November 29 - Home, Sweet Home

We left Cedar City at about 4:00 to come home.  We arrived at about 7:45.  That is 45 minutes longer than it should have taken.

There was a decent little blizzard around Beaver mountain.  But then it thinned.  I don't know if people were scared of the weather or there were accidents we didn't see or if there was just a lot of traffic from Thanksgiving.  Whatever it was, it made us come to a complete stop several times.  And from Beaver to Nephi, we went an average speed of 30 mph. 

Andlie kept saying that her throat hurt and coughing.  But she was so helpful with the other two kids.  Haze was crying for the last half hour-ish because he "just really wanted to be home."  And Nora was screaming and crying and whining the entire drive.  Me & Bryan took turns screaming back.  And we turned the volume up on the radio to like a million.  And we were on the verge of rolling down all the windows and freezing everyone out.

BUT, we made it home!  And we were all so happy to be here!  We had a fantastic, blessed Thanksgiving and we are SO THANKFUL for the many blessings that fill our home, our family, and our lives!

November 28 - Cedar City: Day 4

Today we helped Grama & Grampa set up their Christmas tree!

Andlie wanted to build a snowman with Grama, but it was too cold so they just went for a quick snow walk and found a HUGE icicle!

After they got back, we got to work!

I sent some very touching, heart-warming photos to my siblings so they could see how wonderful I was.  I got Mom to pose with me.  Bonus points.

And then I got Dad to pose with me.....

Haze's favorite place to put ornaments was on the very front, bottom, center branch.  By the time he was done, ornaments were touching the ground.

Andlie & Hazey put some candy canes together to form a Christmas heart!

And then Andlie found Grampa's wig.

Next we went visiting.  First we went to Mindy's house to see her Christmas decor.

And eat some yogurt.  Obviously.

Then we went for a ride down Candy Cane Lane in Cedar City to see the lights!

We finished the night at Shennie's looking at her Christmas decor.

And, of course, we got some Grama snuggles in too.

And some Grama back tickles.  She's the best at back tickles.  Everyone knows it.  Nora has been asking her, "Gama.  Tick back." all weekend.

 

We've had such a wonderful time in Cedar City!  We'll be sad to leave tomorrow.

November 27 - Cedar City: Day 3

Andlie went with Grama & Shennie to the Black Friday sale at JoAnn this morning!  She came back with a bag full of prizes and got right to work with the clay!

It kept snowing today!  All day long!  We had fun watching it fall to the ground from Grama's window.

Tonight, we just hung around at home and visited.  (Mommy & Daddy were able to sneak out for a quick date while Grama & Grampa tended!)

And then Grampa busted out his wig.  Andlie thinks it's hilarious.  Haze gets annoyed.  And Nora is terrified.  All legitmate reactions.

After the kids went to bed, I pulled out an old photo album and found some real gems!

Me & Baby Beans

Painting Grampi's Nails

Me & Bart

November 26 - Cedar: Day 2 - Thanksgiving

Andlie wanted beautiful hair for Thanksgiving.  This is what she described and what I made reality!

We spent the late morning at Granny's house churning butter!  I remember doing this when I was little.  It's so cool to see my kids doing it now!  This butter churn belonged to Clarissa Melissa Hickerson - my great-great grandma!

After we made butter, we went to Mindy's house to help finish the pies!

She snapped a couple Thanksgiving family pictures for us.  I am thankful for many things, but the things at the top of my list are right here in these pictures with me.  How blessed I am!

After Mindy's and a couple hours of relaxing, we had Thanksgiving dinner at Granny's house!  Per tradition, we each said three things we were thankful for.  Our family said:

Bryan: family, health, Gospel

Chandi: family, prayer, friends

Andlie: bed, house, body

Haze: Jesus and that He loves us and that He is a choice to love us and that He made us.

Nora: bed, dress, babies

After dinner, we visited and hung out and laughed with family.  Andlie & Bret especially had a good, happy visit.  Andlie adores Bret.

Then we all went home and went to bed.  Grama stayed at Granny's for a while to visit her siblings and they got a picture with all five of them and Granny in it!