Thanksgiving in October

2010 was Matt's family's turn to have us for Thanksgiving. It wasn't going to work out over real Thanksgiving because his sister, who plays volleyball for BYU now, has two away games that weekend. Plus, as everyone knows, plane tickets are ridiculous over the holidays. So instead of a November visit to Arizona/Las Vegas for Turkey Day, we decided to all meet in Provo (where the other siblings are going to school) and have a big fun weekend with all the random family members we could gather from northern Utah. That way we were able to see two of Stephanie's home games, get cheaper plane tickets, reunite with some awesome relatives, and take a blissful walk down memory lane on BYU campus.

Our first morning there, Josh taught Grandpa how to play one of his new games from Grandma. He wants for nothing with Grandma around! Even as we were packing for the trip, I asked Josh what toys he wanted to bring on the plane, and he just said "No I don't want my toys, Mommy. I want to play with Grandma's toys when we get there." And sure enough, as soon as we saw her in the airport, she pulled a new little truck out of her pocket for him to play with right away. He knows his Grandma!

We spent a day on campus and visited the Bean Museum. Here's some of the gang. Emily, Nick, and Paige are Matt's cousin's kids. They are so much fun!

Of course...in an animal museum, Josh finds the one TRUCK hidden in a room off to the side and focuses his attention on that. Matt, I think you're slowing him down there.

A little freaked out by the scary sharks and fish on the walls.

Nick and Matt -- such handsome boys!

We got to play at the cousins' motel pool for a while before dinner one day. Josh had so much fun teasing the big kids. Good thing they didn't tease him back for being too chicken to get all the way in the water.

At the cabin, Matt, Stephanie and I took Josh on a walk to try to get to the pond, but we weren't brave enough to blaze our own trail through the trees. So instead, we let Josh throw rocks in the road. It's almost like skipping rocks...

This was his "follow through" look. Such attitude.

This boy couldn't get enough of Grandpa at the volleyball games! They are good buddies. Aunt Sandra is pictured here on the right. We made lots of trips up to her house for dinner when we were students at BYU. It was wonderful to see her and her children/grandchildren again. That visit was long overdue.

Matt's lovely littlest sister Michelle. She is an incredibly smart BYU sophomore this year. She might try to act tough sometimes, but she secretly gives the best hugs. I'm a little jealous of Matt enjoying one in this picture right now.

On this night, the BYU team wore pink uniforms for a breast cancer awareness night. They were SO cute. Seriously -- it's too bad nobody's school color is pink. 

And by the way, Stephanie DOMINATED! She happened to be the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week that week and her bio was on the program. She is amazing. It has been unbelievable to watch her play these last few years. (She transferred from U of Arizona at the end of last year.) Oh and the little boy down in the corner is Matt's cousin Laura's son Carter. He was my little helper with Josh.

My old roommate Lindsey and her husband Johnny (Matt's old roommate and mission buddy) came to a game to see us! It was hard being in Utah for such a short amount of time when there were so many people we wanted to see. We were so grateful that they made time to come to us so we could still spend as much time with the family as possible. We miss you Biolos!

This is Matt's Grandma Snow and Stephanie after the game. Josh calls her GiGi (for great-grandma). She makes THE BEST food! Mmmm...it was a delicious weekend.

This is Matt's super fun cousin Laura. I love her. She thinks I'm a sarcastic little brat. It's a great relationship.

We stayed in an AMAZING cabin way up in Heber. It belongs to my father-in-law's old friend and mission companion. It was perfect! Plenty of space, beds, views, toys for Josh, and animal heads mounted on the walls. Everything you could want in a log cabin retreat!

My precious boys with their sleepy eyes in the morning. Sigh...I'm such a lucky girl!

Josh stole my camera and took a bunch of pictures Sunday morning. Most of them were of the floor or his fingers over the view finder, but this one shows you Uncle Mitch in the kitchen. We haven't been able to see him enough in the past because he has lived far away, but now that he works in Salt Lake, he's able to come to fun things like this! We were so glad he made it! We had our own little Sunday school at the cabin that day, and he and others shared some great, touching stories that I need to write down.

That evening, we had all the family we could find out to the cabin for a Thanksgiving dinner. There were SO many people! I think around 40? I didn't even get to individually meet them all. But the food was delicious and  everyone had a good time, so I'd say the night was a success!

Some of my cousins came up to dinner to visit us as well! It made me so so happy! I grew up visiting these girls in Sacramento all the time and I miss them like crazy! Can I include enough exclamation points in this caption?!! From left to right: Christiana, her new baby Beck, Matt, me, Oakley holding Josh, and her husband Scott.

I was so glad to finally meet little Beck! He's so handsome and kissable!

Josh thought so too.

xoxo Twin Cousins! xoxo

Trying not to let the family leave...

Michelle let me French braid her hair. It's always  nice to feel like a big sister again.

Josh had plenty to keep him busy while the grown-ups played and talked and ate late into the night. A long weekend with no TV was so good for him!

Uncle Andrew might be big and strong, but it's time for him to admit that his nephew can totally beat him in a fight! Josh has a blast with Matt's brother. They make each other laugh constantly. He's going to be a good daddy some day.

It's not a proper family vacation until cards are involved! Here we're teaching Andrew's girlfriend Christina how to play Showdown. It was a grand old time!

Josh in his new pirate jammies with his best buddy, Grandma. Nobody wanted him to go to bed on that last night (including me...who wants to be quiet when you're playing cards??). He was such a trooper all weekend. Lots of new people, new places, and long car rides instead of naps, but he did surprisingly well!

We are extremely lucky to be able to see family so often considering how far away we live from them. Trips like these have made the distance seem more bearable, but they sure make us miss family even more!