thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for . . .

Being a mama. Weston R. Family & Friends. our Health. our Home. our Jobs. The joy and laughter a 1 year old brings. my Savior. The Gospel. Celestial Marriage. the Holiday Season.

and the list could go on and on. We are so blessed and I'm thankful for all I have.

Our Thanksgiving this year was great. Even though we didn't go anywhere (other than the zoo on Monday) I feel like we did because I wasn't home at all last week!

It's great to live by your family. But you do miss out on the times when all of your siblings are together for DAYS. Not just hours on the actual holiday. But DAYS when you're all jammed in your parent's house and you spend the week hanging out. We get to experience this with the Griffeth family but not with mine since we all live here. So this year I decided to spend more time at my parent's house just hanging out so I invited myself over.

On Wednesday, Nate & I spent the day with Sam and my mom as we helped my mom prepare food & get the table set. I even managed to help Sam get her tree up and house decorated for Christmas while Nate took a nap. It was fun to just hang out at my parent's house . . . it was a nice break from our daily routine.

Thanksgiving Day started out with what I call a "Turkey Trot" at my nephew's elementary school. It has become a tradition that we all look forward to every Thanksgiving morning. It's a charity function as well as a chance to get some exercise as you walk around the track.

Nate and Abbie preferred to dance.

Part of our clan making the rounds on the track.

Abbie & Aunt Sam

After the trot, Sam & I escaped to the gym and did a final round at the grocery store. We spent the majority of the day helping in the kitchen while Nate took a good Thanksgiving nap.

I have to say that the best part about Wednesday & Thursday was the weather. It was cold and rainy which made it feel like a holiday which was nice compared to our much too warm LV weather. My dad spent the majority of the day getting the water off of their patio cover.

Nate ready to go with Papa on a walk in the cold.

Big trees with changing leaves aren't very common in this wonderful desert, so I appreciate the fact that I could experience some colorful leaves falling from the tree at my parent's house. It made it feel like FALL just in time for winter.

The Thompson clan came over after nap time and we proceeded to have a YUMMY thanksgiving dinner. My mom always sets an amazing table and this was her centerpiece this year.

I carried a Griffeth Christmas tradition in to the Marz family. Wes' extended family always plays a game called Whoopi (or Whoopsi if you're Abbie) at their Christmas party. For those of you who know me well you know I can't pass up an opportunity to win a prize so I started playing the game with my family, too. I didn't win much but it was still fun. It was fun to have everyone together for the holiday!

The events didn't end there. Prior to becoming a Griffeth, I had no clue that crazy people got up super early the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping. It was quite a shock when I discovered this! But now, I'm hooked. And this year I roped Sam in to coming with me at 4am & I think she'll be my shopping partner from now on! Although next year Sam, I'm hoping you'll wear something other than basketball shorts and slippers & maybe we can avoid injury at Costco?

We managed to get half of our house decorated for Christmas and the tree up over the weekend. Nate keeps pointing at all the new things!

We had a great week last week! Hope you're Thanksgiving was great, too. Can't wait till Christmas!