We sleep around ...

his Thanksgiving, I discovered a few family traditions that aren't necessarily considered traditions ... they just end up happening EVERY year.

I'll explain the title first, so you don't get the wrong idea. We all go to my grandparents' house in Cedar Hills, Utah for Thanksgiving. There are two families that stay overnight. Grandma and Grandpa have a huge house, but not all rooms are valued the same. The most coveted room is the middle room. It's basically empty with a big, California King-sized bed. HEAVEN. The secondmost sought-after room is the "purple room" that's actually more pink than purple. I think its original decor (lots of antique dress-ups and dolls and photos) were displayed in my Aunt Vicki's old bedroom in their house in Orem. Vicki's room had purple lilac wallpaper. Even though the new room only has a hint of purple, we still call it the purple room. It contains a queen size bed with a killer footboard (makes it really hard for my 6-foot frame to hang off the end). The last room goes to the person(s) at the bottom of the totem pole. The "Sunflower room" has been redecorated, and the only sunflowers can now be found on the sheets of the twin-sized day bed and its trundle. The room also houses all of Grandma's sewing supplies and the extra furniture when the family room has to be cleaned out to make room for people and tables. So, here went the sleeping arrangments of the week: Wednesday night, Lori, Rod and Addison got the King bed. My mom got the purple room, and Alex and Amanda (who stayed over to help Grandma with preparations) got the sunflower room. Thursday night, Alex and Amanda went home, I got the sunflower room, Dad joined mom in the purple room, and Lori, Rod and Addison stayed in the king. Friday, Lori, Rod and Addie went home. SO, We all moved up! Mom and Dad moved to the King and I got the purple room, leaving Amanda's socks alone in the Sunflower room. We pretty much all fart in each others' sheets and argue over the beds. After Thanksgiving naps are free game. If somebody's already in your spot, you gotta find another.

Other traditions:

Danielle makes a turkey. She's grown up and gotten all culinary and has provided us with the bird for several years now.

Dessert. There are always LOTS of pies. I don't like them. When the pies come out, Grandma and I run for the cookie dough.

Movie. The day after Thanksgiving, we all go to a movie as a family. I HATE that this tradition has adapted. It used to be that all 15 or more of us would take up a row or two in one theater. Not anymore. All of my relatives have developed a rebellion against each others' tastes. This year, we were split up into three different theaters. I didn't even see 3 of my cousins that day. So much for keeping this a family tradition! At least I didn't have to see Twilight. Blind Side is an AWESOME movie, by the way.

(I cheated. This picture's from last year's movie. But still, it's hilarious, so worthy of posting.)

Football: Rise and Shout! I accidentally wore red on Saturday. Had the Utes won, I would have been kicked out of the house. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa are kind and the Cougs won! (they wouldn't have been so kind had they lost)

Shopping. There's always some of it. C'mon. It's Thanksgiving!!

Oh, and my 3 boy cousins (I have 4 boy cousins, but Steven is on his mission in Arizona) always threaten to tackle me. If Steve were there, he'd be in on it, and he'd get the job done. Last year, Makay broke my camera in the process. This year, it was a lot of empty threats. Being the oldest of 11 cousins, I've gotta get used to the idea that a lot of them are now bigger than me.

NOT A TRADITION:
This year, I was SICK! I think somebody put a parasite in my stuffing. Seriously, as soon as I was done eating the main meal, I was DONE. I'll spare you the details. 3 days later, I'm eating some rice chex and hoping that I've met a full recovery. Somehow, I was the only one who got sick. What's that about? Yeah, we're not doing that again. I missed the leftovers, and frankly, never want turkey again.

Oh, and because of the last bit, I didn't get to participate in my FAVORITE tradition: 4-wheeling with the uncles. I always seem to be the only girl. They had to go without me.

Cousin love.