No pictures on file but an Amazing Hubby!

We went up to Danville this week. I took over 40 pictures this weekend, but they vanished into thin air! Yesterday afternoon I took pictures of a cookie bake, then a couple pictures of Dawn and her daddy. Today when I opened up the camera to download the pictures all of them were gone! This made me very sad! My amazing husband noticed how upset I was about losing my pictures. He was able to figure out how to recover deleted pictures from my SD card. Isn't that super cool and super sweet!

Since I have pictures back I can now put up a blog worth writing.

Tuesday evening Mark and I drove up to Danville for the Thanksgiving week break. Brady & Karissa had joined us by Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon the Clarks joined us and some of us took a walk in the woods. I really like the pictures of Ashlyne walking in the woods with her bright jacket, Tyler walking in his green jacket, and Ashlyne & Cameron by the river.

Thursday morning Brady, Michael, and Mark went to the ward Turkey Bowl. Paulette and I went to support our boys. I must say Paulette is quite the cheerleader! Their team lost, but they I think they had fun reliving their old football stardom.

Thanksgiving dinner was great! I have never had corn pudding, green bean casserole, or chocolate meringue pie, but they are all staples at the Smallwood/Dean/Elzey Thanksgiving table. I liked all three, especially the corn pudding. Jenny made some adorable turkey cupcakes. I am for sure going to have to make some of these myself next year. I did miss Grandma Jennings' Cream pie, the fancy table setting, and being surrounded by the people I grew up with, but at least I could be surrounded by my new family.

Friday night Mark made a bonfire in the field by Susan & David's house. The Clark kids had never had 'smores before. It was really fun to see the reactions from the kids as they got to roast marshmallows and make the fun treat for the first time. Mark Elzey and his two children joined us for the bonfire too.

Saturday the girls got together to trade cookie recipes. It was awesome, and I am so glad Susan had that idea! Susan made pinwheel cookies and chocolate bark candy. Jenny made Chocolate Cherry cookies. Karissa made Toffee Chocolate Oatmeal cookies. I shared my Grandma Jennings' Freezer Oatmeal cookies. I think Dawn ate 3 or 4 of my cookies and kept saying "Jill...Love 'em". As the sisters made cookies, little Tyler decided he wanted to help too. He was really cute as he reached in for a handful of flour and then would clean up his hands and floor with a towel after he dropped the flour.

Saturday night Gene and Debbie came to Danville. Dawn had been talking about her Daddy all day, so Gene stopped by the house to see her. She was just full of smiles. I think that helped make her weekend wonderful. After the visit with Dawn, the rest of the kids, Daddy, & Debbie all went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Danville.

Saturday night after the kids went to bed the adults played the game Last Word. I have never seen the game before, but it was really fun and is going to be added to my wish list.

All week Tyler was entertained by Gizmo. Gizmo has a stuffed monkey that he plays with, and at least once a day Tyler would pick up the monkey to help Gizmo play with it. Gizmo was so good! At one point Tyler was pulling his tail and Gizmo just stood there and looked at me until I realized what was happening and rescued him. Tyler is still learning not to hit and how to be gentle, but Gizmo did a great job being patient with all the people and especially all the children running around.

It was such a great weekend and I am sad to see it end! It gave me a chance to enjoy Mark, his family, and just life in general for almost a whole week with no interruptions.