This Thanksgiving was spent in St. George with Ryan's family. on the drive down there, I told Ryan how happy I am that his parents moved to St George. It's so great to be able to be closer to family. I wish we could be even closer, but we'll take what we can get. Emry has been talking about going to Grandma's house for weeks so she was pretty excited too. (Although it was a complete disappointment to not have Cael there... We missed you Ben and Shalon!!) We headed down Wednesday night after Ryan got off work. Thankfully, Emry and Wesley took some great naps so it was a fabulous drive down (we didn't even stop once!). We got in around bedtime so after some bedtime stories from Grandma, it was off to bed for the kids.
I was crammed between the two kids for half the drive, unfortunately. Ryan complains he has to drive the whole time, but I'm pretty sure he gets the better end of the deal :)
The next morning, we woke up early to go do "The Gobbler," a 5K run I found in St George. My family always did a Turkey Trot in Dana Point so I wanted to do something similar to keep traditions alive. Laura made these cute turkey tutus for us to wear while running. It felt good to get up and be active before having that huge meal! I didn't do very good (although for not running for the last year, I can't complain too much) but I finished, so that's what counts!
Laura, me, Vivian, Ryan, & Brandon
Someone was a little tired after the race so he had a little snooze before Thanksgiving started (can't blame this on the turkey!!)
We spent the rest of the evening playing games, eating pie, and talking. It was a great day to reflect on the things that are most important and for the things we are most grateful for. I just love this time of year!
The next day we did a little black Friday shopping in the morning and then did a little hike in the afternoon. We hiked Shanobe Kibe (a small mountain, hill? in St George). It was pretty steep but a fun hike for us. Emry is getting better at walking some of the time, but she rode on my back a lot of the way too. Ryan carried Wes all the way up. What a trooper :D At the top of Shanobe Kibe there is an arrow made of cement that they used to use to direct mail planes a long time ago. So that was interesting to go see. Then we headed home to have breakfast for dinner and play games that night.
At one point, Ryan was carrying both the kids. Emry loved that!!
If that's not the cutest hiker you've ever seen, I don't know what is!!!
The next day we slept in a little (Wesley had a bad night) and then that morning we helped Vivian put up the Christmas tree and then went to the river and fed the ducks. While the kids napped and the men golfed in the afternoon, the girls made Christmas Candy with Grandma Fay. We made fudge and Buck Eyes. Man, that homemade fudge was good! Such a fun tradition with Grandma Fay.
That night we went to the temple to see the lights and nativity. I felt the spirit very strongly as we stood in front of the nativity and listened to the Christmas music. I'm so grateful for Christ and all he has done for me. He is my Savior and I love this time of year that I get to feel the spirit of Christ all around me.
One funny thing: Emry saw an American flag at the temple and so whenever she does, she likes to sing the "Grand Old Flag song." We were walking around the temple and she was belting the song out. It was a moment when I just smiled and was so grateful that cute, fun little girl is ours! I love her so much!!
Emry loved seeing the Christus statue
Our family with the Temple lights.
We love to see the Temple!!
We finished the weekend off by going to Church, having a typical Gardner family dinner (roast, potatoes, carrots), and then drove back home.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!
