So we left last Tuesday night to go to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. We got permission from Andrei's mom to take him, which I was somewhat aprehensive about, but my family really wanted to see him so we decided to go for it.
The trip there was pretty uneventful. We drove to L.V. and spent the night in a motel there. Around 7 the next morning we got up and started the long drive from L.V. to Fresno. Andrei behaved pretty well considering, but having a 6 year old in a car with no friends, movies, games, or activities and only a few toys. All I have to say is thank goodness for the McDonald's Play Place in Tehachapi California. We spent Wednesday night at my sister Tiffani's house, and Andrei had a great time getting to know his cousins.
Thursday we all woke up pretty early and spent most of the day getting things ready for the big show at my brother Kris's house. Kris has a new house, a new family, and a pretty awesome new life. His first biological child was born this October and we're all so excited to welcome little True into our family, and are so grateful for Jo-Ann and all that she's done for Kris the past year. They are a really great couple and an adorable family, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Their house is pretty big and really nice, so it was the perfect locale for Thanksgiving Dinner. Andrei had a great time playing with Jo-Ann's girls Katrina, Mia, and Cienna.
On Friday we woke up WAY too early to do some Black Friday shopping. We got a whole bunch of stuff we weren't planning on purchasing because it was so cheap, so Christmas is basically done for this year. Our favorite purchases are Guitar Hero World Tour and my new camera. I've been wanting a nice camera for a long time now, and I got a Nikon Coolpix P80, which I love. It came with a bag, a battery, a charger, a memory card, and a coupon for 50 free prints from Costco. Yay! I also got to help Emily shop for a new London wardrobe, which was ridiculously fun. I love her. Friday night we played Risk with Emily, Brent, Malachi, Tiffani, and Richard. Luis and I won, although we had to be pretty sneaky to beat Richard. He's really good at the game and our mission was to wipe his armies out.
On Saturday we did a session at the Fresno Temple. It was the 5 year anniversary to the day of Emily receiving her endowments at the temple so we thought we'd commemorate it by reliving the experience. It was cool. We haven't been to the temple for a long time (that's what happens when you work nights and Saturdays), and the Fresno Temple is a pretty cool one. It's really tiny and you get a lot of personal attention. Afterward we went back to Tiff and Richard's house to make gingerbread houses. Emily slaved all day Friday making them, and they turned out AWESOME, despite a frosting malfunction which was later corrected. Saturday evening we went out to Sweet Tomato for dinner with Emily and Brent and then went back to my mom's house to play cameras. Emily got a new SRI by Nikon (I think it was the D60?) and I'm excited because now she can take all sorts of amazing pictures in London. I'm so jealous!
We left early on Sunday morning, making sure to stop one last time at Donut Queen, home of the world's single greatest doughnuts. I love them too. We're glad to be home, but will miss family. I know this because Andrei mentioned about a million times on the drive home that he misses his cousins and especially his Grandma. Apparently he things Grammy is the greatest person ever. He was very specific about this.
I took a lot of pictures on the trip home, mostly to amuse myself on the long drive. Above are some of my favorites, as well as a few fun shots from the night before.
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