Thanksgiving

My parents and three youngest sisters living at home drove from Iowa to visit us the week of Thanksgiving break. Josh had so much fun playing with them. They are amazing with Josh. They were so helpful and I love spending time with them. It was a lot of fun. We went to Carter Mountain Orchard but it was so foggy we couldn't see the view from the mountain. But we got some apple pie to eat later for Thanksgiving. We went shopping and out to eat. We watched the Dancing with the Stars finale and caught up on some Singoff.



On Thanksgiving day, right before we ate Thanksgiving dinner, my sister Amanda flew in from Provo, Utah to visit too!!  It felt like in the movies when a family member you haven't seen in a long time knocks on the door right as everyone is about to eat Thanksgiving dinner and says, "Do you have room for one more?" and everyone is so happy. It was like that :)

 The day after Thanksgiving we drove to Colonial Williamsburg. It was really fun to walk around and see everything. The weather was gorgeous. We also went to a beach on the ocean. On our way back we stopped at Silver Diner in Richmond. It's one of our favorite restaurants. That night we got in a little Just Dance 2 on the Wii and my parents helped me give a makeover to our kitchen chairs (post about that still to come!). We had some good sister time that night helping Polly get pumped up about her BYU essays she needed to write and having girl talk.  My younger sisters are such an example to me of being incredibly loving, supportive, and positive. I learn so much from them and love being around them.

My family had to leave the next day but Amanda stayed for another 5 days! We did so much. Brandon had to work Saturday. But we went to Monticello. Then we went to Carter Mountain Orchard and got some apples, apple pie, and peach donuts. Then we went home and made our favorite Malaysian Chicken Pizza and had a girls movie night! All the nights I'm home alone watching tv or a movie I wish so badly that I could invite one of my sisters over and watch with me! It was a dream come true. We even had popcorn :)

Monday morning Brandon took us on a golf cart tour of UVA campus and dropped us off at the Rotunda where we walked around inside and out. Then Amanda treated us to lunch at Blue Moon Diner, our favorite restaurant in Charlottesville. Then we decided to drive to Lynchburg to the J.Crew clearance stores there. Amanda found some awesome stuff. It was really fun. Tuesday we drove to Short Pump mall in Richmond to go to H&M and got some great stuff. Then we stopped at Trader Joe's and got more than we should've, which always happens :). That night we grabbed dinner at Zazu's and went to a UVA Men's basketball game! Josh loved all the music and clapping. It was fun. Then Wednesday we took it easy and took Amanda to the airport that afternoon. It was such a jam-packed fun time! Josh loved playing with Amanda and getting so much love from her. I loved spending so much one-on-one time with her. We hadn't done that for a couple years since we lived in Provo and I miss it so much. I miss living in the same town as my best friend who I have so much fun with. I feel so comfortable around her. She exudes happiness and fun. She's such a great listener and friend. She is selfless and giving. She is easygoing. She is supportive. I learn a lot from her and strive to be more like her.