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.