Thanksgiving and Stuff...

I left the house today sans winter coat as straight-up freezing rain was falling in sheets outside our window and didn't realize I was in nothing but a tee until we left our apartment, took the elevator down five floors, raced through the lobby and squeezed through two sets of double doors at the entrance of our building. And then I was all, "Brrrr!" Does that clue you in to my mental status as of late? But surprise surprise I was running late for school pick-up so on I went and frozen I was as a screaming Quinn and a whining Ever Knight accompanied me in the stroller. That I was pushing. In freezing rain. With no coat. (Seems like maybe those were my tears they were shedding?)

Mostly I'm feeling good about my life these days: I eat a lot of chocolate Cheerio's to mask my sleep deprivation, I nurse Netflix at night--eh hem--I nurse and watch Netflix at night (you name it, I've watched it friends) and every time I hear Everett say, "I just wuv you my Quenny Guhl" I think my heart might burst. Oh, and it's Christmastime which straight up rocks in NYC. The best, I tell ya! We are scheduled silly every day this month and I'm giddy as an elf...were an elf to be giddy. But that darn pick-up that coincides with nap time and the whole mean mom "Put on your shoes before leaving the house for pick-up because it's actually freezing outside" thing, that's not one of the hottest moments of my day. Suggestions to make that stink less are welcome.

And now, for the real reason Quinny and I sat down to blog today (did you really think she was out of my arms? Not a chance!): our Thanksgiving week in California recap!!! Each day of our trip was filled to the brim with meaningful, miraculous, beautiful moments that deserve posts upon posts of their own but alas, I've got Cheerio's to eat, Netflix to watch and oh yeah, a baby to nurse so this post right here is our one-stop shop for all things Thanksgiving.

Let's start this little stroll down memory's lane by painting a picture of two little boys in construction paper turkey hats and one sweet baby girl (first flight, what! what!) boarding a plane with cheesy smiles on their faces. Cute, right? Right! Maybe I should just trick ya'll into thinking that it ended there and my kids weren't the ones screaming bloody murder for 5 of the 6 hour flight. No, I wasn't the mom walking the plane isle with a hysterical 3-year-old; nor was I the mom begging anyone (ANYONE!) for Children's tylenol because mine was packed away. My baby Quinn is known for her calm and quiet demeanor you know, so she surely was not fussing, fussing, FUSSING and through it all, that was not my 5-year-old yelling, "You two are being so annoying!" The people sitting by us on the plane you might ask? They definitely weren't getting drunk on Vodka (bring me another! and another!) to drown out the commotion we were causing. Nope. Boys in homemade hats and a grinning Quinn--that's what we're going to remember!

Saturday was my baby brother's wedding and let me tell you, nothing makes you feel older than seeing your baby brother tie the knot. In my mind Chase might be 11 for life and an 11-year-old getting hitched? Well now can't you see why it was so weird for me?! My new sister-in-law Meghan is adorable, their wedding was wonderful and I'm just really grateful that I could be there to share it with these two baby lovebirds!

Sunday was the prettiest of fall days in Sacramento and it turned out to be the perfect day to bless baby Quinn. James gave her a beautiful blessing and it was so special to have so many family members there to celebrate her life. It was made even more memorable because her cousin Lincoln was blessed on the same day.

Our little family of five. FIVE!

All the attendee's except for Jord, Mad and Lucy (left early to make the long drive back to Utah), Papa (meetings), Pepa (meetings) and Noni and Grandpa (where did they go and why aren't they in my picture?!)

James joked that this might be the most righteous weekend of our lives. Saturday a wedding, Sunday a blessing and Tuesday a baptism!!! We were so very, very excited when Jim's mom decided she wanted to be baptized and asked James to baptize her while we were home for Thanksgiving. James and Carolyn gave beautiful talks, the treats were delish (Nothing Bundt Cupcakes for the win!) and the fact that his mom is now a member of our church is amazing. I'm so grateful that she has found a happy, comfortable and peaceful place in the church. We love her!

It's a McKee family tradition to go to Apple Hill the day after Thanksgiving every year. BUUTTT...it turns out tickets to and from New York are outrageous and the little Wig's had to peace out on Thanksgiving night (red eye, don't feel bad, we ate LOTS of turkey) so we went to Apple Hill the day before Thanksgiving. Other than not having our traditional turkey sandwich picnic the day was a rousing success. Photo dump here:

This post has turned out to be WAY longer than expected and let's just say that my Quinny arm is falling asleep and my typing fingers are not so far behind. So...here are the 3 lonesome pictures I took on Thanksgiving. Dinner at both families homes were fabulous, mostly because we were surrounded by so many people that we love.

Papa with Quinn and Honey with Quinn

 

Uncle Buck deserves his own post. Shoot, Uncle Buck deserves the world! And the world (and us Wig's) are lucky, blessed and so grateful to have an Uncle Buck! Let me tell ya,Uncle Buck made who knows how many different kinds and batches of homemade ice cream because he wanted everyone to feel special and have the flavor they loved the most; this included green mint chip for Talmage and spiderman ice cream for Everett. Uncle Buck visited three ice cream stores, did hours of research and ended up making my boys think they were the most special people in the world by giving them their own batch of ice cream. And that spiderman ice cream was incredible--blue and red vanilla with chocolate swirls and pop rocks. And with that, happy Thanksgiving!