Thanksgiving and Christmas part 1

Because both my parents and Justin's dad's family all live in Texas we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas with each family each year. In 2013 we spent Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with Justin's dad and family. Whenever we spend Thanksgiving with my family, we typically celebrate Christmas as a family that same weekend.

It seems that I didn't get any pictures of Thanksgiving Day, but I tried to get some pictures of the Christmas madness the next day. Basically kids were opening gifts all over the place and I kept snapping pictures. Here are some of the best ones.

My sister, Sherry, with her daughter, Abby

Justin helping Joel open a present while Jacob looks on

The most people I got in one picture starting on the left: Joel behind Grant, Grandpa holding Fiona, Kelly, Rorie and Rick

Aunt Sherry helping Jeremy

Grant and Abby

Joel and Jacob checking out one of the gifts for all 3 boys (Jacob may have insisted on wearing that hat the rest of the time opening presents once he opened it)

Jacob, Joel and Aunt Sherry

Rorie, Rick and Grant

Our "new" car

After I graduated from BYU in April of 1999, I bought myself a brand new 1999 Honda Civic.

I loved that little car and it went through a lot with me over the next 14 years.

I was rear-ended a couple times, I drove over one of those concrete barriers they sometimes put at the front of parking spaces (because I didn't realize it was there - maybe I shouldn't admit that).

I paid it off before starting graduate school in the fall of 2002.

Justin and I first discussed the possibility of getting married while riding in that car.

That car drove back and forth between Texas and Florida a few times and from Florida up to Missouri.

We drove that little car from Houston to Tampa after our honeymoon.

For a little while that little car was the only car we owned.

But we'd had a few problems with that little car over the past year or so and because it was a little small for a family of 5 we were starting to discuss replacing. Within weeks of us talking about getting a newer car, Justin's dad offered to sell us his Acura RL at quite the discount.

Not the exact same car but same year, make, model and color

At first we were torn because it was the same age as our Civic, but because it was in a lot better shape, we decided that we would go ahead and do. The day that Justin's dad and step-mom drove the car down to us, I took the Civic to CarMax to sell it to them.

As I drove I started thinking of all that had happened to me and to us while we had that car and it made me sad to sell it.

But once I got there and they had to jump start the car to take it back to appraise I started thinking instead of what a good idea we were selling the car. 

Then they offered me more than we thought we could get for the car and again I knew we were making the right choice.

And after the handed me the check and they couldn't even jump start the car to get it running I may have laughed the entire way home.