Thanksgiving and Stuff

We got to go to Idaho for Thanksgiving. I saw 6 of my 8 siblings - it was a great trip! I say this every time, but  it was my favorite Idaho trip yet. ;) We flew into Boise on Tuesday and got to Arco that evening. The whole no soy, milk, or egg thing was a real downer for the vacation, but I let myself cheat on Thanksgiving day :) Tuesday night it was Trisha, Mitzi, my mom and me, so it was fun to have a night with all the girls!

Wednesday we walked in the church in the morning and let all the littles run wild. I did makeovers on Trisha and Mitzi, and we worked on a quilt Mitzi brought. Keaton and Amanda came that night, and ran out of gas on the drive between Howe and Arco so Justin and I took a drive to rescue them. Chase and Rachel drove in very late that night as well. Everyone had pie pig out and watched Planes Trains and Automobiles - a Beal classic!

Thanksgiving morning we helped my mom get all the food ready and had our fabulous meal in the late-morning, Beal-style. The food was AMAZING!! Oh my goodness, it was a great cheat day. I had all the food my body could handle. We took time to shoot Chase's pistol up Rocky Canyon - it was a frigid 17 degrees! - and played a great game of Rage that night.

By Friday Mitzi and Trisha's family had gone home, leaving Chase, Keaton, and me. The men went chuker hunter in the mountains near my parent's house and the women decided to go to Idaho Falls for some Black Friday shopping! It was fun to spend the day with Rachel and Amanda. Keaton and Amanda headed back to Rexburg leaving Chase and Rachel with us. We played another game of Rage and watched Christmas with the Kranks. Saturday morning  Justin and I drove back to Boise taking Corbin with us - he decided to hang out with the uncles to go chukar hunting so we brought him home. We got to see Gabe and Christy and sweet baby Colin! He is such a chunk! He is 2 months younger than Emmett and he weighs more than Emmett does! I just loved holding him - I pray my next baby has rolls like little Colin. We got to see Hart and Jory very briefly but it was good to see them all the same.

This was amazing!!

Oh my cutie-pie!

Emmett did well traveling - the plane ride I used lavender on the two of us while descending and neither of us had any trouble.

While away, Emmett's skin cleared up which made the two of us sad. The solution seems really clear to find a new home for Jackson when Emmett is having such a reaction to him, but it's not easy when the stupid dog has had a year to imprint on us. He is an amazing dog and we want to keep him! I see an allergist this week so we'll see what we ultimately decide. We got a HEPA filter which has been working well, we just don't know if it's working well enough.

I have a friend who recommended me to a chiropractor who treats allergies. I know, it sounds voodoo crazy and that's because it is. I went to see him, and he said he needed to test me first. Wait a minute...I was there to test Emmett, not me! But he tests me and finds a yeast overgrowth! So he tells me no sugar - at all - on top of the other food restrictions. Not even fruit! I laughed at him and asked, "What am I going to eat?" "Meat and vegetables," he says. I see him again tomorrow and he'll test me again and hopefully he'll let me know when I can start eating sugar again. It has been a crazy almost-two-month ordeal over here.

In the meantime, Emmett is now four months old! He loves to hit his hands against his stomach/chest. He is a wiggly little guy - rarely wants to cuddle and just wants to be moving and grooving. He recognizes Justin's voice and if Justin is talking to me when  Emmett is nursing, he will stop to look around and find where Daddy is. He loves to giggle at us and LOVES it when I sing to him. He loves to be carried in his baby carrier. He likes to grab his toys and put them in his mouth. At his last check up he was 25.25" long and 14.5 lbs. He's a pretty cool little dude.