Thanksgiving 2011

As I mentioned in the last post - Thanksgiving went by way too fast and I loved every second of it.  After our wonderful family photo session on Wednesday, I got together with three of the most lovely girls I know for din-din.  It was so wonderful to be together with shell-shocked Sister Olsen, fresh off the mish for exactly one week, putting-us-all-to-shame Whitney, who is currently working on her second masters degree at age 23, and incredibly-caring Wendi who has chosen the perfect field of study as an OT (Occupational Therapist which is actually really cool and if you don't know what they do, don't feel bad because neither did I!).  I loved catching up with these girls and the time apart didn't seem to matter at all as we giggled and told stories and gave each other advice.  It was also so fun to bring them back to the house to meet Daphne (my hubby won major points for being willing to take pictures AND let me go for a girls night all in one day!) and graciously "ooo" over her to my immense gratification.  I'm so proud of my babe! :) This photo is in black and white because the colors looked weird and the flash washed us all out.  I hope one of your ladies have a better copy! 

Emily, Josie, Whitney and Wendi

There were THIRTY people in my parent's house for Thanksgiving (THIRTY folks!) and two of my siblings and their families weren't even there.  We're talking mass chaos for 3 straight days.  Beautiful, comfortable, familiar chaos. :)  The nephews are getting so big and had their very own table during Thanksgiving dinner.

The boys wait "patiently" for the feast to being!

I didn't take very many pictures during the week as my brother-in-law, Devon, has a killer camera and was unofficially the photographer of the week.  Hopefully he will send some of the shots on dropbox soon and I can share them then (*hint*hint*).  Here are a few I grabbed during the big meal.

Before dinner began, Dad encouraged us, in honor of the holiday, to remember to write a letter of gratitude to someone who has made a difference in your life.  He set the example by reading a letter to my 93-year-old grandmother, Mary Jane Ellsworth, who we were lucky to have with us for the holiday.  It was incredibly moving and there were many pairs of wet eyes as Dad described his gratitude to be the son-in-law of such a gracious, Christ-like woman who is a lady to the core.  I was grateful for his example and writing this post now is a reminder to myself that I still need to finish my own gratitude letter!

Grandma Ellsworth - the epitome of a lady

The rest of the week was filled with numerous obscure games courtesy of Devo (Robo Rally, Puerta Rico, and Illuminati), cross-fit workouts with Dan and Cassie, eating out at the Pizza Pie Cafe, celebrating Elijah's 30th birthday, an afternoon at the park, a trip to the theater to see "The Nutcracker Ballet",  golf tournaments on the Wii, and, my personal favorite, late night conversations with the adults once the babies were all put to bed.  Burke and I also ventured out to Gosner's Cheese and even hit a few stores for some evening Black Friday shopping.  However, the best new discovery we made (and that each of you who live in Logan absolutely MUST do) is eating at the new taco truck parked at the southern end of main street where the two roads split.  I could not get over my sheer delight when we ordered Tacos Al Pastor and it tasted EXACTLY like I used to have it when I lived in Mexico.  Legit Mexican food - in Logan?!  I was in heaven.

Perhaps one of the most meaningful moments from our trip was the opportunity I had one evening to sit down with Grandma E and interview her for an hour about the early years of her life.  I have been feeling very strong for about a year now how important it is to preserve her personal history, but ever since Elder Bednar's talk at the October General Conference, I have been feeling an increased sense of urgency to document her life before it grows too late.  Grandma has lived an incredible life and the excitement I felt as I recorded her stories was thoroughly invigorating.  I look forward to devoting much of this next year to compiling her history.

As we made the long drive home, my heart was full after spending several quality days with the people I love most.  There truly is nothing like the holidays in your home town.