Thanksgiving Vacation

It has been ten whole days since I last posted...I am having withdrawals. :) Seriously, though- we left town for Thanksgiving. Am I the only one that needs a week before and a week after a vacation to get things in order? We had a good time in St. George. We got there Wednesday and my in-laws weren't there yet, so we decorated the house....not with Christmas decorations.

You see, in anticipation of the arrival of 25 extra people in the house, my MIL and FIL e-mailed us the rules of the house:

HOUSE RULES
1. Don’t climb up the garage stairs.
2. Don’t open any cupboards.
3. Put toys back after done playing with them
4. Don’t open the house refrigerator.
5. Don’t run and jump in the house
6. Don’t mess with stuff on the shelves
7. Hang towels up in garage after shower or bath
8. Don’t leave dirty clothes on the house floor
9. Don’t get into the tools or shelves in the garage
10. Don’t run up and down the out side rocks on the hills
11. Put water bottles back in the garage fridge
12. Leave the buttons and remotes for the t.v.s alone
13. Always ask permission before doing anything
14. Don’t mess with the fireplace
15. THE PIANO ROOM IS OFF LIMITS, unless you ask
16. Don’t go into antibody's bedroom but your own.
17. Don’t go into grandma greats area unless you ask her
18. NO cryin' NO fussin' NO NOTHIN'
19. Do play with the toys in the garage
20. Do play football at the park
21. Do play foosball
22. Do built a fort
23. Do go for a hike.
24. Do watch movies
25. Do watch football
26. Do eat all the turkey you can
27. Do eat all the goodies you can
28. Do have a lot of fun, and smother grandma with kisses

So my quick-witted, smart-alec BIL retorted with this:

I just have a few very important questions about the rules that I hope you can clear up for me before we head down there!

Questions 1-4 (kitchen facilities)
Rule #2 and #4 seem to imply that we are not to use the kitchen. Does this mean we are absolved of any responsibilities pertaining to food preparation and/ or clean-up? Also, will there be enough room in the garage fridge for milk and bottles? And again because of the inference of Rules #2 and #4 will there be a spigot and/or hose available outside for us to refill our family water bottles? Will there be a secondary microwave outside of the kitchen area for use?

Questions 5&6 (TV)
Rule # 12 states we cannot use the TV remotes or buttons. Will there be a designated channel changer person on hand to accomplish this since we are free to watch the television? Will there be a remote-less/ button-less television provided in the garage for the kids?

Questions 7-10 (outside play)
Rule #10 refers to rocks and hills. Will these specific sites be designated and clearly marked? I recommend the use of electric fences and/or collars to barricade the area. Rule #20 states we must play football at the park. I know since time began, the ”Jefferies Turkey Bowl” has been a family tradition…will we need bring our own equipment or will that be provided? Also, will Grandma and Aunt Juanita be cheering in their outfits this year? If so, I’ll be sure and score some touchdowns…nothing like making the gals do some push-ups! Will we be able to bring our designated family water bottles to the park or are those to remain on the family premises…rule #11? Go “Jefferies Turkey Bowl 2007!!”

Questions 11-14(garage)
Will the tools be placed out of reach of the children…rule#9? Rule #1, Will the shelves and stairs in the garage be blocked? (Refer to questions 6-9 for effective barricading ideas.) Since our suitcases will be in the garage, will we be required to change there as well? Does the following: coloring books, teddy bears, puzzles or games… qualify as toys and are they allowed inside the house? Will there be a list available of approved in-house items?

Question 15-17(grandma’s area)
About rule# 17-Will their be a pager, cowbell, dinger, secret knock, COM link, or other communication device provided to contact grandma before accessing her area? Will there be appropriate signage describing the boundary and extent of her area? As a suggestion, a GPS unit on grandma would be very helpful so that we know where she is at all times.

Question 18 (piano room)
Rule # 15…I’m confused…so we can access the piano room whenever we want?

Questions 19&20
Rule # 13 states we must ask permission before doing anything. Does this apply to everyday mundane tasks like stool passing, urination, breathing, and the like. Is there an appeals process in place if our request is denied?

Thanks for your time in answering these questions. I want to make sure our family does our part in making this the best thanksgiving and Jefferies Turkey Bowl ever!

Needless to say, we had to capitalize on this. So when my in-laws arrived, the house was plastered with signs- everything from "NO TRESPASSING. VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT. SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN." (attached to string- roping off the piano room.) to
"REFILL WATER BOTTLES HERE" (pointing to the hose outside) to "OFF LIMITS" (on the cupboards) to "DID YOU ASK? PLEASE INDICATE YOUR INTENT." (on the toilet). A "DO NOT CROSS" line was placed in the garage to restrict children with toys from straying out of the play-zone. It was all in good fun, and we all got a good laugh from it. The kids were actually pretty good about following the rules. Especially considering the volume and ages of the kids: 12,11,9,8,7,7,5,5,5,5,4,4,4,3,2,1,1....that's 17 kids under 12. 14 of them under 8...no wonder my in-laws were nervous!


Wednesday night, we had a birthday party for my nephew and then played some Guitar Hero and American Idol on a borrowed Playstation. Good times. :)

Thursday, the food was great and so was the company. My SIL got some thoughts together from each of us about my husband's grandma and read them as a tribute to her. It was really touching. She is the only grandma I have ever really known. I never really knew either of my own grandmas. Randy arranged a game of dogdeball- using flour-filled pantyhose. Other than the crying kids, it was great fun!

Thursday at midnight, my SIL, Traci and I hit the outlets for some Black Friday shopping (sorry, Jen) We had a great time- returning at 4 AM to find we were locked out of the house! We felt like teenagers trying to get into the house. Finally, my BIL heard us and opened the door. We stayed up a little longer thinking it was best at this point (5:00 AM) to not even go to sleep. But finally, we gave up and fell asleep around 6 or so. 7:30 came all too soon. It was time to get up and go to the temple. My BIL took out his endowments. Let me say- I do not recommend doing a session on 1 1/2 hours of sleep! It was nice to be there as a family. We hadn't done that in many years. Come to find out later- it was Hailey, the good daughter that she is, that locked the front door.

Saturday was the big kickball game and picnic at the park. Everyone played- except one SIL who was home with a sick kids. Did I mention that a little stomach bug went around? Oh , yes. Luckily only three kids got sick there. Four others got sick after they got home. So, back to kickball....it was a riot! Randy and his sister got quite competitive. And Randy is just plain good. He can peg a moving target like you wouldn't believe...and HARD. He just about took her out a few times! Even the kids had a good time. The rule is- you can't get a child out under the age of 8. The older kids were really cute. They would run after them, but intentionally not tag them. So it was fun to watch the little ones kick the ball and run with all their might. And the look on their face when they made it safely to base, was priceless.

That afternoon, my MIL and I did a little shopping at a boutique while Randy and his dad took the kids to a lake.

Sunday morning, we packed up and headed for home. The drive was nice. There was a lot of traffic, but it has been worse. Luckily the weather was good. For some strange reason, though, I had the hardest time staying awake...:)

So here I am...Wednesday night, just getting back to my routine- if you can call it that.