Thanksgiving Weekend and Early X-Mas Gifts

thanksgiving weekend was a long, family-filled and wonderful weekend. although, we definitely missed those that are near and far that we were not able to see. we started by hosting brandon's family for the traditional thanksgiving dinner. we had brandon's parents, grandmother, uncle and aunt, cousins, and his step-sister and her children. about 15 total. it seems that that is the max occupancy that can fit in our front room and small dining area! we had relatively little trouble which is what we were hoping for:) after they went home we went to his parents' home so that i could check out their sale ads and figure out what i was hoping to get on the black friday sales. then it was early to bed, cuz we were definitely going to rise early!!

my alarm went off at 2:45 am and i was at brandon's mom's by 3:30 am where i met her and brandon's grandma. we first stopped at walmart and it was absolutely INSANE! we got everything we wanted by a few lucky sightings. we also got into a few verbal altercations with people but my oh my i do not like to get confrontational so i just kind of stood there and didn't make eye contact. we went to a few other stores and did not get so lucky. but, all in all it was a success.

later that day brandon and i drove down to st. george to visit my family. krista was already there so, i knew that meant there would be no stuffing left! we hung out and did some more shopping and eating. on saturday night some of us went out to tuacahn to see the festival of lights. it was pretty cool so, of course, i took some pics:

mom and krista.

i thought this pic looked really cool cuz the only thing in focus is their faces.

us four on the train that took us on a tour of tuacahn (for those of you who don't know, it's an outdoor amphitheater where they have plays/musicals/concerts near st. george)

i love taking pics in these things!! me as the shepherd, mom as the sheep, and krista as the camel. at this point brandon was willing to take pics just not be in any of them!

krista, mom and me in front of the tree they used in their production of Annie that we went to see about 6 weeks earlier.

the live nativity complete with camel, wisemen, mary, joseph and baby jesus. very cool thing to see as they read the christmas story.

at 7 am sunday morning we made the trek back to salt lake so we could be home in time to watch football. krista and i decided to make a visit to the farm where brandon's uncle had 3 labrador puppies. we had been going out once in awhile to visit and coddle the lil guys. after returning i went to take a nap (7 am wake ups are just not my thing!!), brandon interrupted me before i could get to sleep. he had one of the pups in his arms. i wasn't sure what was going on. he said it was an early christmas present! i was completely shocked and not sure what to say or do. totally unexpected since we had had about three conversations about why we DON'T want a puppy in the past month. she was terrified. i coddled her and brought her outside to "make" and then gave her a bath. life on a farm is stinky and dirty! after she smelled a bit better we cuddled the rest of the day. it was all down hill after that!!! after about 24 hours she turned into a chewing, nipping, barking, pooping, cat chasing maniac! we are finally getting used to her and her to us. after reading from "puppies for dummies" we have learned some ways to interact with her to thwart all her bad habits. she has only gone potty in the house twice so far, which we are really excited about considering she was about 8 weeks old when we brought her home and on the farm she could potty whereever and whenever she needed to.

anyways, here are some pics of her first couple of weeks:

she enjoys a good game of tug-o-war.

here she is chewing again.

cuddles with her auntie:)

she won't be able to fit under that chair for long!

a very upset and angry older sister! mostly kidding, mamma has gotten somewhat used to having the dog around. we try hard to still give mamma love when she asks for it. she has gotten close to the dog several times for a few seconds without hissing or running away. although now that the dog is super hyper, mamma gets chased to all the corners of the house. that makes her very angry! poor mamma, i'm surprised at how well she is handling the dog. brandon admitted though having the dog makes the cat look more chubby!

i know you all are wondering about her name (well, at least those of you who don't already know it). after careful consideration, i have chosen Maisy. it seems no one else likes it but me but i'm okay with that considering she is technically my lil gurl. so, everyone meet maisy, our newest family member. i guess i need to update the little picture at the bottom of the blog now....

and, i promise, i'm going to be a better blogger who updates waaaaay more often!