Grand Canyon- check that off the bucket list!

This was our first view of the Grand Canyon- and apparently this fog was  a big deal, it only happens about once every 10 years!  We didn't know that at first and we were just thinking "I hope it burns off..."

 They are adorable together!

 Whitney was a little too cold- it was in the 40's.  Which is funny because she's the one who runs around in shorts and no shoes when the temp is in the 50's!

 We hiked a little on the Bright Angel Trail, it was cool but all Eric and I could think about was how fun it would be to hike all the way to the river and back with no kids. :)

 a cool arch

 Eric out on a ledge of course

 after a while the fog started to clear!

 the girls kept trying to climb up the cliff

 Owen is such a great little hiker.  He walked most of the way, even though it was a little scary for us because he was always seconds from falling to his death!  The best was when he started yelling "echo"...and kept it up for like 5 minutes.  He thinks you always have to do that on a hike. :)

 Trying to take a picture with the timer on the camera- there weren't many people on the trail!

 classic Whitney- "I don't really want to smile so I'll just do this face that looks like I'm in pain"

 the Kate.

 great picture on the rim..with us looking directly into the sun.

 later at the hotel Eric took the girls swimming and Owen refused to lay down for a nap...until he fell asleep standing up!  he wasn't even crying, just singing. :)

 On the way home the next day we stopped at a reconstructed Native American watchtower at the edge of the Grand Canyon, it was really cool!  You could climb up all 4 stories.

 It was FREEZING and windy that day so we didn't stay long!

 But I was really happy that we finally got to see the Colorado River- the river that created it all!

  Overall we're glad we went- now we can say we've been there and we never need to go again haha!

Owen quotes

Here are a few gems from owen lately:

me: Owen, your bath is ready!
Owen: Hayeyuya! (hallelujah!)

me: here you go buddy.(handing him something)
Owen: thank you! (pause...) mom, say you're welcome!

(background to this next one: it was after Owen had his biggest temper-tantrum of his life because he didn't get to go sledding because he REFUSED to wear snow pants-- if he was 5 and refused we would let him suffer the natural consequences of being cold, but he's only ONE and would probably just let himself get hypothermia before he changed his mind- it was only like 15 degrees outside! )
me: "Owen, I'm really sad we didn't get to go."
Owen: "But Mo-om, it's Christmastime!" (pause, looking at me to see if I'm still sad, as I try not to smile) "...we're not gonna DIE!"
and then I had to laugh.  I think I must say that to the girls pretty often- "you're not going to die!" hahaha.

me: Owen, how old are you? (I've been trying to work on this one because adults always ask him that question!)
Owen: first grade.
me: What?
Owen: I'm in FIRST grade!
Little smarty thinks he's ready for school, haha.

This kid is so funny!!!  Even though in the last 2 weeks he's suddenly started having tantrums, oh joy!  It's funny because the girls started this phase at like 18 months, so I thought maybe he just wasn't going to be a tantrum child. :)  But I'm excited to really try and handle it better than I did with the girls, and it helps that he talks so well.  We'll see how the next few months/years go now that he's decided to have a strong opinion about everything!
Oh and it's so funny, Whitney calls it "tenter tantrums", she is the queen of mixing things up and saying them wrong!  She has a great vocabulary and always uses these big words, most of the time correctly, but she'll SAY them wrong.  Like the other day she said "you are not part of this conPERsation!" She's so cute.  I just have to try to get Katelyn to hide her giggles at Whitney's mistakes so she doesn't feel bad!

Thanksgiving

We realized this year that we've had quite a wide variety of Thanksgiving trips in our marriage, in this order:

Japan (Murrays)

Japan (Murrays)

Madera/San Luis Obispo (Hansens/Wallwork Grandparents)

Pocatello (Murray Grandparents)

Maui (Murrays)

Denver (Harveys)

Diamond Bar (MacKays, with Hansens)

Santaquin (our only Thanksgiving at home!)

Fruit Heights/Pocatello/Rexburg (Murrays/Hansen siblings)

and now this year,

back to Southern California to the MacKays, now in La Verne.  

After looking at this list, I can't say this year was our BEST Thanksgiving ever, but it was REALLY REALLY great!  Our drives went smoothly, the kids had the time of their lives with their cousins and got to spend quality time with grandparents and cousins, and Eric and I got to relax as I talked to my family for hours.  Allison, Kent, and my mom and dad did most of the cooking and cleaning, and I felt GREAT because I got to rest tons!  The weather was beautiful, we got to go to the beach, and overall it was perfect.

As for the Grand Canyon part of our trip, it was pretty cool.  We are glad we went, but we are ready to check it off our list and will probably never go again. :)  It was too far away and on the way home Eric got a speeding ticket in rural Utah and we had our first carsick child- Whitney actually threw up in the van!  Very eventful.  Being at the Grand Canyon did increase me and Eric's desire to go on a cool hike with no kids again though!  and we are totally going to take our kids on a family rafting trip when our youngest is old enough.  It will be the best vacation ever. :)

So here are the pictures.

This was the best one we could get on Thanksgiving of us all.

 Surprisingly, Owen LOVES pumpkin cheesecake!

 Whitney with her lemon cake and ice cream

 Cake loves cheesecake too!  (the girls helped me make their adorable turkey shirts)

 Owen held Seth (2 1/2 months old) several times, he loved him and was so interested in him and Ryder (6 months old).  It was so cute, he is going to be a great big brother!

 Kent and Phillip convinced Eric and Derek to get up from lounging with their full stomachs and play a little basketball.  They had fun and of course whatever team Derek was on won every time.

 Whitney, Caleb, and Jenna cheered for them out in the warm dark night.

 and Natalie and Katelyn played Harry Potter-- or actually they played as young versions of older characters- James, Lupin, Sirius and Snape. :)

 This happened several times- story time with Grammy!

 I had to include this picture of Katrina's adorable children since I didn't get any others of them!  Seriously Lydia is so cute and hilarious and Ryder is SO SMILEY and happy-screechy it is the best ever.  And he likes me because I look like his mom. :)

 Owen's "here I go" face

 He ate it like 20 seconds later and went shirtless the rest of the time. He just kept running in and out of the water FOREVER.

 I thought the kids were crazy at first, but actually I swear it was just as warm as some times that I've been to Pismo in the summertime! 

 Kate and Jenae went pretty far out!

 Owen and Jenna in one of the moments they played together- usually owen would freak out when she was around. :(  She's so cute, he'll get over it.

 Seriously he loved it!

 We love the beach!

 This is the only picture I got of Owen and Caleb, which is too bad, because they were SO cute together.  A few times each day Caleb would be like "Owen!  Do you want to play?" or Owen would go around calling "Cay-luv, Cay-luv" until he found him and then say "wanna play wif me?" and they would run upstairs to find a toy. They have a great future together!

 Of course I had a great time talking for hours with each of my siblings that was there- Jenae, Derek, Allison and Katrina.  

 And I'm always happy for the kids to be with my parents.  Some of my favorite moments were my Dad's tickling matches with all the kids, my mom reading to them, my mom playing Zingo with Owen and Caleb, and my dad holding Owen and helping him blow out all the candles after our Thanksgiving feast. 

Also I didn't take a picture of this, but we had a memorable time visiting a rest home to sing Christmas carols.  We came to visit 2 specific ladies, but then several other people heard us and asked us to come into other rooms as well. The kids sang great and we all felt the spirit and it was a good time.

Grand Canyon pictures to follow!