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Thanksgiving and decking our halls

Thankful Tree 2021.  13th year we've done this...we have lots and lots to be thankful for!

 

Justin needed a beverage for our drive to Sandy.  He took the kids in to the gas station with him and got them slushies for the drive.  Happy people all around.  I got by on my water with occasional sips from Justin's beverage since I'm not much of a soda drinker.

 

It was a Goodrich Thanksgiving this year.  We watched the parade at home and then headed to Sandy, arriving around 1.  Dinner wasn't for a couple more hours so we went on a walk to the gully.  It was a beautiful day!  Ivy needed a bathroom so we turned around while the others went on...for a whole other hour!

 

Dinner was delicious, conversation was stimulating.  The kids watched movies in the basement.  We had lots and lots of pies but is there such a thing as too many pies for Thanksgiving?  Hello, leftover everything.

Tiana, Molly, April
Brynn, Ivy, Evie, Eli

Grandma gave everyone their Amazon cards and permission to start buying their Christmas presents.  The only rules are that they can't tell their siblings what they order and they have to ship everything to Grandma.  My kids love this tradition!

 

We hung out for a while playing games, relaxing, watching movies and then left later that night.  The plan was to drive to Bear Lake but we took a detour when Ivy got car sick and stayed at my parents that night and drove the rest of the way in the morning.  Molly took the littles on a golf cart ride while we waited for everyone to arrive.  There wasn't much snow on the golf course, if there was any at all.

Brynn, Ivy, Lucy, Molly

 We drove to the same place we've been going for several years to get our tree.  It is getting a little picked over so we might need to find a new spot.  We did manage to find a pretty decent tree.  Stockton was able to crutch around okay since it was a minimal snow year.  A fun time playing with cousins in the snow and around the fire.

Molly, Abby, Chloe

Molly, Grace, Lucy, Josie, Ivy
We went back to the cabin for dinner.  Grandma gave the kids their Christmas goodie bag.  Christmas jammies, Christmas book (for 6th graders and younger) and an ornament.  Everyone got buffalo plaid this year, a special treat since it's Ben's last Christmas before his mission.
Harper and Brynn
Ivy, Lucy, Josie
Stockton and Grant
Abby, Molly, Chloe
Tessa, Ben, Chloe, Molly, Grant, Abby, Gavin, Grace, Spencer, Seth, Brynn, Harper, Lucy, Ivy, Josie, Stockton
 
Gingerbread houses were next but we had to go home since Justin was working Saturday morning.  Brynn and Ivy did ours at home.  Molly may have helped when I went to the church to help with a funeral.  
Finished product and some very cute children!  Picture for Grandma. 
We decorated the real tree that Sunday.  Justin carried it up to the loft and got it set up, I wrapped it with lights, and the kids did all the decorating.  Justin did the train and the girls helped him put the trees and garland on top of the bookcases.  We were officially done decorating for Christmas.  It is a seriously big job at our house.  Quite exhausting with everything else we've got going on but worth it.  So magical all month long.
"Whatcha doin', Stockton?"
"Caught ya!"
one side of the living room
and the other side

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