berry banter: November 2011

Thanksgiving in Idaho

We were excited to travel up to Rexburg for Thanksgiving this year! Nana and Papa Val were very accommodating and we enjoyed watching Papa Val work on building another cabin :*) We also enjoyed Shane and Mandy's company along with Gage and Lily and all the pets! We ended up staying in a nearby hotel between Idaho Falls and Rexburg. I wasn't feeling well most of the time and it helped to be able to rest a bit. We stayed at the Ameritel Inn and, amazingly, Jase really liked the beds! They let us onto the 4th floor and we enjoyed a really quiet atmosphere with soup/cookies the first night and amazing hot breakfasts every morning (with gluten/casein free food for Ash!).

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing! Nana really went all-out this year--my favorite was the cranberry sauce and turkey! We also were able to visit Great-Grandma Elsberry and Aunt Sharon while we were up there. They are in high spirits and were in the midst of decorating for Christmas. They, too, shared with us lots of yummy food and good stories. Ash and Jonah loved playing fetch with Toby, their black toy poodle.

On Saturday Nana took all of us out to lunch at Cafe Rio...one of our favorite places to eat! We mostly just relaxed, enjoyed family and food, and drove back Sunday morning. Overall an amazing holiday and trip. I loved that we tried to focus, as a family, on things we were grateful for the whole month. The 1st November FHE we started a list (trying to get to 100 before Thanksgiving) of what we were grateful for. We almost made it on paper...but came up with over 100 in the car on the ride up to Idaho. We have indeed been very blessed this year!

Thanksgiving Skits

Although this was a bit stressful for Mom, I was able to pull together an Indian and Turkey costume for Jonah's skit performance in Mrs. Baginska's 4th grade class. Jonah performed in "Turkey Trotten", "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving", and "Bear Dance." I've been impressed with Odyssey's classes and teachers so far...they're pretty creative with their learning opportunities. Jonah had the best time "performing" for me and the other parents with his class. I think he loves it! So, although his turkey costume looked a bit like a chicken, he did an awesome job! Dad and I were so proud of him!

Tired of Your Baby Brother???

Just throw some Fall leaves on him and....VOILA! He's gone :*) Seriously though. Jonah thought this up all on his own. He came running downstairs yelling, "Mom! Come look!" And once I got to the backyard he and Ash were having the BEST time covering him up with every weed, stick and leaf Jonah could find. Ash wanted to be covered up over and over again...Good job Jone!

Trip Down Memory Lane...

So I had the brilliant idea one Sunday afternoon to take our kids to all the places Jase and I met and lived while in Utah. Jase thought it was a good idea too. So we piled into our car and headed out for Provo...where Jase and I met. We traveled past Norma's Apartments where I lived when I met Jase and his dorm as well. Then we headed out to walk on the BYU "trail." This was where Jase first held my hand, where I first realized I loved him, and where he ultimately proposed. Of course, it had been greatly improved since I'd last seen it! There were streams, waterfalls, new park benches, gazebos, and even live ducks!! Apparently other students liked it too :*) While there, I talked Jonah into taking some "hand" shots of Jase and I. My plan was to get a few made into some canvas prints and then hang them in our bedroom as a reminder of how it all began...with Jase simply holding my hand.

After our BYU tour we then proceeded to drive to Wyview (our 2nd apartment), then to our townhome in Spanish Fork, and finally back to Provo to see our 1st apartment off University Avenue and then to our little bungalow where Ash was born. As we left to travel back to American Fork we retold stories about our favorite fast food dive, Burger Supreme, and tried to remember how many times we'd eaten at Taco Bell that first year of marriage...answer? Too many! It was so fun and I highly recommend turning your stories into a reality show-and-tell for your kids. They may just remember some of it someday!