Well although it took lots of texts and phone calls to arrange a ride I got to travel home for Thanksgiving! Even 3 short days home was worth all the time in the car to get there and back. I had SO much family come into town for the holiday I barely had time to see everyone!
I got to spend lots of time traveling with my Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins. We drove
Tuesday and stayed the night in Reno at Circus Circus. The next day i went home! It feels so good to say and feel that Yuba is home. I was worried after moving that I would never be able to say that and really mean it. The great thing is I DO! I love all the people there and almost feel more at home there. Why? Well my family might have something to do with it:)
I got home
Wednesday to my sister texting me every 10 minutes and then riding her bike around the block waiting for me. I sure love that kid!
We went to lunch with my cousins and then i got to hang out with my siblings for the afternoon. What did we do? Watched Netflix shows. I know really special right?? Well after being away from my family for two + months now all I really felt like doing was hanging out with them. We went to the Church building and played bball and kicked the soccer ball around. Then we went to dinner at the Dancing Tomato. I got lasagna...well it was supposed to be anyways...
Thursday THANKSGIVING
The day started out with going to the shooting range with Aunts, Uncles, and tons of cousins from both sides of the family. It was CRAZY, but in a good family kind of way.
After all the fun out on the range I headed to visit my newest cousin for the first time. She is so so sweet with tons of hair. Her big sister is still her crazy self, but also very involved and attentive to the new baby.
Then we stopped by a 7-11 before heading up the hill. I may or may not have gotten a whole quart of chocolate milk that I finished by the time we got to Grandmas house. We went to my dad's side for dinner this year. We had 4 of the 5 siblings for dinner this year. Tons of fun!!
So even though I'm 18 I was still seated at the kid's table this year. NO not the big kids table, the little kids. I guess I should take it as a compliment if my 5 year old cousin will tell my dad he
can't sit down because she was saving the seat for
ME! One good thing about being an older cousin is somebody is always trying to be your best friend. Oh, the joys and pains of being so loved:)
On a slight side note my baby brother is not so little anymore. Every year one of my uncles grows out his mustache for
No Shave November. My brother decided that this year he would also try and participate. And when I say try I mean attempt....well you can see for yourself.
Can you see it? No?? Here try this one...
That's better right? Well my mom wasn't a big fan, but I think it's kinda fun! I mean it's only for one month. I wonder what it'll look like next year?!?!
So speaking of my brother...he is on the bball team at school this year. I honestly am not a big sports person so watching sports live or TV has never been something I enjoy that much. However, if I know someone on the team it makes it 10X better. He had a game on
Friday and I was so excited that I got to go! We basically took up 6 benches or more with all the family/friends that came to support him. The one regret of that night was we forgot to take a picture! When he came out on the court we erupted yelling and cheering. Both the audience around us as well as his whole team looked a little startled and confused as to why we were so excited. In short it was EPIC and a moment I will never forget.
After the game we went home and spent a little time with my mom's out of town family. I love my family and find it amazing that we get along so well after only seeing each other maybe once every year sometimes more than a year. What do you do with cousins? You find the most uncomfortable positions for pictures and then stack children on top of you while you smile and hold that position for a good 3-5 minutes while the mom's take the pictures. Sigh making memories is had work!
I headed back home
Saturday ; 12 long LONG hours in the car. I hated leaving my family and for the first time since starting College I felt homesick. Lucky for me Christmas is right around the corner!
On Sunday I went to church with my cousins in a family ward. This is something I was looking forward to after being in an awkwardly quiet student ward in Rexburg. It was the first Sunday of the month so we had a Fast and Testimony meeting during church. A couple of people bore their testimonies about Christ and the gospel. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of kids who went up to share their small and simple faith in Jesus and families. And then the biggest surprise of all. Batman went up and gave a testimony of his own. Yes
BATMAN!!! Ok so maybe he was a three year old dressed up like batman, but still! He was up there with his mom and HAD to speak into that microphone if it was the last thing he did. HAHA I sure miss family wards, but mostly the kids.
After church we went back to my Uncle's house and I helped them decorate for Christmas. I was so grateful to be able to help with that simple tradition. It just put me in the mood for Christmas and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That night i drove back to Rexburg with 3 other girls from school. It was super windy, but really fun. We talked about school, marriage, dating, kids, the pains of being tall, going to the bathroom, wedding dresses, wedding plans (she is getting married in the spring). I got home to my beautiful roommates who were all excited to be back.
Remember earlier in the month when I made the Thankful jar??? Well I said that when november was over we would open it and read all the things we were thankful for. When I came home Sunday night all the girls were excited to see what what was inside. Some of them were:
DOUGHNUTS THE RELIEF SOCIETY PREZ. THE BISHOP THE PRIESTHOOD
FRIENDS PEOPLE WHO WASH THE DISHES WHEN PEOPLE HELP MAKE FOOD
CHOCOLATE CHIPS THAT ELEPHANTS DON'T FLY ROOMMATES TALENTS
WINTER COATS SCARVES GLOVES WHEN THE BISHOPRIC BRINGS US PIZZA
PANTS THAT SAVE THE CARPET FROM EXPLODING HOT CHOCOLATE THE GOSPEL
LOTS OF COOKIES THE BOOK OF MORMON ICE CREAM FHE SISTERS
TOASTY BEDS HOT WATER
Well November was fun and full of adventure. We made it all the way through without any major snow and I'm ready to take on December!!
