Thanksgiving

We drove out to Washington State on Wednesday November 21st.  It was the hardest road trip we have ever been on as a family.  About three hours into the drive Addy got carsick.  She was miserable and we still had seven hours to go. We pulled over as often as we could.  We tried giving her some Dramamine but it was too late by that point and she threw it up.  We were very glad when we finally made it to Heather and Dan's house!

The kids were very excited to see their Pelfrey cousins.  We hadn't seen them since May.

I had really been looking forward to meeting my newest nephew Logan Aaron Pelfrey.  He was born in July and was already four months old.  He is such a chub.  We all couldn't get enough of him!

Addy got a good nights sleep and by the next morning she was feeling better.  She was happy to play with Bailey.

We brought this talking chair toy to give to Cassie.  It was Halle's when she was little.  

Parker could make Logan laugh and smile better than anyone else.  It was really sweet to watch.

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken have been taking some ballroom dance lessons.  They were happy to teach Mckenna and Parker the box step.  It was fun to watch them both dancing with their grandparents.

It was fun to have the "newlyweds" there with us.  We were missing Cody, Kamille, and all the kids though.  It wasn't the same without them there.

Dan slaved away making turkey, ham, and prime rib for all of us.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Kenniwick store.

Kev and Parker got to break the wishbone from the turkey.

We pulled several table close so we could all eat together.  

I had never tried the cornbread stuffing and gravy before. They are seasonal items for Dickey's.  I made sweet potato casserole since that is something they don't make there.  Heather made a delicious pumpkin cheesecake.  It was my favorite dessert we had.

The kids enjoyed running around the restaurant with Aunt Megan.  They needed to get some of their energy out.  It was nice to have the whole place to ourselves.

Parker had fun playing Nintendo 64 with this uncles.  When you get Spencer and Dan together their competitive sides come out.

Halle had fun playing with cousin Cassie. She loved giving her superman rides.

It wouldn't be a complete trip to WA without visiting The Country Mercantile.  We always love sampling the salsas, dips, and candies.  We always leave with lots of sweets.

We went out to dinner that night with just the adults.  It was a surprise for Sue and Ken to celebrate their anniversary.  We also gave them the temple decoration that we had made for them.  It was fun to have Spence and Megan ride in our car.  I enjoyed telling Megan stories of when Spence was little.

We were grateful to Mckenna for watching all the kids while we were gone.  Parker and Halle also helped too.

We brought these pj's with us for Cassie.  It was fun for Addy to match with her cousin.

Grandpa Ken played primary songs while the girls danced.  They are the cutest!

I loved when Cassie would run up to me and want me to hold her.  She is adorable! It made me realize how much I miss having babies around.  I am glad that I get to be an aunt to these sweet kids.

The kids worked on a gingerbread house with Grandma Sue.  Halle created this cute snowman out of breath mints.

The weather cleared up in the afternoon and everyone went outside for some fresh air.  The cousins were good about sharing their bikes and scooters.

We also went and saw the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet.  The kids loved it.  

We went to Dickey's that night for dinner.  We got to eat in the private conference room at the Pasco store. It was also cool to see Dan's office while we were there.  

There were two big screens so we could watch football while we ate.  Our family was cheering for BYU while they played the U.  The rest of the family was cheering for Utah State.  BYU had a great first quarter but it was all down hill from there. We had a memorable Thanskgiving.  I am thankful the kids were able to make great memories with their cousins.

Many talents

Parker had a band concert in November. He is second chair in the symphonic band this year.

He played two songs this time; 'Pinnacle and Tunbridge Meadows.  I am glad that he is working hard and improving each year.

On November 19th Parker played in Grandpa Kens piano recital.  He played a piece called "Mysterious Ballet" by Nancy and Randall Faber.  I am grateful that Parker is developing his talents in music!

Primary program

We had our ward primary program on Sunday November 18th.  I always love to hear my kids sing and participate in the program.  They looked great all dressed up in their Sunday best. I can't believe that it was Halle's last primary program. In a few months she will be in YW's.  I also enjoyed hearing my primary class share their parts.  I sat by little Star Bowen and she sang her heart out.  My favorite song we sang this year was called, "Choose Him Again."

Missionary dinner

On Wednesday November 14th was the youth missionary activity.  Kev actually started this tradition back almost 11 years ago when we moved into the ward.  It is fun that they still have it every year.  We were happy to have Sister Rosen and Sister Tuck come to our house.  Sister Rosen is actually my cousin Jeffs daughter.  This was her first missionary experience.  We smoked chicken, and fed them rice and asparagus.  We had berry pie for dessert. 

It was nice to get to know Lena Tuck better.  Their family moved into our ward about six months ago.  They shared a message about the plan of salvation with us after dinner.  Mckenna and Parker had a good experience at their dinners too.  Parker went to the Raburns house where he had vegan food for the first time.  Mckenna went to the Whites house and had burritos and peas.  The next night when I went to serve her vegetables she informed me that she ate peas the night before at the Whites house.  She will do just about anything to get out of eating her vegetables!

Sadie's dance

Mckenna asked Coulsen Anderson to the Sadies dance.  I loved how creative she was with the way she asked.  She loves to watch Stranger Things and so does Coulsen.

It was also fun how he answered her.  It looked so cool that we left it up on our porch for a couple weeks.  It worked great with all our Halloween decorations.

Saturday November 10th was the day of the dance.  Our neighbor Scott Olson drove the kids around in his RV.  He even had this awesome chauffeur hat that he wore.  They nicknamed their ride the "party wagon".  The girls decorated it and they also had snacks to eat.

Mckenna asked me to take their dance pictures for them. I met them in downtown Provo.

They had such a fun group! Tessa, Taylor, Maya, Connor, Mckenna, Coulsen, Brooke, and Ethan.

It was also cool that Connor was in Mckenna's group.  He is my cousin Jeffs son and her second cousin.

They had these unique painted walls.  It was perfect for taking pictures.

The theme of Sadies this years was sports.  The girls had these jerseys made that said Sadies 2k18.

They attempted to do a human pyramid but it didn't work out.

They are such a fun group of teenagers and I had a great time taking their pictures.

I'm glad that Mckenna's second date went so well.

Coulsen is a really nice guy and even gave her flowers when she came to pick him up for the dance.

The girls had put together a fun scavenger hunt around downtown Provo, then they went to Brooke's house for dinner, the dance, and then watched a movie afterwards.