The Best Thanksgiving Ever!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with my side of the family.  Two years ago we decided to do a nontraditional Thanksgiving with them and it was a big hit.  This year we thought we would do it again.  On the menu was Grilled Chicken, Steak, and lots of Grilled Veggies.  The Veggies were so good!!  I made my usual raspberry orange jello and there were heaps of garlic mashed potatoes.  The meal was completed with a big green salad and my sister Tiffany's homemade rolls topped with our homemade strawberry jam.  I'm starting to drool just thinking of it.  

For dessert the favorite treats were an oreo cheesecake and vanilla ice cream made by Tiffany and the traditional Hunt Family Frozen Lemon Pie made by me.  It was a fantastic meal!

Laina having fun trying to feed herself.

Marcus, Steph, Brian, Amy, and Tiffany

Kyle and Rachel

Mauri, Laina, and Mike

Michela, Hunter, Aria, and Chase

The Hunt Crew

We had so much fun hanging out, laughing a lot, playing Monopoly Deal, and relaxing in the Family Room.  At the end of the night we threw Just Dance 3 into the Wii and had a serious dance party.  The Hunt family loves a good dance party.  Tiffany, Michela, and I were the top players, but Marcus was holding his own.  The best part was watching Brian, Kyle, and Marcus get their grooves on.  Luckily we grabbed a camera and got some hilarious video.  We laughed even harder after we watched them.  I'll just say that was some workout.  We were all sweating and had to throw open the windows.  The only sad part was when Laina ran out into the middle of the dancing and got knocked on her back by Marcus' knee.  Luckily all she got was a little scrape on her chin and a bit of a sore mouth.  After everything was cleaned up and our guests had all gone home I asked the kids if they had enjoyed the party.  Michela said, "Mom, that was the best Thanksgiving Ever!"  My sentiments exactly.

Thanksgiving Day

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Lowry Clan at Mike's parents' house. We had the traditional Thanksgiving feast. Thankfully there were plenty of mashed potatoes for me to eat. I love me some mashed potatoes and gravy! Of course I was too worried about making sure everyone had something to eat and was happy to remember to take any pictures. I didn't get the camera out until the celebrations were winding down.

Gage trying to cram half a piece of pie in his mouth all at once.

After stuffing ourselves we had a couple of fun games of Mexican train dominoes.

Massages for everyone.

Hunter put Laina to sleep. He is so good at that!

Mike's cousin Tye came from Colorado with his family for the week. Here he is with his little boy Jace.

And a quick picture of the family before we left.

The only other picture we have of our whole family is at the hospital the day we brought Laina home!

It was a nice and relaxing day for us. It reminded me how grateful I am to have such a wonderful family. Mike and I always feel so fortunate that we love each other's families so much. We have been truly blessed this year with a precious little girl, a healthy family, and plenty of business to keep the store afloat. We are so thankful for our Savior and for a living prophet. We hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

An Untraditional Thanksgiving

A couple of weeks ago Mike dropped a bombshell on his family. He told them he had never liked Thanksgiving dinner. His Mom looked so shocked and everyone else looked at him like he was from another planet. He went on to explain that what we usually do for Sunday dinners is always way better than the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. Good thing we weren't doing Thanksgiving with the Stakers this year. :)

We ended up having Thanksgiving with my family and we all agreed to nix the turkey and go with a more untraditional route. We broke out the grill and grilled up some chicken and steak. Wow, it was so much better than a turkey! Our menu also consisted of loaded mashed potatoes, rolls, my raspberry jello (you can't go without the jello), green salad, 7 layer dip and a little Martinelli's to wash it all down with.

My brother said we had enough food there to feed the Salvation Army. Ha, Ha,...

And for dessert there was pumpkin pie, but I think the other desserts were the favorites though. Banana Cream Pie, pumpkin cookies and the famous Frozen Lemon Pie. Thanks to Tiff for our favorite Hunt family dessert. Yum!

It was nice having a very small and casual Thanksgiving dinner. It was just my brother Brian, his wife Steph, their son Kyle (their other son Marcus is on a mission) and my sister Tiffany who joined us.

We played outside in the beautiful weather. The kids threw around the football with Mike and Aria dragged Brian around to do her bidding, like push her in the swing until his arms fell off. :)

After dinner we watched the new Star Trek movie. That movie was a lot of fun, it had humor, action, romance and some serious spaceship warfare. Brian even got in a little nap during the movie.

What a fun day we had together. Now our new tradition will be the untraditional, how fantastic is that?!

A Week of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here and I've been thinking about what I'm thankful for.

1. My Sweet Husband. I've been feeling so lousy lately and he has really stepped up his game. Getting the kids up in the morning, making them breakfast, taking Chase to school, doing the dishes, bringing home dinner a few nights a week, putting Aria to bed at night and just being very sweet and understanding with me. I appreciate him so much!

2. My Kids. On Sunday in Primary I was asking the kids what they were grateful for and Chase raised his hand and said, "I'm thankful for you!" Ah, melts the heart doesn't it. And of course I started crying right there in front of the whole Jr. Primary. I'm such a big baby. Aria keeps me in good spirits every day. Her cute little face and antics keep me smiling and laughing a good part of the day. Hunter, bless his little heart, is just the sweetest kid in the world and Michela has been so helpful. And I'm finally starting to feel grateful for the one on the way. That's right, I'm pregnant, if you haven't already heard. Big surprise to us all and it's taken me a while to get over the shock, but I'm starting to get excited about a new little baby in our house.

3. My Family. What would I do without my weekly, sometimes daily, pep talks with my Mom? I know she can always make me laugh and make me feel better by the end of our conversation. I constantly feel my Dad nearby and know that he is looking out for me. I miss you Dad! My sister is my bestest friend in the whole world and makes sure I have lots of fun in life. What would I do without her?! My brothers, I love the whole lot of them. They each warm my heart in their own special way. And all my wonderful in-laws! It's amazing how lucky I've been in the in-law department, they truly are all my family.

4. Our Home. We are so lucky to be living in this beautiful home that Mike built for us. And the best part is we get to live in a fabulous neighborhood with some of the best people in the world for neighbors. It's also pretty darn awesome having one of my best friends across the street. She's always there when I need her.

5. The Gospel. Where would I be without the gospel in my life? How thankful I am to have been born into a good family who already belonged to the church. My knowledge of the gospel has been such a great blessing in my life. I am so thankful for temples and for eternal families. I am so thankful to have been able to find a righteous young man to love and who loved me in return.

6. And most of all I am thankful for My Savior. His love for me is what has helped me through the rough times in my life. His example is inspiring and makes me want to try harder every day. What a joy it is to have a strong testimony of my Savior and for all that he has done for me.