Thanksgiving 2015 and Temple Square

We stayed home this year, and had a few family members over to our house. It was the first Thanksgiving that I have hosted, and it was a lot of fun! All the food was delicious, and the company was even better. :)

And just for fun, Thanksgiving 2014 and 2015.

After Thanksgiving, we headed up to the Temple Square Christmas lights with all of the Saunders family. It was so fun to see everyone and to be able to hang out for a bit, even though it was cold and snowy! Maddie wore her "purple people eater" suit, AKA the "pink bunny suit" and was toastier than the rest of us put together, I think! :)

Thanksgiving and Carlsbad Visit

This is a long and picture heavy post. :)

We headed over to the ranch to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was so much fun to be out there with everyone! Maddie got to meet all her Saunders aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as all the McCutcheons. She loved all the attention, that's for sure!

For Thanksgiving, I dressed up my little doll in the cutest Thanksgiving tutu and bow! I just couldn't pass it up when I saw it online. We spent Thanksgiving day in the best way - with family! We cooked, ate until we were about to burst, and cleaned up and hung out. It was really a wonderful holiday!

The day after Thanksgiving, we took some Saunders family pictures, because we realized that all the pictures we had were from everyone's weddings, and it was time for new pictures with three new additions to the family this year! It was a lot of fun trying to wrangle all the babies, haha. But we ended up with a few good ones so we are happy. On Friday, we also had a little "girls day" where Jen, Aubrey, and I went to town, did a little shopping and went to lunch. It was SO nice to get away and leave all the babies at home with their daddies. I know that I DEFINITELY needed to do that, and enjoyed spending time with my sisters. :)

Dad and Michala drove in on Friday night, because we had planned to bless Maddie on that Sunday. So, Saturday we spent all day at the Carlsbad Caverns - Michala and Maddie went for the first time! Dad and Michala ended up getting lost and running through the Big Room in order to make it to the King's Palace Tour on time. They did it - the Big Room normally takes about 45 minutes to an hour to walk through, and they did it in about 15! They were running fast! Maddie did really well... James wore her and she pretty much slept the entire time, except when I fed her down in the underground lunch room.

Sunday was a beautiful day. Madelynn got to wear the blessing dress made from my mom's wedding dress, and she looked so pretty and precious. James gave her a beautiful blessing, filled with wonderful promises for her to look forward to in this life and the next. Maddie was so good too - she didn't make a peep during the whole blessing! I feel so grateful that we were able to have so much of our family there, although we greatly missed those that couldn't make it!

After church on Sunday we decided to take some "ranch pictures," as it was Madelynn's first trip to the ranch! She loved being outside there and seeing all of the animals. 

Obligatory family Thanksgiving picture

But seriously, how cute is this outfit??

Maddie and her cousin, Olivia. They aren't much different in size although Olivia is 7 months older! :)

Sittin' on a tractor, no big deal.

 

Thankful

I know yesterday was Thanksgiving, but I still want to do a "Thankful List." This is just for me, I don't know what James is thankful for. Probably some of the same things. :)

A: Apples. They keep me healthy. And they're yummy with cheese. Or peanut butter.

B:Blue. The color of the sky in summer.

C: Creativity. James has so much and it will do him well in his career.

D: Dogs. One of the dogs on the ranch had puppies and they are SOOOO stinking cute!! I want one, but my apartment complex says no. Also, my dog Tiger passed away this year, which was sad. He was such a good dog for our family.

E:Emery, our friends' little girl. She is so precious, and such fun to be around. James and I love her like a niece. Oh and we love Nick and Carly a lot, too. :)

F: Friends!! and Family!!! :) Where would we be without them? Especially this year - with the wedding and all. We wouldn't have been able to do it without our fabulous, wonderful, awesome friends and family.

G: Good movies. I love movies.

H: Hands. I know that's kind of weird. But our hands can do so many things. Help and handle and work and play and everything.

I: Ice cream sandwiches. Yum.

J: James, of course! I wouldn't be who I am today without him. He makes me a better person. I know we've only been married for 3 weeks, but I don't know what I would do without him. He's such a wonderful part of my life and I love him a lot.

K: Kids. My students. I love them kind of a lot. Even if sometimes they drive me crazy.

L: Love. It's a wonderful thing. Friend love, family love, romantic love. love love love. <3

M: Mothers. They are wonderful, wonderful inventions. I love my mother so much, and James' mother as well. They are just fabulous women.

N: Nichols family!! They rock. 'Nuff said.

O: Okay. It's a fun word. Say it.

P: Pearls. I have a pretty pearl necklace I got for my birthday and I love it.

Q: Quiet. I don't get much of it, but I sure do love my quiet time.

R: Rad Christmas decorations. Seriously, ours are awesome. I love my house.

S: School. I'm so grateful to have a full time teaching position.

T: Tan. What I got in Mexico, a little bit. :)

U: Us. :)

V:I've got nothing for this letter. It's weird.

W: Wiggle songs. What would I do in kindergarten without them?

X: X-rays. So Dr. Hansen knew what was wrong with my back.

Y: Yellow. It's such a pretty, happy, fun, vibrant color. It's my favorite.

Z: Zoos. I love to visit the zoo. I'm like a little kid. :)

Sorry this is long. But it feels good to be grateful.