Sheets are washed

 All the beds have been deflated and put away. The towels have been washed and so have all the sheets and pillow cases. The last pie was eaten and fortunately for us Maria came today and cleaned the house!

So all is back in order plus I have a Christmas tree up. It is little as I do not want a big tree getting in my way. In fact Kelsi ordered it for me after looking through the possibilities and finding a Black Friday deal.  I can carry the whole box with one finger lifting the handle.

Now it is quiet.  I like quiet, but I miss the noise and laughter. What is it about family gatherings that is soul fulling and makes me feel good? Andrew one time said it was the connections we make. 

I really enjoyed the whole Thanksgiving vacation. Anticipating and getting ready on Monday, Tuesday, and shopping Wednesday. Having Kelsi and Nate's family on Wednesday evening. Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday. On Friday we had a big get together with Matthew and Debbie's family joining us along with her dad and his wife, and also Ruth next door. Michael and Julia's family came for supper too.  Then Saturday we scaled down on numbers as Matthew and Debbie's family drove away in the afternoon and finally on Sunday we waved our last goodbye to Nate and Kelsi's family.

All the elements for a wonderful family Thanksgiving were in place -- then all of it fell together nicely.

Kelsi, Nate, Jayson, Caleb, Lilly, Emma, and Yukon left in the afternoon and got here by 6:30 pm so we had a little time to visit and chat before they needed to go to bed. 

Opa reading "Frog and Toad" in the different voices of characters. Nate was laughing in the dinning room.

The oldest three got up and took care of themselves for breakfast - with the smell of turkey cooking in the air. The parents leisurely got up to prepare different items. All of the kids had different pies and things they made with their dad. Jeffrey deboned the turkey and I finished the potatoes and corn. Jayson had made the pistachio salad - so we'd have something green for our feast! 

Opa took a few minutes to read to the grands explaining the colors of the sun.

The boys stopped building their fort while they listened.

Kelsi took care of Emma and entertained us too. 

Kelsi played many Christmas carols. "Mary Did You Know?" was one of them.

Matching outfits for all but Nate. So cute.

Then they sat down to watch some football while the finishing touches were being set up. We all sat down for a Thanksgiving Celebration at lunch time. Everyone told us their highs and lows of the last month. It was fun.

Jeffrey filled the dishwasher then went back to watch some more football while Kelsi and I packed up the left overs. Some decided to create. I did a jigsaw puzzle. 

Low Key without stress

We had a very nice day interacting with each other and also doing our own thing. Some people napped, some went for a walk, some talked with others on the phone, some wrote emails and messengered on FaceBook. 

Nate and Lilly had a tea party in the afternoon.

Right now it is 6 pm at night and though all have been told they can get leftovers no one is getting up. We are watching the 49ers play football. Lilly is playing with some bears, Kelsi is in the playpen with Emma, and the men are all on the couch watching football. I'm enjoying everyone. This has been a good day. 

Going from none to lots

 It is interesting how life can turn out sometimes. Jeffrey and I had planned to go to Utah for Thanksgiving to be with Jeffrey's family for the holiday. It turns out they all had other plans with their own families. So we decided to travel to Utah on a better week that we could see family instead of Thanksgiving week. We looked at each other knowing we would be home alone instead of gone. 

  I had mentioned to Matthew and Debbie much earlier that our house would be empty and they could treat it like an airbnb while we were gone. I had to call them and tell them the new plan. Evidently Matthew's family and Nate's family had been talking and they wanted to get together. The final plan turns out that Kelsi and Nate's family will come to our house on Wednesday night and stay till Sunday. Debbie and Matthew's family will come on Friday and go home on Saturday as Matthew has commitments on Sunday. 

We will have a full house! Debbies Dad and his beautiful wife will come on Friday for dinner. Maybe if Julia and Mike are back from their train trip, they could be here also. This is going to be fun!

Life is OK

 

Child Labor

 After a really fun day and dipping pretzels in chocolate, the girls helped clean up. Another thing I am grateful for is Julia teaching her children to clean up after play.

Debbie's homecoming

 I love watching Matthew and Debbie's family dynamics and interactions. Here is what happened when Debbie walked into the door from the airport.

Mom's training

 I took the girls to McDonalds as a treat. We enjoyed the chicken nuggets and they loved playing on the toys, tubes, and stairs for kids. Afterwards they needed to use the restroom. Isla told me she needed some help and when I went in she had lined the toilet seat with tissue paper. My thought was "good job mom!"

I hadn't said anything to Isla about what she should or should not do, it was great to see her taking care. She only needed to be lifted on as the toilet was too tall. Obviously Julia is training her girls well.

Ah Ha! Proof!

 I knew the raccoons were eating the cat food at night - and now I have proof! A paw print (not the cat's) next to the empty cat food bowl. Which I had to refill for the cat....

Raccoon print  near cat food bowl

Good Friends

 Before we began our trips to Redding and Sacramento, the Carters invited all the friends out for dinner. We went to Chef Chao in Moraga which is a really great place for good Chinese food. The waiter that has been there every time I have gone was there, Kenny Lee. Good food, good friends, a good night.

Nausins, Adams, Kruse, and Carters

Kenny Lee and Ken Carter

The Last Soccer Game

 Caleb asked us to come up on the 3rd of November because it was his last soccer game. We were warned the children had colds - we got updates for two days - and decided to risk getting sick as Caleb was playing. Jeffrey held and had Lilly on his lap for the whole game and didn't get sick a few days later. We loved watching Nate as the coach and then as the ump and how much Caleb has improved and gotten into the game! It was a fun good trip. Jeffrey picked up Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner before we went to the soccer park. Kudos there.

Throw in

Ump and player

They ended up wining by a goal

2023 team - note one player has a cast

Friday to Monday with Grands

 Last Friday I went up to Sacramento to spend the weekend with Matthew and Debbie 's children. Debbie had an opportunity to go back to her mission field in Minnesota and meet with a man who lives in Kenya and tour around with her missionary companion. 

They warned me ahead of time that the children had all been ill. They coughed the entire time I was there. We left Jeffrey at home because he has other things and people to visit and did not want to get sick.  I decided to chance it and went up. What a delightful trip it was. The children were so cooperative and nice to each other. Playing games and helping each other. Oliver one night ran to get some Vaseline and put it on James’ lips when they got dry. 

They are very talented and creative and could find things to do all the time. Reading, drawing, games, building, playing together or separately.  We went biking for half an hour in the sunshine and Corina rode on nine different types of transportation. 

 

On one of the days, Oliver, I and Corina were watching YouTube at airplanes that landed in the water and took off in the water and then we found an airplane from China that was to take care of emergencies and it could hold up to 50 people and it was really cool to watch it drive down into the water and then take off and then land again. So, Oliver made a Lego airplane that could land in the water and take off and it was really cool. His frustration came when it would break as he flew it around – and also broke at his siblings’ hands. The kids are great, not perfect. 

It was just really nice watching all the children do different things that were very creative. 

The most sublime part of the trip was on Sunday when Matthew prepared a sacrament meeting, he blessed and served us all the sacrament and then he talked about the power of prayer, and he told a story about Aunt Susan in prayer. He had a couple of stories and then he had me tell a story about prayer and it was just awesome to watch my son be such a good dad with his kids.

I had a really delightful time as those children are just wonderful. it was really sad that Matt got ill too. He came home from work Friday night; he was very sick but he carried on anyway. He spent most of the weekend in his room, but he did come out on Sunday to wear a mask and lead some music or direct some music so that so that they will be ready to perform later. During that Sunday, Julia had some big issues and had to go to the ER twice, and I just felt like I would be taking care of her kids early in the week, so I told the kids that I'd be praying that I didn't get sick so that I could take care of the kids. Bless those children’s hearts, they all prayed that I would not get sick and that I'd be able to take care of Makynlee and Isla - which I did on Tuesday. 

Cooperation - all helped though only one ate them.

Corina on one of the smallest bikes

How the dishwasher is unloaded

Two of nine

Sunday together

It is amazing how fast he can go without pedals

Oliver with his plane and plane carrier transport

Corina didn't like the card she drew