we would all be getting together in Colorado at my parents mission home.
All of us were driving except for Meg and Joe who flew from California.
Dan and I left the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Once Dan got home we loaded the kids in the car and headed out. I had the car all packed up with everything we needed before he got home so we could get on the road!
We really love road trips. Call us crazy, but driving with kids is so so so much easier than flying. We are on our own time frame, we can handle the kids a lot better and everyone is less tense! Our kids handle the drive very well, and Dan and I love just spending time together, talking and listening to audio books. Road trips are our thing for sure.
We split the drive up in two days going there and then drive home in one day. Our first day we stopped in Salina, Kansas. It's half way between us and my parents and only a six hour drive. The drive went rather smooth and no major melt downs.
June LOVES staying in hotels, mostly because she gets to jump on the beds and play with the paper and pens left in the hotel room.
After settling down the kids picked their beds, Dan and I split up for each kid and let them drift off to sleep. I took Owen and Dan was with June. It's very rare I get to snuggle the little mister. He isn't the most cuddly child, so it was nice being so close to him while he slept.
The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and let the kids play for a bit before loading back in the car for another six hour drive.
The further west we drove the cloudier and foggier it got. It didn't hit snow quite yet, but the fog was really pretty.
We stopped for lunch and a town called Colby had just been hit by a big snow storm. It was the first snow we have seen this year and June instantly ran over to it. She loves the snow and it makes me a little sad that she doesn't get to experience it the same way I did growing up. This time of year always makes me a little home sick for the North.
June said "Is this real snow?" I've been waiting years to touch real snow!"
After lunch we turned off all electronics and made the kids play with other toys for a while. Within 10 minutes of driving they were both out. Owen took a solid two and a half hour nap. June took a little hour nap and then woke up happy to play. It was a nice quite ride for a while.
Welcoming ourselves to Colorado!
We finally arrived to Denver! We were excited to be done with the drive and enjoy family. Meg and Joe were there first, but everyone else was still on the road. With 23 people all coming together my parents thought it best for everyones sanity to get a few hotel rooms.(Thanks mom and dad!!) We stayed at the hotel along with Meg and Joe, and Mike and Shay. The families with small children. Everyone else stayed at my parents house.
We went and checked into our hotel room, got settled in and then headed over to my parents house to wait for everyone to arrive.
We walked in and of course the house already smelled AMAZING with Thanksgiving prep already underway! We chatted for a bit, let the kids play and then more family started showing up! The excitement continued and we got louder and louder as each family came to the house.
Prepping for dinner. Michelle doesn't know how to be normal for pictures... She is pretending to work on one of the Turkeys. Yes, we had multiple turkeys.
I made her look. Hi Michelle.
So, I don't know how many of you are experienced with a mission presidents home. I surely was not! But the house is set up so amazingly for when missionaries are heading home, or for emergencies when missionaries need to stay at their house.
There are quite a few bedrooms through out the house for when General Authorities come and other church leaders. These rooms are all set up super nice!
Then you go down into the basement where the missionaries usually go. I can't even express how this place is set up! It is just rows and rows and rows of bunkbeds. You turn corners and more bunkbeds appear. Its crazy, and also AMAZING for grandkids. They had their own little world down there. They made forts out of blankets and spent the majority of the time down there playing. My dad made it extra special and had each of the grandkids pick a bed and then he printed out labels to mark which one was theirs. They had a rule that only four years and older could sleep down there. June was beyond thrilled to be sleeping on the top bunk with her cousin Reese.
We played and played and played
My mom had gotten the little ones toy trains for their birthdays and we had to take a picture of how to put the train back together... Mikey just got to be the model.
Something about my brother Mike: We are SUPER lucky that he was even able to make it! A couple weeks before Thanksgiving, He got the flu. He then had accidentally bumped his leg into a trailer. Very lightly, he said he didn't even flinch. Supposedly when he ran into the trailer the flu virus had gone into a broken vein and spread like wild fire all over his leg. Causing a staph infection. A VERY serious staph infection. They first gave him antibiotics and sent him home, saying if it spread even further then he would need to be admitted to the hospital. Well is spread and spread bad. The next couple of days were really bad and they ended up doing surgery on his leg. The doctors told my sister in law, Shay, that he has about a 1 in 3 chances of losing his leg if the virus spread through to his muscles... and 1 in 10 chances of this causing even more harmful affects to the body.
The surgery went well enough and he stayed in the hospital for a few more days, then was able to go home. This was his leg:
Super gross right?! We honestly didn't know if they were going to make it to Colorado until the last day, but everything seemed to check out will with the doctors and he had finished his last round of antibiotics at the hospital, so they were able to come! The kids were so intrigued with it... Ok the adults too. It was just so gross to look away! We are very happy that he didn't lose his leg or better yet his life! So scary!!
Ok, sorry about that. Back to Thanksgiving:
We headed back to our hotel Wednesday night. Then it was back to the house Thursday morning! We had woken up to snow falling! I was so excited!
When we arrived the kids instantly wanted to go out and play in it. There was no snow on the ground but on the cement pad in the back yard. Any snow was good enough for them, so we loaded them up in their snow clothes and let them have at it.
She may be born in the South, but the north runs through her veins. We are winter people.
Owen hated wearing his hat and gloves, but once he got passed having to wear them he loved playing the snow and throwing it around.
Like I said, there wasn't a whole lot of snow at first, so my dad grabbed his shovel and had made piles for the kids and kept throwing it in the air for them to play in.
Owen and Austin only two weeks apart
The kids stayed out a little longer and then came in the house to warm up and play. Meanwhile us ladies got busy in the kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner. Remember how I said my sister Michelle can't take normal pictures?!... Point taken.
We even told her again to pose normal. This is all we got. Michelle.... I just have no words for you.
The boy and his cars. Never ending happiness with cars and boy cousins to play with. He was in heaven!
He saw me put a clip in Junes hair that morning, and wanted one too. I didn't see the problem with it.
More games played before dinner, runs to gas stations for Big Gulps and getting ready for black Friday shopping later, much much later that night!
Table prep
My mom did an amazing job with all the work and prep. The kids table was a big hit with fun little pilgrim hats filled with crayons and butcher paper that the kids could color on.
June bug was super pumped to be having Sprite for her drink. She didn't want the usual Mendenhall Slush.
While we were all down eating Thanksgiving dinner, my little one slept peacefully upstairs. I'll be honest it made dinner a little more enjoyable!
Everything was set up perfectly thanks to my mom!
Hours it takes to make Thanksgiving dinner and within 20 minutes its gone. It was quiet at the table for a bit while we shoved our mouths with delicious food!!!
Once we ate way way way to much food, we cleaned up dinner and let our stomachs settle for a bit.
Then it was time for the fishing pond my parents had set up for the kids.
The kids all got fun little crafts to do. It kept them busy for a while. My parents also got all the boys these little flying saucers. Again, it kept the grown men busy for a while.
June playing in Papa's mission office
Later that night we headed out for bowling and arcade games.
My oldest niece Lauren with June
Owen had his finger in his nose the majority of the night
The crazy Mendenhall bunch
After bowling and arcade games we headed back to the house for more food consuming and just hanging out. We then headed back to the hotel to get kids to bed.
The girls did not call it a night! It was black Friday shopping time!! We headed out about midnight and shopped for a while. I seriously laugh so incredibly hard when I'm with them. It's so much fun and I'm so glad I have this incredible bond with my sisters and mom. We hit a bunch of stores, got some hot chocolate and just laughed the night away. It was a perfect way to end Thanksgiving.
Friday we woke up and slowly got ready then headed over to my parents house.
June playing polly pockets. These were mine as a little girl and June loves them just as much as I did. She calls my parents Nana and Papa Pollypocket. Thats house she associates the two sets of grandparents.
The girls upstairs getting ready with grandma. Playing with makeup and painting fingernails.
Luke and Owen playing polly pockets
Playing the booger game with gramps
We all headed to the mall a little later in the day. My parents wanted to get all the grandkids their gifts and be there to open them at the house instead of mailing them this year. All the girls went and picked out new outfits for their American Girl Dolls, including June. She doesn't have a doll yet, but she is really hoping Santa will bring her one this year (Wink Wink)
The boys went into the Lego store and picked something out and then the little little ones headed to the Disney store. Parents were stressed with all the craziness but the kids were loving it being able to pick anything they wanted.
Such a cute picture of the Oldest and Youngest boys in the family. Andrew and Owen.
It's so crazy my nephew is 16. He is so incredibly good with the younger kids and was a trooper all weekend with them always body slamming him and constantly wanting to play with him.
We then waited in line to go see Santa.
The cutest Mission Presidents you ever did see
After shopping and making it through all the madness we made it home and the kids played and played with their new things. The girls had so much fun playing with their dolls. And my American Girl Doll that I had when I was little was at my parents house, so June got to play with her.
The crew just hanging out
We played games that night, but kids to bed and then us adults were able to play a game or two and just talk without constantly being interrupted by kids. Nights like that are my favorite with my family. Party mix, pinwheels and leftovers. It just had Mendenhall screaming all over it just like I remember as a little girl.
Saturday, everyone headed over to the hotel to go swimming. My mom and sister picked up some pizzas and we ate there and just let the kids play and swim.
My dad got pushed into the pool with his sweater on, but he was pretty proud because the kids were diving down for quarters so he took full advantage and when he was pushed in, swam to the bottom and grabbed some quarters.
Chicken fights
We ate, finished swimming and then headed back to the house. The kids played and the boys got ready to go to a hockey game. The rest of us ordered Sushi for dinner and munched on leftovers. Play the pie in the face game and then sadly had to say our goodbyes. We planned to leave straight from the hotel that next morning since we had the full 12 hour drive ahead of us, which really meant 14 hours...
Owen slept horribly that night and finally decided to wake up at 5am and be awake. We didn't plan on leaving until 8am, but we were up and just decided to pack up and go. It was nice getting on the road a couple hours ahead of schedule.
The drive went rather well. June slept for the first three hours and Owen for the first two. And then he fell back asleep later on. We stopped for a lunch and dinner and then just pushed to get home. We were really tired pulling into the house, but we were so happy for our own beds. We all came down with colds, so the next morning we all slept in until about nine. Except June, she slept until like 11. It was a nice quiet lazy day and prep for the next day of getting back to real life.
It's always so hard when things like this come to an end. I'm looking forward to the summer when I plan to do another massive road trip back to Idaho again, this time with 3 kids! WHAT?!?! That could be interesting...
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love and being grateful for the many blessings brought into your lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment