Thanksgiving with the Thompsons!

For the last few years, we have usually celebrated Thanksgiving alone (with last year being an exception).  We thought that would be the case this year when we had a little blessing (or six blessings) move only five hours away from us, and they were generous enough to invite us into their beautiful new home to stuff our faces with some great food!  Peter and I have missed being somewhat close to the Thompson clan, and we forgot how much excitement and pandemonium four rug rats can bring.

The kids didn't quite understand that Murphy was going to keep pulling on his leash, no matter how much they pulled or told him to stop.

It was frigid this day, but the kids really wanted to go to the park. 

August waiting patiently.

Post dinner crash.

The dinner was delicious and Murphy enjoyed cleaning up whatever may have spilled on the floor.  It was a lot of hard work on Christie and Tyler's part getting everything ready and I know that after dinner, we added them to our gratitude list this year.

The next day, after a bit of Black Friday shopping (something Peter and I never really participated in in past years, but got some good deals this year),  it was time to crank up some Christmas tunes, and help the Thompson's get ready for the most wonderful time of the year!

Murphy found sanctuary under the tree.

We wished we could've stayed longer, but with Purina expecting Peter to come back to work, Murphy losing his patience a bit with the kids, and with my civic duty I had to perform on Monday (jury duty), we packed our bags and our dog, gave everyone one last hug, and headed back to our little home.

Being so far from family is difficult, especially around the holidays.  We have made some good friends here in Davenport, but it just isn't the same as having family near by.  We are grateful that the Thompson family have moved closer to us and we hope to see them again soon!

One large pumpkin patch, One large zoo, One long visit to Utah, Exploring our favorite trail, and Three darling new babies!

October was a fun month for us!

We started it out with General Conference.  I like General Conference time but October General Conference is probably my favorite because it takes place in one of my most favorite of seasons (you all know what season that is).  This conference, we were fortunate enough to have our good friends, James and Kayle, live in one of our neighboring states and was close enough that after a few hours in the car, we arrived in Omaha and got to meet their cute little one, Zadi.

We didn't slow down once we reached their home.  We quickly dropped our luggage off,  locked Murphy in his kennel (something he didn't enjoy), and headed to a popular local pumpkin patch called Vala's.  Kayle and James said that it was a big pumpkin patch, but I don't think Peter and I realized just how big it was until we got there. 

Petting Zoos, pony rides, Pedal-yourself go karts, bouncy balls, souvenir shops, carnival games, a restaurant with yummy pies and sandwiches, this place had it all! I quote Donald Trump when I say that it was "HUUUUUUGE"!

That awkward moment when your husband tells you to go stand next to his buddy so he can take a picture of us...

That other awkward moment when your husband tells you to go stand next to a couple when you thought they wanted a family photo...

That is me mid air! The blur of beautiful hair next to me is Kayle :)

James trying to steal a rubber ducky from a little girl.  The things he'll do to win a rubber ducky race against Peter!

One adorable baby!

Peter thought the goats were the funniest things!

The Pie Barn.  Great food, even better cobbler.

It was an awesome pumpkin patch!  With all the activities we participated in, we forgot to get an actual pumpkin.  But we didn't seem to care all that much because the next day, we were heading to the Henry Doorly Zoo!

We got up early the next day and managed to make quite a few furry friends before we had to head back for Conference.  Zadi and I managed to bond as well (At least I like to think so).

I also can't take much credit for some of these pictures.  Turns out Peter is quite the photographer!

This Orangutan was feeling a bit antisocial.  He threw that sheet over him the minute we showed up.

This cutie was fine with us though.

Some of the big cats didn't act all that threatening.

Once we had our fill of wildlife, we headed back to the Cantua's home and turned on Conference.  Though I will admit, with a cute baby and dog to play with, it was a bit difficult to pay attention (that and I may or may not have taken a little nap)

She only smiled at Mama :)

We always love spending time with the Cantua family.  They are so much fun to be around and it's exciting to see them as parents now.  We are grateful that they took us in last minute and sacrificed a weekend to show us more of Omaha.

About a week after our Omaha trip, I prepared for my 10 day trip to Utah.  My sister had her sweet baby girl back in September and I was anxious to see her.  The timing was perfect because my dad was leaving for a trip to Amsterdam the day after I would show up and my mom was staying behind to watch little miss Lucy while her mom and dad went on a little trip to celebrate their anniversary.  So I was excited to spend some time with my mom, as well as see two cute little babies.

I didn't take too many pictures while I was away.  I also noticed that, while going through my camera, the pictures I did take were mostly of my nieces (not to mention one, maybe two, of Lil' Mike.  I still have a soft spot for that pooch.)

Be ready for some intense cuteness.

I love this girl's cute facial expressions!

She loves reading with Grandma JuJu!

And she couldn't help but smile whenever Mom and Dad would FaceTime with her.

She didn't like me too much when I took the dog leash from her...

...but that frown went away when she saw my camera.  She's so photogenic!

I was really excited to see Lucy.  Last time I saw her, she was about three months old.  She is turning into such a little charmer!  It's really hard not to fall in love with those beautiful eyes and your heart just melts when she looks at you and gives you that two-toothed grin (She probably has more now).  It was a lot of fun helping my mom watch her and Lil' Mike.  That poor dog was put on the back burner when Lucy showed up and I think he appreciated the attention I gave him.  I'm a sucker for dogs.  I can't help it!

After we left Lucy with Michael and Cambri, we headed north to see niece #2, Annie.  And let me tell you, I fell in love with her the minute I saw her (It's not that hard to fall in love with nieces and nephews).

She loves Grandma JuJu!

And Grandma JuJu sure loves her!

Me trying to tell her that everything was going to be okay.  Her telling me she didn't care what I have to say.  She wanted her mommy! 

It was a lot of fun getting to know sweet little Annie.  She is very cuddly which I loved, she had the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen in a baby, and she loved being bounced on a pilates ball that Emily had.

After a few more hours of Annie-time and a little bit of girl time (Breakfast at Kneader's and a bit of shopping), we had to pack our bags and head back to Utah.  It was very hard.  I don't know when I would see my sister or her little girl again so saying goodbye was very sad for me.  However, despite all the tears and the goodbyes, I was/am very excited for Emily and loved seeing her as a mom.  Emily loved having the extra help (not to mention the extra sleep!)

She sure loves Annie and it's pretty obvious that Annie loves her mom!

 After visiting friends, shopping some more, going to the movies, and working on some crafts            (Pictured below.  We made a cute little sign for Thanksgiving.  My mom made the one on the left, I made the one on the right),

it was time for me to pack my luggage and head back to the airport and back to my husband.
I was very sad to leave my family in Utah.  But I was very excited to see my family in Davenport.

A couple of days after I showed up to Davenport, the air started to get a bit cooler and crisper, the leaves started to change and fall, and pictures of carved pumpkins were starting to show up on my Facebook newsfeed.  I wanted to take more pictures with my camera so after work, Peter met me at Credit Island so we could attempt to take some fall pictures of the picturesque trail.

Peter took the camera at this point and wanted to take some pictures of me.

Murphy liked tugging on the leash while Peter was taking pictures.

We sure loved visiting our friends and families and loved traveling all over.  But when the day is done, it's nice to be in my own home with my own little family, even if my home is a one bedroom apartment and my family consists simply of a cute boy and a dog.