Thanksgiving!

Adam and I were able to visit our friends in Virginia and explore Washington D.C.! I was so excited because Adam has been talking about D.C. for the last three years that he has taken his fifth graders there, and everytime we watch a movie he says "been there, been there." Lol. So now I can too! It was so nice to see Shaun and Rebecca and their little girl who is only a few weeks younger than Ellie. We haven't seen Shaun in such a long time, so it was so good to see him again and finally get to know his beautiful wife Rebecca better.
We spent Thanksgiving with the Calderwoods and more of their friends and family. Here are some pictures from the big day.


Ellie's first Thanksgiving! She loved all of the food :)

I made her a turkey dress and bow- so fun!

Ella and Shaun at Ella's first Thanksgiving :)

The next day we spent at D.C. touring the beautiful city. I saw the Hope Diamond and other jewels at the Natural History Museum, so awesome! We also saw the Capitol, the Smithsonian Castle, the National Archives, the White House, and the Lincoln Memorial (my favorite part!). We saw many other things, andwe still need to go back! It was so much fun, and Ellie was quite the little trouper :) Then Saturday we went to Mount Vernon with Shaun, Rebecca and Ella. It really was a fun trip, and we really enjoyed spending time with friends :)

I made the girls matching reversible Chirstmas dresses with bows. Aren't the girls adorable? I just love that they are so close in age!

My family with the Washington Monument

Ellie and me at the National Mall

Where MLK gave his famous speech...

The dads with the bjorns (as Adam says, bjorn'n it) at Mount Vernon

All of us Having a Dream :)

At the Lincoln Memorial

Ella attacking Ellie at Mount Vernon (hehehe) :) Ella was always so excited to see Ellie, that it often ended in tears for Ellie :( But I just know they are going to be great friends!

We had so much fun, and we are so grateful for our friends for having us. I am grateful for so many things in my life. Even though things are stressful and sometimes difficult, I am so grateful for my many blessings. I am grateful for wonderful friends who I miss terribly, I am grateful for my family and my home, my beliefs and the gospel, my sweet little girl and my hubby. I am also grateful for silly things, like peppermint hot chocolate and sewing all night, diet coke, long conversations about nothing, finding old friends and making them new again, Ellie's naps, cheaper gas prices, craft day, baking, a clean house, Adam talking in his sleep, and The Soup. I love it!

See our picasa site for lots of pictures and narrated captions by my adorable husband: www.picasaweb.google.com/adamwestfamily

Enjoy!