week with thurstons

So, I'm finally trying to catch up on all my holiday blogging!

We spent a magical, wonderful week with my whole family the week before Christmas. Everyone was at my mom's house, and we made so many fun memories!

Some highlights of the week:

• Putting up the Christmas tree together.
• Having Blake meet his wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone is in LOVE with him! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of everyone holding him . . . guess my sleep-deprived brain isn't thinking straight! It was especially fun to have the two baby cousins together! Blake & Trey are going to be best buddies as they grow!

Blake and cousin MadiBlake and cousin Wyatt

• When J.D. and Melissa taught us all how to play Cowboy, and we laughed our heads off playing. Tyler played a perfect game - Wow!
• Working on the Christmas puzzle.
• Seeing Grandma and Grandpa Klingler and going to Pizza Hut with them!
  

• Playing the Wii. The kids had a great time with that, too, and we had fun playing Family Feud.
  
• Going to see Arthur Christmas - a super cute movie!
• Seeing Grandma Thurston, and Aunt Darla and McKenzie and Brianna, and Uncle Duane and Aunt Kim, and SO many other extended family members!
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• Baking and decorating sugar cookies.
• Taking walks in the gorgeous desert weather with the kids and Roxie (Tyler's dog), and playing outside with cousins.
  
• 'Minute to Win It' competitions! So funny!

The can stacking was super hard!!

The kiddos had their own 'Minute to Win It' games, too. :)

• Teasing Uncle Todd! Oh, the kids love to tease Uncle Todd. :) Todd had a beard, and he dubbed himself 'The Weirdo with a Beardo.' Oh, the kids loved it!

• Decorating dad's grave with Christmas flowers and an angel and ornament garland. It looked beautiful. (Someone still needs to send me pics!)
• Since this was the first Christmas without my dad, we had a special memory evening to make him part of our holiday. We visited his grave, watched the movie we made of him using all his pictures, made his favorite cookies, and painted angel Christmas tree ornaments for us to have in future years. Dad, you are so, so missed and so, so loved.
  

(Picture from Christmas 2009)

• Eating, eating, EATING! My mom is a fabulous cook, but she outdid herself this week. We ate like kings every meal of every day. I probably gained 5 pounds . . . but it was delicious!
• All the girls wrapping presents in mom's room and laughing our heads off in our silliness.
  
• Talking, talking, and more talking. I loved having some time to visit one-on-one with all my siblings and my mom, and having fun chatting in groups, too.
• Family Christmas Party. We had the Christmas party on the 22nd, as some of my siblings had to leave before Christmas. We had a great time. The cousins exchanged presents. Grandma made these beautiful blankets for the kids, and they had fun opening their presents from grandma and getting spoiled as usual!

• Taking family pictures! We set the timers on our cameras and had a hoot trying to get a good picture!

I love how Todd is kissing J.D. in this one!

Grandma with all her grandkids!Grandma and BlakeLaughing as we reviewed the pictures we took!

• Seeing old friends and neighbors.
• Delivering Christmas gifts and doing last-minute shopping trips.
• Savoring each other's company. Truly, we really are so blessed. I have the most amazing mom in the world, wonderful and fun siblings and in-laws, and adorable nieces and nephews. . . we genuinely love being together and have fun every time we spend time with one another. What a blessing this week was; we made memories we will remember forever!

More about Christmas and New Years to come! Stay posted...