Thanksgiving trip!

Our Thanksgiving trip back home was wonderful! Brandon and I left the Saturday before Thanksgiving and flew into Long Beach. John had to work so he came out the following Wednesday. We had the best time with Nana and Papa John! This is Brandon by the huge Christmas tree at Fashion Island.

This is how excited he is for Christmas!

We love taking the Balboa ferry every chance we get! Grammy Judy invited Brandon and her other grand kids (and Lily) to go see Santa a few days before Thanksgiving. It was a terrific idea! We were the only ones there and Brandon got to talk to Santa for a few minutes and not feel rushed like we usually do. Going early is the best!!

Here is Brandon and all of his "new" cousins from John's side of the family. It is so fun for Brandon to have more cousins!

Cousin Lily and Brandon.

As if seeing Santa wasn't enough fun, Judy took us all out to eat and then to Pump-It-Up! The kids had such a blast! It was a fun day for the kids and the grown-ups too!

On Wednesday we were invited by Brandon's former kindergarten teacher, the amazingly wonderful Mrs. K, to visit Sumner Elementary (the school Brandon attended before we moved.) He was so excited! He could not wait to see all of his old friends and teachers! I was excited too!

Brandon and Sarah.

Jacob and Brandon. Jacob is Mrs. K's son and he and Brandon were great buds. They were ecstatic to see each other again!

David and Dylan. More "old" friends. :)

Cousin London and Brandon at lunch.

Brandon's buddy Kiernan.

Later that day we went with Greg, Angie and Lily to see Tangled in 3D.

Our FIRST Thanksgiving together!

Brandon enjoying our family's traditional "fruit cocktail."

Greg and John had an arm wrestling match. John won...but Greg might of let him. Guess we will never know! :)

Dad, Mary and the family.

The four brother-in-laws. We all found such great men!

After dinner at my dad's we went over to John's parents house to enjoy yet another yummy turkey feast! I am sad that I did not get a picture while I was there! :( I wont forget at Christmas, that is for sure!



Thanksgiving at my mom's house.

I was in charge of making my mom's delicious homemade rolls. Due to the fact that this was my first time, I was very apprehensive!

Besides having a ton of flour on them, they turned out edible. ;)

Brandon loves his Uncle Scott.

Last year on this exact day (black Friday) John and I met for the first time. Newport beach is very significant to us because we ended our first date there and we got engaged there. We love our special place!

The three John's just sitting around enjoying the holiday weekend.

To finish off our trip we had a blast with the family at Becca's surprise 17th birthday party- Harry Potter style! My sister Wendy did an AMAZING job decorating the house with the HP theme. Candles "floated" in the air, Pumpkin Juice and Butter Beer were served and she even made a Quidditch ball cake!! It was truly unbelievable.

The little cuties hanging out before Becca's arrival.

Brandon and the birthday girl! We cannot believe that she is 17! I mean 7, right Becca?! ;)

We had a great and very memorable trip. Our families mean everything to us. Having our own little family now is such a blessing, and just so much fun.