Thanksgiving Break Part One

Our kids trickled in over Thanksgiving. Bryn & Derek made it in from their two day drive on Saturday evening. Aub flew in late Monday nigh,t and Parker flew in late Tuesday night. I found myself exhaling deeply once they were all home. 

Brinley mentioned a couple of times that she thought it would be nice to have some activities planned, so she and I had an ongoing list of possibilities. Some of our ideas included: game night, extended family gatherings, movies, volleyball, pickleball, a hockey game, Noel Wagner Performing Arts, bowling, a golf simulator, a service project, the Turkey bowl, and Christmas decorating. We were able to include a good portion of those throughout the week, which made it not too boring in the Big O. 

I especially loved just watching my young adult children laugh and joke together. Tanner and Erin were able to join in quite a bit, which was awesome. Also, sometimes some or all of the kids would head over to Tanner and Erin's apartment and play with Kaide or hang out.

It's weird moving into this new stage of parenting. Our family is growing again. We are adding spouses and babies and making space for new family members and family dynamics. At times over Thanksgiving, I felt pressure to keep everyone happy, connected, and entertained, but I also realized I was putting that pressure on myself. I loved having all my chickies together, and we had a wonderful holiday. Here are a ton of pictures from the week:

On Saturday evening, Tanner and family came to say hello to Derek and Brinley and join us for dinner.

Derek, Bryn, Kaide & Erin

Kaide's two favorite outfits right now are his Spidey costume and his BYU jersey. Brian and I bought him both and love that he loves them so much. Also, an extremely rare sighting of Kaide reading at our house.

Sunday night family dinner. Erin (aka Erin Noel, EFG, Tanner's Erin) volunteered to make dinner. It was unexpected and very appreciated. Dinner is not my best subject, and I was already trying to plan for the rest of the week. She made her delicious enchiladas, and then we had FHE before heading out to our extended Sunday night family gathering.

Bri (aka Papa), Kaide, Brinley & Derek

Monday night, we headed to the Birds to hang out. 

Me, Brinley and Ella

Ella, Bryn, & Char

Some volleyball and lots of pickleball was played that night in the shop.

Hud and Tanner

Braddock

Derek & Braddock

Brinley brought home her mission book which she just completed. It was beautiful and so fun to look back on her mission and read her emails and look at the pictures. 

I loved the little moments I had to chat with Brinley throughout the week. She was going through a box of stuff she had saved from her mission, and joined her as she sorted.

Let the trickling continue w/ Aubrey's arrival late Monday.

Tuesday we invited Grandpa over to join us for lunch before heading back out to the Birds to enjoy a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in their backyard.

Aub & Grandpa/Dad

Grandpa/Dad & Britney

Derek played a lot of football with Lincoln. 

Derek & Bryn

Playground fun at the Birds for the littles. Kaide and Gracie always give each other a big hug when they see each other.

Aub and Hud playing a balance game.

Bryn & Megan

Charlotte

Braddock, Hud, Erin & Aub

Tuesday night the kids got a group together to play volleyball. I went late (can't remember why now) and enjoyed taking pictures and watching. I was going to join in if needed, but they already had multiple subs on both teams. I was relieved to watch because it's stressful being the weak link

Erin (EFG)

The group: Brinley, Derek, Parker, Aubrey, Tanner, Erin, Erin's sister and her boyfriend, The Birds minus Adam and plus Braddock's gf Becca, and then Aubrey's friends Macey and Parker. 

Brit said Ella and Charlotte were THRILLED to be included.

Aubrey

By Wednesday, we finally had our whole group, and Brian was unexpectedly off for the afternoon. Woohoo! Let the fun begin!

Of course, we had Taco Villa Monday on Wednesday at Rosas. Almost every family member who lives in Odessa was there. I think Megan, Holden, and my mom were the only three we were missing--but don't hold me to it.

It's fun to see these boys have more and more in common as they get older. They are finally reaching the age where age isn't such an inhibitor.

Parker (23), Hudson (15), Tanner (21) and Braddock (17)

Noah, 4, and Adam are pretty good buds. Adam pulls out the 100 piece puzzles on Sunday nights and builds them with Noah. (On a side note, Noah is off the charts smart. He taught himself to read and gives his older brothers a run for their money.)

We took over the back room and Gracie and Noah enjoyed a table or two or three of their very own. We had to keep a close eye on the salt and pepper shakers and wall decor.

I'm glad we got these Taco Villa picts because I didn't do a great job of taking them on Thanksgiving Day.

Left-right: Me (Erin Gwilliam), Quetta, Olivia, Char, Lincoln, Adam Vore, Ella, Christian, Kerry, Britney & Noah 

Left-right: Noah, Grandpa Steve Vore, Parker, Tanner, Hudson, Braddock, Erin/EFG, Kaide, Aubrey, Brinley & Derek. (Brian was ordering his food.)

Wednesday afternoon was one of my favorite happenings of the visit. Brinley, Derek and Parker helped with Christmas decorating and lights. It was MAGICAL! Aubrey helped too, but not for long because she already had plans with friends. I wasn't sure we were going to mess with the decorating because I had worked so hard to get the house ready for everyone to come: sweeping, dusting, mopping, etc.... It seemed crazy to make a big mess again. However, it was really nice having so many helpers. I was also glad that Aubrey was able to slip out because she has been the main helper for the past several years. (She was ecstatic to leave!-ha)

After lots of work on Brian, Parker and Derek's part, our lights look amazing!

Derek also cleaned our skylights, which was very appreciated. We have lived in this house for 13 years and only cleaned them one time. I think we should make this a Christmas tradition.

I had planned several meals, but we also ate out quite a bit. This Chick-Fil-A dinner around our table was great. Tanner and Erin were divided between spending time with both families, so I especially loved it when they could join in.

Parker died laughing when he saw my angle for the picture and wanted to return the picture taking favor.

Brinley & Derek won't be here for Christmas, so Wednesday night we had a gift exchange. The kids did their sibling gift exchange, and it made my heart happy to see the thoughtful gifts they gave to each other. Brinley & Derek opened their gifts from us and vice versa. We also had Grandpa and Grandma Gwilliam's gifts and decided to open then while everyone was home. It was a fun night!

Tanner gave Aubrey this cute jacket.

Brinley gave Tanner this golf turf...I think that is what it was. Golf is his current hobby.

Parker gave Erin a pretty watch.

Aubrey gave Brinley some home decor.

We had the cute Ormsby family stop by unexpectedly mid Christmas festivities and sing and dance to the cutest THANKSGIVING song. Emily and Alex are a great couple, and Brian and I have both served with them in presidencies over the past few years. They left us with a large box of beautifully decorated sugar cookies to enjoy.

Grandpa Gwilliam made these beautiful bowls for the girls and golf pens for the boys.

Grandpa made a puzzle for Kaide. 

I know these homemade gifts will be ones we will always cherish.

By the end of this stretch, my heart was full. Having everyone home—even just for a little while—was worth every bit of effort and chaos. This was only the first part of our Thanksgiving week, and there’s more fun (and food) to come in the next blog.