This was the week of Thanksgiving! Mariah came home late Saturday night and we got to keep her for the whole week!! Megan and Sarah planned activities that kept us busy Wednesday through Saturday which was super fun but BONUS meant we saw them everyday! PLUS my mom and dad came for a visit Friday and Saturday! It was a super fun week.

Monday and Tuesday Beth and Ben still had school. Mariah and I had homework so that was a good thing to work on! Also, Kevin had surgery! He decided to fix the miniscus tear in his knee. He went in for the surgery in the afternoon and I was able to pick him up that evening. He's been in some pain but overall has recuperated really well! He was able to do almost all the week's activities with us and by Sunday is walking slowly but is doing well!

Wednesday Megan, Ammon, Sarah, McKay, and fam came over in the morning for a tournament! We split into groups of three and rotated through the challenges which were basketball HORSE, Wacky Six, and Mario Bros. It was super fun and a good time was had by all! Bethany made us all lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches. She is a natural!

Afterwards, Beth and Mariah and I went to my neighbor, Heidi's house for her "Pie Day." She helped us make a lovely apple pie and a gluten-free pumpkin pie! Then we got a happy surprise when we got a Thanksgiving call from Calianne! It was so fun to see her and talk to her on an extra day this week! When we were done, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house for dinner and a movie. We had pizza and taco salad and watched "A Very Merry Mixup" which was a cute romantic holiday show.

Thursday was Thanksgiving!! Megan, Ammon, Ben, and Mariah signed up to run the "Hobble before you Gobble" 5K. They got cute hats and ran in the canyon together! 

Back in our warm home, we listened to our Thanksgiving play list at least three times including our favorite song for Thanksgiving, "Gobble Gobble," by Matthew West! Cali told us we needed to listen to it at least three times for her! We were supposed to eat at 2 but it was really about 2:45! We had one friend from our YSA ward come over and he played Uno with the kids while we finished getting ready. Megan and Ammon brought rolls and sweet potato suffle. So yummy! Sarah and McKay and fam went to the Hatch's for food but they came over in the evening for pie! Before pie, we got our Thanksgiving call from Cheyenne! It was so fun to see her and talk to her on an extra day, too! We miss those two girls like crazy!!

After pie, we sang some songs with McKay while Sarah and Megan set up an "escape room" puzzle in the kitchen. They even had recorded messages from Cali and Chey so they could participate! They did such a good job! It took us almost the full hour but we were able to successfully unlock the antidote (chocolate) to save us from the pretend poisoning. It was really fun.

On Friday, it snowed! Friday was set aside to celebrate Mariah's birthday! Her birthday is not until Wednesday, but since she'll be back in St. George then, we celebrated on Friday. We had a Rapunzel themed party day because I took her and her friends to see Tangled on her 10th birthday and she loved it then and loves it now! We watched Tangled in the morning while making lanterns to hang on Mariah's string of lights. We had leftovers for lunch and then a bookclub discussion. Grandma and Grandpa arrived and we had a great time visiting with them! That evening we had weiner boats for dinner and Megan baked and decorated an amazing cake! We did cake and presents and then watched Barbie Rapunzel and marveled at how far CGI has come. Ha ha!

Saturday was set aside to get ready for Christmas! We spent the morning rearranging the parlor so we could put the tree in our front window. It was a lot of work, but we had so many willing helpers that it was doable! We are all really happy with our new Christmas room! Afterwards, we decorated the tree and even made a time-lapse video to share with Chey and Cali. 

That night we got back together to make Shrinky Dink ornaments and to watch Forgotten Carols. So fun!

My mom and dad went back home on Sunday morning and we will all go back to our daily routines on Monday morning including Mariah back to St. George. Still, it's been a really fun week. Also, Mariah brought up all her journals from the last ten years so I could take a picture. She has been faithful at journal writing since she was 12 years old! What an amazing accomplishment.

This was the last week of Beth's play. She had performances Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. She has really loved doing it! And everyone in the play did such a great job singing, dancing, and acting. Grandma and Grandpa went to the play Thursday night. Kevin and I went again on Friday night. Sarah and McKay went on Saturday night. After the play Friday night, the whole cast went to Denny's and stayed out until almost 1am! They've all became such good friends. On Saturday night after the play they broke the set. Beth came home and cried. She will miss it very much.

Ben stayed home from school one day because they were having a field trip and he didn't want to go. Instead, he finished one of the books he wants to read for battle of the books so that was a good accomplishment for the day! He tried the chess club at the library on Wednesday evening. There were mostly younger kids there and he reported with disapointment that no one could beat him! He raked leaves with the young men afterward. He also had karate this week and guitar. On Friday, his friend Kyler came over and they played computer games together. On Saturday, he went to an escape room with a bunch of friends from the junior high for a birthday party. He had a fun time and I am super glad he has friends.

Savannah is working hard at Beehive Clothing. The production goal for one person per day is 150 shirts. We figured out that is about one shirt every three minutes! She thinks she's probably at about 15 minutes right now. Goals! She comes home pretty tired but on Friday she went straight to Funfinity and worked the closing shift because her friend, Jesse, needed help. That's love right there! On Saturday she was able to go to DI with her sisters and go to her friend's daughter's 1st birthday party.

Calianne flew to Taiwan this week! She told us that 900 missionaries left the MTC on Thursday. She didn't get her travel plans until Wednesday which was probably a bit stressful! We haven't heard anything since she left but Kevin contacted a friend in Taiwan who was able to confirm that she arrived safely. We are so excited for her!

On Saturday we got a visit from our favorite Idaho Grandpa! Val and Maria stopped by on their way to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. They even got to see Sarah and her babies so that was super fun!

Beth's play started this week! She had late rehearsals Monday through Wednesday. Performances started on Thursday. Kevin, Ben, Savannah, Mariah, and I went to see it on Saturday! We loved it! Especially we loved seeing Beth singing and dancing on stage. She does such a good job and is obviously having so much fun! She has been pretty tired all week and not much homework has been caught up on, but she is loving doing the play and we are happy that she can create those memories.

Ben went to karate and tennis this week. He found a buried trash can in the wilderness behind our house and decided to dig it out. He went to guitar lessons and even practiced a couple of times. I think I got him to practice Chinese a couple of times, too. He is still playing a lot of chess, Rise of Nations, Connect Four, and Minecraft.

Savannah is still liking her job even if it is very tiring and makes her feet hurt! She has made a group of friends there so that is fun and now that she is more familiar with the process, she can listen to music and books while she works! We like having her around in the evenings and on Saturdays!

Kevin taught for IITAP this week. On Thursday he drove to Park City to participate in a conference for school superintendents. He also did bishop stuff. FHE was charades at the loft and we had a fun time watching the kids act stuff out. In his free time, he continues to develop new online classes and resources to enhance relationships. He's always doing something!

I worked on my class and also enjoyed some training and meetings for the job I'll start in December. I'm learning about some clients that I will start to work with and I'm excited to start helping! I've been walking three mornings a week even when it's rainy. I love the fall colors and the beautiful place that I live.