Thanksgiving this year was a little different than most since both of the boys would not be joining us. We decided to do Thanksgiving with our good friends, the Murdock family. We split the menu in half which was amazing. I don't know why we haven't done this before with friends. The day was much more relaxing since I only had to make 2 pies, rolls, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. Chad smoked the turkey, and it turned out so well. Chad and Adri also made the best cranberry sauce ever. It was so good that even my kids liked it. I will definitely be using that recipe for Christmas dinner to eat with our ham. The food was delicious, and the company was excellent. I was really touched by our friend's thoughtfulness as they gave us a grateful letter that had several things that each member of their family was grateful for concerning our family. It was one of the nicest things any of our friends has ever done for us and something I will never forget! I am grateful for good friends who can step in and be like family when all our immediate family couldn't be here for Thanksgiving. There is nothing sweeter than kindness shared around the dinner table!

​While I flew to Arizona and then Salt Lake City with Emma, Mike drove to Utah with Abby and Madeline for Thanksgiving. Mike spent most of the day on Saturday driving the rest of the way to Utah, unloading Peter’s 3D printer that we brought from home to his dorm room, shopping at the U bookstore, eating lunch with Andrew and then heading to the U of U game vs. Oregon with Peter. It was quite the game to be at and the boys had such a fun time in the muss section with all the other rowdy college kids. At the end of the game, they rushed the field and got to high five the football players. While those two were at the game, Andrew drove to the airport and picked me and Emma up and drove us back to his apartment where we hung out and ate a simple little dinner. Then I took the girls and we drove down to Orem to stay with my parents. Mike stayed the night with Andrew and all three of the boys went to church together. Peter’s ward put on their own “primary program” but with students from their ward. Mike said it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. I drove up to SLC and picked up all the boys and brought them back to the condo. We invited their cousins, Josh and Sam, over for dinner and had fun just talking and laughing with them until way too late. Then Mike drove the boys back to SLC since they had classes the next day.
 
On Monday morning, Mike and I geared up in all our winter biking gear and went out for a ride in the freezing cold. As soon as we got in the open sun on the Murdock trail, we warmed up pretty fast. Then we headed back and got ready to head back to SLC. We left Madeline at home with my parents and Peter met me and the girls on campus so that he could give them a tour. Andrew was supposed to come as well but he got food poisoning so we brought him some provisions before heading to the U campus to meet Peter. The girls were super impressed with the campus and listened to Peter give them advice about college life. Mike met with a realtor while we walked around campus. Then we all headed to dinner at the Copper Onion.
 
On Tuesday we all slept in which was pretty great. I met up with some of my college roommates (Becca and Melissa) for lunch and Mike met up with a missionary companion from his mission. It was so fun to catch up with each other’s lives. Then after we gathered back at the condo, we took Emma and Abby to the BYU campus to shop at the bookstore and roam around campus. We headed to the sports complex so that Emma could see all the XC boards and awards. She loves that. We made sure to stop by the Tanner Building and the JSB which is where Mike and I spent most of our days at BYU. 
 
On Wednesday I got up and ran with Becca on the trails behind her house. Then I spent most of my day making the pies with Emma and prepping for our Thanksgiving dinner. Mike headed back up to SLC to grab the boys since they were done with class for the week and brought them back down to Orem so they could have Thanksgiving with us.
 
Thanksgiving morning I headed out once again to go on a run with Becca and her friend. We ran an easy 3.20 miles on the Murdock trail and had fun talking and doing the challenges that someone had written on the trail. Then it was back to the condo to make the rolls and sweet potatoes, watch the parade and other fun movies. Thanksgiving is so much better when I don’t have to prepare the entire meal. I can’t remember the last time I had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. It was a lot of fun to be able to have Thanksgiving with all my kids and my parents this year. There is much to be grateful for this year, but good health and the love of family is on the top of my list 
Everyone loved the dinner and the pies! 
 
On Friday morning, Mike got up and drove Peter to Delta, UT to spend the weekend with his cousins and grandpa. The rest of us just relaxed around the condo for most of the day. We headed to the mall in the afternoon so that we could participate in the Giving Machine. The Giving Machine is a way to help others around the world put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Each of the kids got to pick something to give. Between the kids and my parents, we bought six chickens, a goat, polio vaccines for 100 kids, art supplies, menstrual care kits, and take-home meals for children. It was truly a humbling experience. We ended our evening and our week long Thanksgiving break in Utah by being treated to a wonderful Indian dinner by my parents. 
 

​This was the easiest and most relaxing Thanksgiving I have ever had and that was mostly in part to the incredible help from Mike and the kids. While I was getting myself ready in the morning, Mike was already down in the kitchen peeling and slicing potatoes. Much of the morning was spent cooking and preparing for our Thanksgiving dinner. Madeline and Abby joyfully helped with the pies and the deviled eggs while Madeline and Emma helped to baste the turkey. We took plenty of breaks throughout the day to play games, ride on the moped outside, put together our new puzzle, and Mike and the older kids prepped and put the lights on the outside of the house. After dinner we just sat fat for a while before cleaning up the dinner. Everyone pitched in and helped with the clean-up. It was a Thanksgiving miracle to have so many helpers make this day so pleasant!

​It was so wonderful having Andrew home from college for Thanksgiving. We all missed him so much and were so excited to spend a few days with him over Thanksgiving break. He flew in the day before Thanksgiving and Mike and I drove up to the airport to get him. The weather was pretty bad, and it took us almost 2 hours just to get to the airport. Luckily, his flight was delayed so everything worked out. Since we ended up getting home fairly late, only the older kids were still up. On Thanksgiving Day, Madeline was all too eager to head down to Andrew’s room and wake him up. It was so sweet, and Andrew was so excited to see her. We spent the day cooking, baking, and having fun being together. Everyone pitched in and help in some way or another. Mike and the girls were happy to help with the cooking, and Andrew and Peter were happy to help entertain Madeline. We introduced Madeline to prepping the turkey, but she was not at all excited to butter the turkey. She did not like greasy hands and she actually got pretty upset at us and had a small temper tantrum. So, we washed her hands and let her help us stuff the turkey, She seemed to like that better. Her favorite thing of the day let her go play elsewhere until it was time to roll out the dough for the rolls. She grabbed her own cutting board and rolling pin and had a blast rolling out her own dough. This was definitely more up her alley.  To carry us through lunch we decided to make a cheese tray for everyone to enjoy. Let’s just say it was gone pretty quickly. That was a definite winner this year. Of course, Thanksgiving dinner is always the best and one in which we all look forward to every year.  It is not only a time to eat lots and lots of food without feeling guilty, but a time to be grateful for each other and the many blessings that we have enjoyed throughout the year.