The Twilight Years

If you're not a Twilight fan, you probably won't get it; if you're not LDS, you definitely won't get it, but I thought it was pretty funny . . . .

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

Fun with Daddy

I love this picture of Elaine and Mike. I had some fun with it . . . .

Liberty & Independence

The day after Thanksgiving, Nate and Hayden joined us, and we drove to Liberty and then Independence, in Missouri, to see some Church history sites.

Our first stop was Liberty Jail. Mariah didn't like the "scary noises" (horses running, etc.) during the informational recording, but I think the girls enjoyed themselves for the most part. They were well behaved, which was a relief to their mother.

We drove from Liberty to Independence, Missouri, where Joseph Smith dedicated 63 acres of land for a temple. The saints were driven from Independence before they were able to build that temple, but it will someday be built.

The girls' (and Hayden's) favorite place of the day was the U.N. Peace Fountain near the visitors' center.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, we drove up to Kansas City, where Mike's cousin, Nate, is attending dental school. We stayed with him, his wife, Kate, and their little boy, Hayden, for a few days and had a great time.

The girls were amazing travelers! We drove up Wednesday and just visited and chilled that evening.

Thursday we had a pretty relaxed day. We played on the playground behind the condo for a couple hours in the morning, and then put the kids down for naps while we prepared dinner. Kate hosted Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30, so the couple hours right before were a bit busy. Dinner and the company were great! There were 8 adults and 6 kids. And LOTS of food!

After dinner, we went to a gymnasium around the corner from the Georges' place. Someone in their ward owns it and had offered to have everyone over to play. The kids loved jumping and running around.

I love Thanksgiving; and I love the fact that it's still all about family, friends, and the blessings God has given us. The world hasn't run away with it yet. I'm so thankful for Mike, my girls, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and all of our blessings, family, and friends.

Thanks, Nate and Kate, for a great Thanksgiving!

(A funny Mariah story: While I was packing our stuff to come home, I caught her several times trying to sneak in some of Hayden's toys. I thought I had seen and removed everything that wasn't ours. But, about 30 minutes after we got on the road, Mariah opened her purse and pulled out almost the entire magnetic alphabet from the Georges' fridge. The little sneak! We mailed them back yesterday.)