And one more silly photo!
They also enjoyed a day out with Cori and I shopping and watching the "New Moon" movie. It was really fun to hang out with the three girls and relax with a large tub of popcorn and a diet coke!
The boys and men (plus my mom and Bridget;) did a little four-wheeling behind my brother, Quinn's house and at the sand dunes at Sand Hollow. It is such a fun place to ride and mess around. They enjoyed the warm weather and played to their hearts content!
Cori and I have spent the past few thanksgivings making the BEST turkey dinner ever! We are always looking for new ways to cook the bird to perfection and this year was no exception! Our dinner, though delayed by power outages, turned out wonderful! With lots of hands to pitch in and help, it was a great feast.
We have a tradition in our family each Thanksgiving to let the kids make gingerbread houses. Cori and Scot were the smart ones this year and brought the pre-made gingerbread kits! The girls loved this activity and even Sean and Tanner got in on the fun.
Cori and I also have the tradtition of Black Friday shopping! We look forward to this day every year and are giddy with excitement as we scan the ads looking for those hard-to-beat deals. Our ads become like gold as we carefully turn the pages and tediously look through each and every one. Then we hide them away along with our lists and plans and anxiously await the wee morning hours...except, this year we started our shopping early as some of the stores were open at midnight! We ventured out at 9 pm and found some fun bargains at the St. George outlets. We took about two hours to get a little shut-eye, then ventured out again to the WalMart store in Hurricane, Utah! It was the best! Nobody was there and we didn't have to fight for anything that we wanted...we got it all and then some.
We went to a few stores on the way home and were very happy with the things we found. It was a great success!
Friday was also the day that Matt, my brothers, brother-in-law, mom and the four girls were going to head out on a 50 mile four-wheel ride. Matt spent the better part of the week studying the area and getting aquainted with some of the trails and felt confident that the trail they chose to ride was easy, beautiful and would be well worth it. They were all excited to get out and ride! Cori and I were equally excited to have the morning to sleep off our shopping high!
I got a good few hours of sleep and decided to get up and get showered and possibly take Tucker to see Santa or do something fun when my phone rang. That is weird, Matt has only been gone a couple hours and he never calls me until about half-way through their rides. My heart dropped immediately because I knew something was wrong. I answered and the line disconnected. It took about ten minutes to get a good connection and what I feared was relayed...mom had tipped her four-wheeler over a 30-foot ravine. She had a compound fracture in her leg and they were waiting for life-flight to get there to take her to the ER. At this point, they had just concentrated on stabilizing her leg and making her as comfortable as possible and had not assessed any other injuries. Matt assured me that she was okay and that she had not lost consciousness or anything major like that.
My mind sprang into action. I woke Cori and told her the news and as we both tried to remain calm and wait for further instructions, the feeling that something else was wrong would not leave my mind. I was sick with fear as Cori and I discussed the fact that one of our girls had to be on the back of that four-wheeler with mom. Bayli usually rides with my mom and I just knew that she was involved in the accident. I called my brother and asked him point-blank who was with mom. My worst fear was confirmed, it was Bayli. They assured me that she was fine and I could hear her talking in the background, so I knew that they were right, but still the fear was overwhelming!
We finally got word where they would be taking mom so Cori and I rushed to the ER and waited for word that life-flight had arrived. After an eternity of waiting we were taken back and shown into the room where mom lay. It was horrible. Her leg was gruesome and looked so painful, it took a lot of will-power not to break down and cry. I knew I had to be strong for her peace of mind. She was doing so well! I am amazed at her toughness!
We were informed that Bayli was coming in on the ambulance and would be there shortly. My stomach did flip-flops for the next half hour as we waited for her. In the meantime, the X-rays were done on mom's leg and showed 3 or more breaks in each of the lower leg bones the Tibia and Fibia. Her collar bone was also broken in three places, but those were the only breaks she suffered amazingly. Her leg would need surgery ASAP.
Finally, Bayli arrived and I ran to her room to find her sitting there talking to the nurse as if nothing had happened. She kept wondering aloud why she had to come in, she repeated over and over again that she was just fine. Thank goodness! The rescue crew brought her helmet in to show me the damage that it had received and speculated with me what would have happened had she not been wearing it. It literally saved her life as it suffered a crack on the inside and many scrapes and damage to the outside.
Mom was taken to surgery, Bayli was given a CT scan and a clean bill of health and my sister, brothers and I stayed at the hospital waiting for word on mom.
Black Friday ended very black indeed, but there were many bright spots along the way as we look back and realize the Lord's hand in the awful events of the day. I am so grateful for His tender mercies as he allowed my mom and my daughter to survive what could have been a really terrible event, even though it was terrible enough! I am also grateful that my brothers and husband were there to offer her a priesthood blessing of comfort and strength as she lay on the side of the hill for close to an hour awaiting help.
Mom continues to heal and regain her strength. Cori and I ended up staying in St. George the next week to help her. She was in the hospital for three days and nights and then we got her home and settled in for a long recovery! She is doing okay. She improves every day as he gets used to not using her right leg or arm. It will be tough, but she will recover and that is all that matters!
And, another big event that happened in the middle of all this craziness was my baby Bridget turned 3 on the 28th! Of course, with all that had happened the day before, we didn't do much to celebrate her birthday, but she recieved lots of gifts both before and after her birthday and she didn't seem to mind that we didn't celebrate in the customary fashion! She loved getting to stay in St. George with just mom and aunt Cori helping grandma. Plus, she got to play with her cousin, Croydon all week long! What 3-year old doesn't love that!
Bridget is such a sweet little girl! We have so enjoyed her in our home the past three years. She loves to take care of her brothers and pretend that she is the mom. She loves her older sister and gets so excited when Bayli arrives home from school each day. She is very easy-going and good-natured. I am so happy to have her in my life and love her so much! HaPpY BiRThDaY my sweet Pea!
She is actually Bridget's nursery leader, so Bridget was a little confused, but enjoyed the visit anyway!
Tucker is asking for and "X Box"...hmmmm!!
Thanks, Santa and Mrs. Clause for the surprise visit! See you in five days...
Tucker was obsessed with where Santa had parked his reindeer and his sleigh, he asked Santa for an "X Box" here too!
Bridget was a bit timid and shy, but she did not cry. She only asks for "pink" things. Like a pink train one day, a pink doll the next, just as long as it's pink she doesn't care what it is!
Anther shy face from Bridget!
Ooohhh, do you want a candy cane? That will spark her attention any day since she has eaten all of ours off our tree!
And of course, Matt had to get in on the action since Santa and he go "way back" {{wink}}...
