Thanksgiving a month later

We seriously contemplated going out to eat for thanksgiving dinner this year. We had finally decided we would probably stay in and have a little feast with just the five of us. We were actually really looking forward to a quiet turkey day, where we could just relax and decorate our tree. Usually Turkey day consists of 30 plus people, and with half of those being small children, it can get pretty chaotic, no matter who's side of the family we are visiting. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love that Chris and I have big families. There is lots of love, lots of fun, and plenty of stories to tell, and when we all get together, we usually share all of the above.

But this year, because of the distance in between us and our respective families, we now had "options" and it was fun to think of the possibilities! Our good friends Jen and Dale Yancey (who live in Utah) called and talked us into thanksgiving with their family, so we ended up going there.

A little background on Jen and Dale: They were our neighbors in our first little apartment when we were newlyweds in Everett Washington. They were newlyweds too. Chris and I found some of our BFF's for the past almost 8 years now, and our belly's have ached from laughing our guts out ever since. Jen and I call Chris and Dale "the girlfriends" because they talk to eachother on the phone more than Jen and I do. We are not phone talkers. In fact, most if not 90 percent of our nights out with the Yancey's were coordinated by Chris and Dale themselves. We almost died a little inside when they moved to Utah (Where Jen is from) but recovered when we decided to move only 4 hours away from them less than 1 year later. We love you Jen and Dale!

We had a delicious meal at Jen's Aunt Trina's house, and went to her Grandma's house later for a little meet and greet.

Dale's 30th birthday was the day before, and Jen had gotten him a Yellow Lab puppy they named Oscar. Dale even got him a sofa to sleep on in the kitchen. I almost pee'd my pants when I saw him loungin on his little doggie pull out bed. He is livin the good life with the Yancey's as owners. Bailey and Jacob wanted to take him home with us to play with our dogs Brandi and Buddy. Did I mention that the little stuffed animal that Oscar carried around is a minnieme version of himself that was once Dale's childhood stuffed Dog? Cute.

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the four of us. I always kick myself for that. Next time I swear I will. I did however get some cute ones of Dale reading with the kids. He is going to be such a good Dad someday. Bailey, Jake, and Carter LOVE Jen and Dale.

The day after we all went to Provo to see Enchanted. We met up with my brother and sister in law. The movie was fun for all ages, and even Chris liked the catchy music in the movie. I enjoyed seeing a little bit of McDreamy. After the movie I enjoyed some much missed shopping while the kids played with Dale and Chris in the play area, and that is a sad story in itself.

Poor Jacob. As most of you know, he has some spontaneous barfing difficulties, and it can be unleashed anytime, anywhere, and if I am anywhere in the viscinity, my mommy barfsensor starts beeping and I can cut any conversation or activity short to catch the barf before it hits the floor. How sad for me, really. It is an acquired skill. But Daddy's barfsensor is not as highly developed as my own. Apparently, they were in this massive playarea, populated by many children while their parents basked in the frenzy of the day-after-thanksgiving shopping, and Jacob lost it all over the center of the play area. Chris panicked, scooped him up, and took off. He called me and asked if I thought he should attempt cleaning it or run away, and when I told him to find some janitorial people to clean it up, he was relieved at the thought. He did however make Dale hang out around the corner with the perpetrator while he reported the crime. He told them "hey, some kid just threw up all over the middle of the play area..." right as three other huffy mother's over heard him and threw in their angry two cents "yeah, we were just coming to tell you about the disgusting mess!" Such is the life of two parents with one barfing child. What can ya do?

Isn't Carter Cute?

All in all, we had fun, ate good food (Thanks Red Robin, we miss you) and we are glad that we went!