Take a hike!

This is what I wish I could have done during the busy Christmas season... take a hike!  Not really.  :) But I am glad that Alex and Nathan were able to sneak away for some father and son time.  

2OH14 Christmas tree

Nothing too exciting... decorating our old fake tree.  ;)  Savannah was quick to find the shoe ornaments to hang on the tree!

31st temple - Newport Beach

Despite being in CA for 4.5 years, we hadn't been to this temple yet.  We have now made it to all the temples in CA (San Diego, Newport Beach, Redlands, Los Angeles, Fresno, Oakland, and Sacramento).  We were able to go to the Newport Beach Temple over Thanksgiving break.  (I think this makes #31 for us).  I guess we checked off all the temples in CA - now we can move right...?  

By small and simple things...

...are great things brought to pass.  

July 1980 - my parents baptism

I didn't want to mix this post with the rest of Thanksgiving week, because it deserves its own spotlight.  One of the highlights of the week was getting to meet one of the sister missionaries that taught my parents about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  She helped my parents join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints back in 1980.  My mom opened the door to the sister missionaries, and my parents started learning about the gospel.  My parents had been talking about a church they could attend with me and my brother.  They grew up in the Methodist and Presbyterian Church, but they hadn't attended since their teenage years.  They wanted Mike and me to also have a religious education.  I was 2 when they took the missionary lessons, so I don't remember it.  But I have been forever grateful to have grown up in the church.  I realize that my parents took a leap of faith to join the church, particularly having to make a few lifestyle changes to live up to the standards of the church.  Their small sacrifice has blessed our family and allowed us to also live a life filled with so much freedom.  (With bad choices come negative consequences, which limits other choices.)  It is these "strict" standards that has kept me out of trouble and shaped me into who I am today. It's not only the standards, but the knowledge of the restored gospel and of the blessings of the Atonement that has brought so much peace and happiness in my life.   

Another great blessing that came from my parents joining the church is that they decided to have more kids.  They were previously only going to have me and Mike.  There is a 4 (+4 months) year gap between me and Audrey.  I'm so glad my 3 sisters and their families are here!  I also probably wouldn't have met Alex either if we didn't have the church in common.  

It was fun to meet Robin, her husband, and one of her daughters.  We had a nice evening chatting about my parents conversion story.  I loved hearing Robin's perspective - my dad was particularly stubborn during the missionary lessons.  I'm glad Robin and her companion didn't give up on my parents!

Look at us now!

I don't think this sister missionary could imagine what impact her faithful missionary service would have on so many.  Mike was a missionary in Finland, Audrey served in Bulgaria, and Alison served in Belgium.  Alex and I hope to serve a mission later as a senior missionary couple.  We are looking forward to our kids serving missions.  Who knows where each of these 15 little future missionaries will serve!  

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!

Legoland - with cousins!

We spent the week of Thanksgiving near San Diego with my parents and all of my siblings and their families.  (Everyone except Daniel was able to be there - Daniel was on a business trip in Australia.)  My parents have 15 grandkids now, so when they were all together it was pretty crazy.  Honestly, it wasn't a very relaxing week, but it was fun to be there with everyone.  We all went to Legoland one day, and some went back a second day.  Fun place! 

I took Weston, Savannah, and Owen next door to the aquarium.  It wasn't very big, but it was still pretty good.  The kids liked to see the big Legos in the tanks.  

We'll be loyal scouts

Before I post about Thanksgiving, I didn't want to miss posting about Nathan getting his Webelos award in November.  We are hoping to raise a crew of loyal scouts.  Good thing we have good loyal scout LEADERS to help them do that.  We didn't do much this year to help out with his Webelos, besides getting him there every week.  We're grateful they enjoy scouts and have good leaders.