A bit of all that we are thankful for...

The weekend before Thanksgiving Miranda performed in the Jordan High School musical "Bye Bye Birdie". The kids spent countless hours rehearsing....and it paid off. They did such a good job. You could tell they had a lot of fun. I recorded the song, Telephone Hour, that Miranda had a solo in, it's not that great of a recording, but it's better than nothing:). Miranda was Nancy (blue skirt and white shirt) and a reporter (second photo with tan overcoat).

You could tell the cast had a great time performing it. Jacob was busy with the musical too....in the pit. Jordan has a great pit under the stage where the orchestra plays live music with the play. They too did an amazing job. It was fun that Miranda and Jacob could do something like this together. When I go to performances like these, I am always amazed at the talent that these kids have at such a young age.

*I am thankful for amazing and talented children***

*I am thankful for the great schools that my children are able to go to***

Our Thanksgiving week started the next day with a day filled with laziness..well, actually two days worth of laziness. On Monday we spent some time celebrating Matt's birthday (A dozen doughnuts from Beyond Glazed worked well for that celebration:)

*I am thankful for an amazing husband ***

After our cruise got canceled, it was quickly decided that we didn't want to spend the whole week of Thanksgiving (off school and work) sitting around the house feeling sorry for ourselves. So, bright and early Tuesday morning we started the 12 hour drive to Albuquerque. A HUGE (so they forecasted) storm was hitting the Wasatch later in the day..luckily we managed to get out ahead of it. We had a very easy drive and made it to my brother's house in time for dinner. Cousin time, shopping, bowling, movies, great food, all that we could possibly pack into three days...but sadly we were too busy trying to make the most of the little time we had, I forgot to take any photos. Sadness. We had a great visit with my family--even if it was short. We had to leave early Saturday to beat another storm headed to the Wasatch. This time it was a big storm. It snowed for about 24 hours straight. We had about 18 inches here by Monday morning.

*I am thankful for a car that can get us to family that lives far away**

*I am thankful for my mom, dad, brothers, sister-in-laws and gee just all the AMAZING extended family that I am a part of***

*I am thankful for Thanksgiving dinner and yummy pies!***

*I am thankful for the snow --I may not always be, but this was a nice cozy snow that enabled my family to have a day off, a day to unwind and be cozy and safe in our home.

*I am thankful for modern day technology--especially the heater that heats my house and helps us feel cozy when it's snowing out and the Internet and cell phones that enabled us to get updates on Matt's mom who had a surgery while we were in ABQ.***

*I am thankful for our cute kitties that were SO glad to have us home again***

*I am thankful for amazing friends and neighbors that take care of us even when we are hundreds of miles away***

*I am thankful I teach at a charter school that can have a snow day when all my kids had to go to school. Bonus day! It was great to have a day to unpack and get life a bit organized--all to myself:)

And now, we have been quickly ushered into the hub bub of the holiday season. Jacob had a jazz band concert this week. He had a few solos in it too. Here's a video (again not great quality) of two of my favorite seniors at Jordan High (Jacob and Adam) doing a great improv trombone duet. It's been great watching their abilities expand over the years. Urgh...maybe it won't let me load it. I will try again in the morning.