Spontaneity Rewarded - California Thanksgiving

This year was a Gary's-family Thanksgiving year, and we planned to spend it here with the Utah-branch. (I'm not trying to get all my family/your family, just trying to to keep our last name off . . .) We had originally planned to be with Gary's parents, but since they are in California we thought we wouldn't be able to make it. Gary has a lot of things due around this time for work, and with gas around $4 a gallon when we were making plans, it would have been too hard to go and also afford to keep Noah in biter biscuits.

On Wednesday morning I sent Gary off to work, not expecting to see him until 6 p.m. Then, at 9:15 I got a phone call . . . he was done with his report and already catching the bus - get ready to go to California! What about church responsibilities? What about our Utah family? Can't we be spontaneous a week in advance? Don't worry, pack your bag and go! California here we come!

By some miracle, our kids were angels on the drive and we made it in record time. And it was so worth the drive. We got to see family that we rarely see, and it was so great to relax and enjoy talking to everyone. (Hope it was relaxing for Gary's mom - I have a problem with getting caught up in conversations while holding some dish I was on my way to put away, and never helping enough . . . next time I'll do better.) Now Noah has finally met all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. Before this trip I was thinking it would be so long before we saw everyone that he'd have to wait until he could call and introduce himself.

Gary's dad had surgery the day before Thanksgiving, but was kind enough to put on his famous golden Christmas robe and hang out with us. Here he is with Noah.

Josh was able to hang out with his cousin Jill, whom he fell in love with last Christmas. She endeared herself to him by pretending his port-a-crib was a pet shop and introducing him to a game called "Doobie Dobbie," where you jump on the bed and say, "doobie dobbie." If you know Josh, you know this is right up his alley. They played a lot over Thanksgiving, and Josh even went to the bathroom by himself to impress her. (Afterwards he shyly said to her, "Jill, I went pee." He knows what the ladies like.) Here they are - Jill is showing us her sweet chapstick belt clip.
Cousin Scott became a new best-friend while were there. We lived briefly at his house when Josh was a newborn, and Scott called him Baby J. Well, Baby J is now big enough to play ball, and play ball they did . . . for literal hours. They rolled the balls, threw them into laundry baskets, rolled them down stairs . . . who knows what else, but it left me lots of time to talk to sister-in-laws, so I applaud their creativity.

Josh came to adore Scott, as you can see by the look on his face here.

Here's the whole crew - Stacey, Charlotte, Shannon, Scott, Drew, Josh, Gary, Emily, Christian, Leah, Merrill, Deanne, Sydney, and Jill. Sadly, Candacy was taking the picture, so is not pictured. She is in the group photo that Stacey took, and since I know my mom will like seeing the event from her point of view, you can find it HERE. Oh, and Allison and Ted aren't in it either. Sad, because they were the bait that made Josh want to be good while driving across 4 states. I will bug some pictures from her later. Although this makes a lot of people, it was only half the family. We missed you Utah-branch!

So, fantastic people (and I mean it), lots of food (and I mean lots . . . I cannot believe how much I ate), and even some sunshine. Spontaneity rewarded.

Um, I had to adjust the post date to make it post as the most recent, even though I started it a week ago . . . no one has accused me of being on top of things.