FESTIVUS!!...A Holiday for the Rest of Us!

Alright, I'm just going to jump right in, hope you're ready...

Ty and I were sitting around last Saturday, NOT looking forward to 4 more day in this town, when we decided to try and break out early. So the next morning we jumped on a plane head for the beautiful northwest! ( In case you don't know this, I L-O-V-E love Seattle!) Tyler's mom (Karen) picked us up at the airport with our nephew, Riley, and took us straight to Jack in the Box. ymmmmmm. That afternoon Tyler's entire family (sans Trav, Em and the boys) came over to welcome us with palm fronds and the like.

Tyler, Jamie and I just kick'n back on a good ol' classic Bean-Bag.

We finally were introduced to the newest addition to the Thompson Family (not to mention Tyler's namesake) the great and mighty Mason Tyler. This kid is HUGE. He's a month younger than Jamie but feels is about twice her size. Alright, I exaggerated a little, but that doesn't change the fact that this little guy is a chunker!

Ty's holding Mason with Mason's mom (Monique) on the left and Tonya on the right.

Monday we went to the Ivar's on Lake Washington and a took in a movie with Ty's parents. We saw National Treasure, which I'm sure my Dad (see that I do talk about you) would be able to find a gazillion ways to make fun of (sure enough just about every supposed 'fact' in the movie was wrong). Despite all of this, I loved it. It reminded me of Indiana Jones and all those other movies that make history exciting for the masses. Now if only they'd make an exciting, thriller about Eleanor of Aquitaine I'd be set! The most exciting part of my day included Bellevue Square, where I finally purchased some SHOES!! That's correct. I currently can wear shoes and socks like any other normal person, almost. I still have to wrap my foot every other day. Tyler and I are having a brain lapse right now and we can't seem to remember what we did on Tuesday, but I bet we had a lot fun whatever it was.

Wednesday was Thanksgiving Eve. I spent all day slicing, rolling, peeling, beating and layering. I made the Yams, crusts for the Pumpkin Pies and a Lemon Merigne Pie that, if I do say so myself, was pretty darn good.

Kayla is helping me make pumpkins to go on the pumpkin pies the day before Thanksgiving.

This was my first Thanksgiving without my family and it wasn't bad. Tyler's family eats all the same foods that my family does only in smaller quantities. For example: Number of Pies prepared in Seattle=5. Number of Pies prepared in San Diego=19. You get the picture. I spent parts of the day downstairs with the kids and other parts upstairs witht he grown-ups. Overall it was a very relaxing day.

Emily, Ryan, Travis and some freakily happy man in the back.

I had a lot of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but most of all I was grateful for my wonderful husband and my terrific marriage. Thanksgiving Day was our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! I can't believe I've already been married an entire year! I certainly don't feel a year older. "Time flies when you're having fun". In fact, it was one year ago today that Tyler and I had our reception in Seattle. It was funny to be around so many people on a day I always thought was supposed to be more personal. All the little kids kept coming up to me and Tyler and wishing us a happy anniversary. It was cute.

Waiting for the turkey and relaxing with one of my fav hobbies, knitting.

Checking to see if our Martinelli's was a "good year."

Jim (Ty's Dad) showing the turkey "Who's the Boss".

The Family festively taking part in our Thanksgiving Day Feast.

Wait! The fun didn't stop at Thanksgiving! Friday Jim gave Tyler and me haircuts (he's a concepteur de cheveux). Then we headed out into the heart of Seattle where we strolled through Pike's Market and partook of cocoa trio and apple cider. I've never seen the Seattle that busy! I love the hustle and bustle of the big city. Saturday was, sadly, out last day and we spent it at another family gathering. Everyone went over to Nique and Ryan's to help them decorate their tree and eat salmon. Then just to make sure that we went out with a bang, Tyler got incredibly sick later that night and couldn't sleep at all. The next day we fought our way through the hoards of holiday travelers and managed to snag a place at the very front of the "A" travel group at our Southwest Airlines gate. Now, here we are, home again, anxiously awaiting Christmas and our next opportunity to "get out of town."

Fresh Squeezed Start

Alright, so I decided I wanted a fresh start on this blog. fresh start = posting better and more often. Thus, the new back drop.
Since my last post a lot has happened. Let's start with the good news shall we? Dr Clark told me I could start bandaging my foot only every other day and if I can find the right kind, start wearing shoes on my BOTH my feet. You should have seen me after the appointment, I was positively floating! Plus! I can stand up in the shower on BOTH feet without a plastic bag on either one! After much trial and tribulation, the apartment is pretty much near spotless (I still need to mop). Even the laundry is all done. I've almost finished an amazing read, Eleanor of Aquitaine, by Alison Weir. (Don't worry, I don't expect anyone but history nerds like myself to appreciate that last sentence.) Alison Weir is one of my favorite authors, she also wrote all those book about the lineage of Henry VIII that I know and love so well. I got to Fly home and visit not only my immediate family, but most of my extended family was also there. Then to put icing on the cake, I Flew back too! I made a massive TO DO: list and actually accomplished most of the things on it!
Now for the bad news. I haven't been able to find any of the shoes I'm supposed to be wearing in a $$ I can afford. And the reason I was able to go home recently was because my nine year old cousin Savannah passed away two days after I got back from Destiny's funeral. Savannah (Stacy's daughter) was diagnosed with cancer when she was about two year old, after they discovered a tumor attached to her brain stem. She's had a long and hard battle with this world and I am relieved to know that she is finally at home in Heaven with so many people who love her. The funeral was hard, but not impossible since at least we were all prepared this time around.
A few days before the funeral, I helped my Aunt Stacy take her little demons shopping, and MY GOODNESS! Do I LOVE THOSE KIDS!! I love the way their active little minds and bodies are always managing to get into trouble! For example: we're all in the changing room at Kohl's and Stacy is trying to put a dress on her littlest, Etta (who is about 18 months old), when she slips under the wall and then comes back over holding her diaper in her hand and saying "my poopy butt!"
Stacy is bringing her clan to Utah for thanksgiving and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get to see them all before Ty and I leave for Seattle.

I'm not sure that his post has made any sense, but I don't believe in going back over it. Good Luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving!


I don't remember what this is called, but I like to call it "a good day".

Destiny Pearl Squires

Destiny Pearl Squires, 18

This last week has been pretty rough on my family and me. I want to thank everyone who helped make it a little easier. Monday afternoon I got a call from my mother telling me that Destiny had passed away Sunday night after a terrible car accident that afternoon. Ty and I spent the rest of the day driving all over Salt Lake talking to my sisters and some other family memebers. Kerin came back to my apartment and spent the rest of the week here with me. Thursday morning we got up early and drove to Rocklin, Ca to attend the funeral Friday morning. We then returned home on Saturday. Destiny lived with my family for about a semester. She and Kerin had a very special relationship and were much more than friends. I drove Destiny to Seminary, Church activities, and just about every dance she ever went to. She was full of fun and life and made a distinct impression on everyone who ever knew her. Destiny was more than just a friend by association, she was my friend, and I (along with many other people) am really going to miss her.

If you want to read more about the WONDERFULNESS of Destiny you can go to these websites... http://www.granitebaypt.com/articles/2004/10/27/news/top_stories/02news.prt and http://www.legacy.com/SacBee/Guestbook.asp?Page=Guestbook&PersonID=2751323.

"Step it!"

My husband is the absolute greatest man on EARTH! I know its cliche for a married woman to rave about her man. But hey, I don't do this alot so cut me some slack. I'm an odd person, and something odd about me is that I love slow R&B, y'know 'groovy tunes'. So Ty came home today and surprised me with the new double R. Kelly album. How often does anyone in this world actually BUY a CD now'a'days? Surprises... they're GRRRRREAT!
So was this weekend. Jo came on Friday to chill and then my mom came on saturday with Kloe and Karly. Saturday night a crowd of us went out to eat and then to a comedy club in South Salt Lake, WiseGuys. This place was sooooo much fun! I highly recomend it! Sunday, Monday and Teusday were all family days, that was nice. Monday afternoon Tyler (a great and wise man) won tickets to the Jazz preseason game against the Knicks. So Teusday we enjoyed the second home Jazz event of the season. Haven't missed a game yet! ha
Of course there were the obligatory perks that come with having a parent in town. We got a shelf to keep our food on and I wasn't hungry once the entire time my mom was here! AND...She did the DISHES!!! YES! I spent all day Monday playing with Kloe and Karly. We rode the trax as far as we could then walked all around downtown and checked out the church art and history museum. They had a two big exhibits set up for children so that was pretty helpful to keep Kloe happy. Then we got HOT hot choclate and sweets! YUM!
We got that new couch on Saturday. (I have to give a shout out to Dave and Cam for being so cool about picking that up for us.) Bad news: the couch didn't fit into the back room so now we have quite possibly the worlds ugliest couch out in our living room. It wouldn't be so bad if our other small couch wasn't so darn amazing! But on the plus side the back room is more comfortable. You win some, you loose some. I can't complain (too much).
This may seem a bit sudden, but I can't wait for Christmas! I want Christmas to be today! Don't get me wrong, I love halloween, but I am so ready to throw out that pumpkin and get a tree!

It's Autumn Time

Autumn...a poem

Like the coat of paint

on an old pickup truk,

The fresh green of spring

has turned to autumn rust.

by Don Gray

Went to the Doctor yesterday and I'm getting better. He gave me a few more 'privlages'. For example, I don't have to wear my enormous boot as much--I can wear the little one sometimes. Which also means I no longer need to roll up my pants like an amputee. I love seeing my X-rays! I hope Dr. Clarke will let me keep them when this is all over. I sewed a dress last weekend. Everything went really well except that I made it one size too big. I'm too lazy to go back and sew the thing all over again to make it the right size, I'm going to wear it anyway. Last Saturday, Tyler and I went to this 'extravagaza' of sorts for the company he worked for durring the summer. We got to hang out where the Jazz practice and then sit front row for their openning scrimage. It was fun to heckle the players like I used to in High School. Angela and I met up in Salt Lake durring the day and did some window shopping down town. I love that..."Down Town." Sounds sooo....'ladies who lunch'. My mom, Karly, Kloe and Jo are all coming to visit this weekend and I am MEGA excited for that. And ( I know this sounds lame) Tyler's friends are gave us their old couch and I'm excited for that too! Its that time of year agin, time to apple pie and shop for pumpkins. Last night I made Hot Cocoa from scratch, that felt very autumny. Fall is suposed to be cold and chilly, but all the colors, foods and scents that go with it are all 'warm'. I'm even starting to enjoy a little football now and then.