Thanksgiving in St. George

Hola Elder Smith!  So glad you made it through the elections safely.  And so sorry you were not able to do your work for three days!  Yes, that is a huge waste of the Lord's time, what a shame.  Those elections sound crazy, we kept up with election results on the internet, and through the "Missionary Moms" gmail group I belong to.  Glad there was minimal fuss where you live, and all the missionaries throughout Honduras were protected from harm.  And glad you are now back on the job, doing what you were called to do.  Oh, and congratulations on your awesome facial hair, very impressive!  haha

So...Thanksgiving this week!  Did you make it to KFC on Thursday?  We thought and talked about you multiple times all weekend, and wondered if you missed us!  We spent four days in St. George, we left early Wednesday morning and got home late Saturday night.  Everyone was there except for Margaret's family (they are coming for Christmas), our two missionaries, and Rachel and George...they spent Thanksgiving with the Ungricht family.  That is 31 people total, it was very crowded!  We spent  most of our time shopping, playing card games, visiting, eating and watching football.  Here we were on Thanksgiving morning as Dad and Grandpa carved the turkey. 

Friday morning Grandma kept the candy house tradition alive.

 Dad and I did a session at the St. George temple, and that night we all went to see the Christmas lights on the temple grounds.  So pretty!

It was beautiful in St. George, sunny and warm every day.  There was a swimming pool in the complex, all the cousins spent a lot of time playing in the pool.  The men went golfing a couple of times, and the women did lots of Christmas shopping.  And that pretty much sums up our weekend!  You were definitely missed and everyone said they love reading your weekly letters on your blog. 

Today we are getting the house ready for Christmas!  The tree is up in the piano room, I'm starting to arrange my village, and Dad and Stef will decorate the ugly tree downstairs for FHE.  The front porch is all lit up, and I covered the front door with red shiny paper.  The stockings are hung above the kitchen table, and the nativity is all set up.  And of course I broke out my Christmas CDs so we have been listening to Christmas music nonstop, I love it.  This is really my favorite time of year! 

In other news, the basketball season has begun!  Tuesday was the first game against Mt. View, Dad's JV team did great, they won by 16.  But the varsity lost by six.  It is fun cheering for the hometown team, I had lots of friends to chat with!  And the best part was after it was over when it took only five minutes to drive home.  Yes!!  I will enjoy this season.  Next game is on Tuesday at Maple Mountain. 

We love you and are so grateful for your wonderful example.  I know you are exactly where Heavenly Father wants you to be, and doing what he wants you to do. 

Love, Mom