Thanksgiving week with family in CA

We had a fun week!  We did pizza, church on Sunday, Legoland, park day with soccer, played at the beach, Turkey Trot, flag football, games, Thanksgiving meal, family pictures, birthday cake, girls shopping outing, and just hung out.  

Lemonade in the lobby was a hit!  Simple pleasures...

This was our view from the top of our hotel.  We got to stay at a nice resort right by the ocean, using my parents timeshare points.  It was really nice, and I'm grateful they made this week possible.

We don't have a nice tub at home, so this was a favorite thing for the kids.  They loved how the jets made tons of bubbles.  We should invest in one of these tubs so we can just stay home and play in the tub!

We also don't have TV, so the kids enjoyed that when they weren't playing with cousins.  The picture below is what happens when the older kids leave the bag of chips on the bed for Savannah to dump all over.  Savannah and Weston had fun jumping on the bed with chips... 

Carrie's birthday was mid-week, so we ended up eating cake for lunch on Thanksgiving Day.  I made a chocolate cake with York peppermint pieces on the top.  

While I was making the cake (and others were at Legoland day 2), Papa took Owen and Weston swimming.  I was able to snap a few pictures through the window.  It was pretty funny to see what was going on with Weston. I'm not sure exactly what he said, but this is what I imagine was going on.

at least someone was having fun in the pool!

On Thanksgiving morning, Carrie and I did a 5 mile Turkey Trot race.  Later in the morning, the kids had their own race.  I think the older ones did about a half mile and the younger ones just went down the sidewalk a little ways.  Alison and Ashley organized and prepared the race, with the finish line balloons, race prizes, and shirts with their names on it.  The shirts were meant to be specifically for a cousins picture, but it worked out nice to give those shirts to them before the race.

 Weston wasn't happy about running... he sat down right at the finish and threw a fit.  

We crammed everyone in to one hotel room for Thanksgiving meal.  We didn't even hardly take any pictures of the meal, but it was nice and cozy.  Mom made the turkey, and the rest of us did sides and desserts.  It was yummy! 

 Here are the kids watching TV while waiting for the meal to be ready.  The upper right picture is Eli, Ryan, Dallin, and Weston.  They're the 3.5-4 year old boys, who were all born within 8 months of each other (youngest to oldest starting on the left with Eli).  They are quite the crew!

I snapped a few pictures of some of the sides - I didn't get pictures of the appetizers, turkey, potatoes, or our big dessert spread.  At least I got a picture of my favorite: the sweet potatoes.  (Carrie, I NEED the recipe!)

We attempted to take pictures of the kids on the beach, lined up with their numbered shirts on... not an easy task (particularly for 12-15).  ;)   Mine are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 13 in blue (born in '04, '06, '08, '10, and '12).  There was a baby boom in 2010-2012, with 7 of the 15 being born in those years.  

Just for fun, I added Daniel in this one... we missed you Daniel!

What we really thought of pictures... I think it's funny that Mike and I had the same face!