Our Poor, Neglected Blog

Aaron and Lincoln playing outside in Hooper over Thanksgiving Break

It's about time we update the blog. The weekend before Thanksgiving break I got sick with what was probably a sinus infection. But it totally kicked my trash and left me devoid of all energy. It was so bad that Lincoln and I had to go live with my mom in Hooper the week of Thanksgiving because Aaron couldn't miss anymore class or school to stay home and take care of the two of us. My mom was happy that she got to see us two days earlier than planned. Too bad I wasn't feeling well most of the time though. But she was a lifesaver, and Lincoln enjoyed all of his time with Grandma.

Lincoln and Aaron playing on one of the scooters in the driveway in Hooper

On Wednesday BYU let out of Thanksgiving break so Aaron was able to come up to Hooper and join us. Lincoln was so happy to see his dad. They played outside and had a great time.

One half of the Thanksgiving dinner table: Steph, Kirk, Aaron, Lincoln, me, Jackson, and Tanner

Thanksgiving Day I still wasn't feeling that great and I slept most of the morning. But I felt bad that my mom and Kerry were doing a huge dinner all by themselves, so I woke up from my nap long enough to cut the rolls into circles for my mom.

The other half of the table: Jack, Tanner, Mom, Kerry, Steph, and Kirk

Dinner was excellent! We had all the normal stuff. Lincoln got to eat his first Thanksgiving dinner (last year he was still on formula). I think he liked the jello salad the best. And surprisingly he didn't like the mashed potatoes. He kept spitting them out. I guess he takes after his mom in that regard.

After Thanksgiving Dinner, Aaron, Nelson, and Steph playing Rockband while we wait for pie

I was feeling a ton better after dinner. We put Lincoln to bed and then everyone helped clean up and put dinner away. Then some of the family went into the living room and played Rockband on the Wii and others sat down at the table with the paper to check out all the ads and see if there were any great deals happening on Black Friday.

Aaron being the lead singer on Rockband

Ever since a long time ago, my mom and I have always had a tradition of getting up early and going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. We aren't even all that into the shopping, but we always go to Burger King and get Cini-Mini's and enjoy watching all the crazy people out there. We end up buying pajamas or something minor usually, but we always have fun together. Since I've been married we haven't gone because either I've had to work, or it was our turn to be in Vancouver. So this year we had big plans to go, and I was afraid they were going to be ruined because I wasn't feeling well, and I didn't have much stamina.

Mom and Kerry searching the Black Friday ads

Well, we didn't get up early to go, but by about 11:00am Friday morning I felt well enough to venture out for a bit. We put Lincoln down for a nap, and Steph was kind enough to offer to watch him when he got up so that Aaron could study for the GRE. Then my mom and Tanner and I headed to the Layton mall. Mom bought Tanner some new soccer cleats. Tanner bought a new shirt for himself. I got Lincoln some new clothes that will be Christmas presents, and I also found an awesome present for Aaron that was originally $80 but I got it for $25. I'm pretty happy about that, and I hope he likes it. After that my energy was depleted so we headed for home.

Stacey, me, Whitney, Sydni, Lisa, and Jeremiah at Whitney's Bridal shower on Saturday.

Really this Thanksgiving holiday Aaron and I had the best of both worlds because all of Aaron's family came to Provo for Thanksgiving. Since it's our turn to have Thanksgiving with my family we still spent the holiday in Hooper. But Friday afternoon we headed back to Provo. Aaron's sister Stacey and her husband Rob, and their three kids Audrey, Bennett, and Jeremiah came up from Arizona and stayed at our house while we were in Hooper. Aaron's sister Sydni and her husband Jake and their son Zac, came down from Idaho and stayed at our house too. Aaron's sister Lisa, and her husband Jared and their four kids, Jordan, Carter, Spencer, and Aneya drove from Washington to spend the holiday with Jared's parents in Minorsville, UT and because of that Aaron's parents didn't want to be alone in Washington for the holiday, so they came to Utah too. Aaron's two brothers Ryan and Kelly both already live here. Wow, that was a mouthful. So, when we got back Friday afternoon, Stacey and Rob and kids went to stay with Rob's sister who lives in Provo. So in our apartment were Aaron's parents, Sydni & Jake, and us. We had a great time together, even if there was a lot of chaos.

Aaron's dad, Chuck, opening his birthday present . Everyone went in together to get him a new laptop.

Saturday morning was Aaron's cousin Whitney's bridal shower. She's getting married December 27th in Seattle, WA. Lisa's family came up from Minorsville and stopped in Provo on their way back to WA. It was fun to have all us girls together again.

Saturday night Aaron's Aunt Debby and Uncle Richard had the whole Swan side of the family (yep, all of Aaron's brothers and sisters, and their families all in one place for the first time since Jeremiah was born in October.) over to their house. We were having a giant combined birthday party for Aaron, Kelly, and Chuck, who all had birthdays in November. All the siblings and Aaron's mom had gone together to buy Chuck a new laptop. He didn't suspect a thing, and it was great that we all got to be there to watch him open it. Thanks Richard and Debby for letting us have dinner in your house.

The entire Chuck and Debbie Swan family as of right now (there are currently two on the way)

The more spread out the family becomes the harder it is for us to get a family picture with everyone in it. So of course Saturday night we took advantage of everyone being together. Kelly set up a mini photo studio in the living room. He has a really nice camera, so he took the picture.

Chuck and Debbie and all the current grandkids

We also had one of the grandkids taken. I thought the picture turned our pretty good for as many kids as we had to try to hold still, look at the camera, and be happy all at the same time. What was even funnier was the number of adults (myself included) jumping and dancing around and talking in funny voices trying to make the kids look and smile. Now that's what we should have gotten a picture of!

Lincoln and Zac in their church outfits

Sunday morning was a bit of a challenge trying to get 6 adults and 2 toddlers ready for 9:00am church. The boys look adorable in this picture. Too bad neither of them stayed happy for very long. We all ended up leaving church early because the boys were just too cranky for anyone to get anything out of the meeting.

Lincoln and Grandma and Grandpa Swan at the duck pond

The good news was that both boys had a much longer nap that usual and allowed almost all of the adults to have a nap too. We all woke up feeling much happier. To let the boys get some of their energy out before dinner we took them up to the BYU duck pond. We went to the north one, because I usually like it better because it's harder for Lincoln to fall into the water there. But this time the water was really low and there were no ducks to be found. The boys still had a good time running around in the grass, and to make up for no ducks, we took them to the park afterwards. The evening ended with another wonderful family dinner at Richard and Debby's.

Krystal at the duck pond

Sunday night Chuck and Debbie decided to get a head start on the drive home and drove to Treemonton. Then Monday morning Sydni and Jake packed up and left too. Our house felt really empty after that. Luckily Stacey and Rob were still in town because Rob had some work training. It was fun spending time with them and having them over for dinner. By the end of the week I finally felt well enough that I was allowed to hold Jeremiah (the new baby)!

Lincoln was on again off again sick all week, probably with the stomach flu. And yesterday Aaron went and took the GRE and came home and felt miserable. Kelly and Uncle Richard came and gave him a blessing and then Kelly took him to the instacare. Aaron now has stomach flu. Yuck! Hopefully he gets over it quickly, since finals are coming up. But anyways, that's the story of why our blog has been neglected.