My youngest nephew, Cohen, also celebrated a birthday in November. He turned 1 and I couldn't be happier to have him in my life! Cohen is the sweetest little boy and is always so happy! We celebrated at my sister and brother-in-law's house with ice-cream cake and presents. What a little cutie! I'm so thankful for my family I have here in Utah-the Brown's! My sister Autumn also celebrated her birthday (omg, how did is she 18 already?!!!) and my Dad as well.
Perhaps the most exciting part of November was surprising my family for Thanksgiving break! My Mom and I arranged the entire surprise trip a few months in advance and the anticipation grew as Thanksgiving drew closer and closer. This would be my first Thanksgiving home since I was 17 years old! By the week of my trip my Dad and sister Kassidy knew, but the rest of my family was clueless. Since we hadn't seen each other since March, my level of homesickness was through the roof!
My flight took off at 5:00 am so I left my house around 3:00-I am crazy, I know. I really couldn't sleep anyway and a special someone left some candy and a caffeinated beverage on my doorstep to help with the drive. Between the treats and my abnormal amounts of adrenaline I was thrilled to be traveling. It always feels so nice to travel by myself. Although I like traveling with others, flying solo makes me feel like a confident and independent woman :)
I flew into the Kansas City airport and my sister Kassidy, who attends KU, picked me up. We made the 3.5 hour drive together jamming out to old tunes, laughing, and reminiscing about fun times. Because of the large size of our family, one on one time with us older sisters doesn't always happen as much as we'd always like, so I cherished this bonding time with my Kassidy. She is so amazing! I love that she listens to music from when I was a preteen and can jam out and flip her hair back and forth, lol. I'm pretty sure other drivers thought we were crazy but I love that we can both relate to the excitement of an amazing song or getting the best parking spot ;) you know what I'm talking about Kassidy, lol. So what should have been a boring 3.5 hour drive turned into the most entertaining 2.5 hour drive I've ever had! As we pulled into my parents subdivision, my heart started to beat so fast! It's possible I shrieked, maybe screamed, and even got a little teary eyed. My parents live in a very wooded and hilly neighborhood, so imagine you are surrounded by trees so tall that you can barely see anything but the black, paved road in front of you. Then as you go down the hill your eyes are met by their tall home, that stands out like a skyscraper. It's majestic and beautiful, but most beautiful is what it represents to me-love, belonging, and warmth.
The only people home were our youngest siblings, Alexis and Jacob, as well as our Mom. Alexis had just fallen asleep for a nap when we walked in, but we were so excited to see our Mom that we walked in the bedroom and tiptoed quietly to hug her. This next part was one of the best surprises of my trip...my loud boots hit the edge of Alexis' bed and woke her from her nap. Alexis being the most sassy and expressive of my sisters looked up from her pillow and let out the most annoyed gasp of her life. Just as she was yelling "I'm trying to take a nap!!!!" She saw me and flung her body up, off her bed so fast and jumped on me, wrapping her cute little arms and legs as she yelled out, "Calissa!" :D She was instantly happy and excited, making me feel like the best big sister in the world! As my sisters came home from school at various times, Kassidy and I hid around the house, surprising each of them and having fun seeing the excitement in their faces.
Once the excitement wore off, Autumn and I worked out together at the Recplex in town. I was a little apprehensive about working out daily when I visited and completely binging on food because my Mom cooks SO good! I was happy that Autumn was willing and able to workout and showed me around her gym, where she has lost over 20+ pounds the healthy way! I am SO proud of her motivation, strength, and hard work! At the recplex we lifted some weights and then ventured over towards the indoor track. Most of my younger sisters aren't runners so Autumn was a little reluctant to run but we did anyway. It was so fun to bond with her on that fitness level and to see her break through the mental barriers of running. Once we ran a mile we were both high on endorphins and I was SO proud of her! I'm so thankful that we could share that memory together...oh and that we could check out all those hotties on the basketball court below us ;)
The next day, my Mom and all my siblings and I went to a Christmas show together on the strip. As we were getting ready for the show, I asked my Mom if she'd braid my hair because I couldn't do a side braid by myself. As a child, whenever we went to church or somewhere special, our Mom would always do our hair. It may sound silly but it brought back so many memories of my Mom taking care of me. I'd have to kneel on my knees as I got older while she did my hair, because I was too tall to stand anymore. As I stood on my knees while she braided my hair, a waive of memories and love flooded over me. I'm so thankful for my mother who always gives so much time to me and my siblings to make us feel loved and beautiful!
Although it was before Thanksgiving and we were seeing a Christmas show, it was perfect! We Mahoney's love Christmas and it gave us a chance to relax and get excited for the upcoming season. The show was great and Alexis made us laugh more than once. She had recently seen Catching Fire and as the performers were ending and the audience clapping, she incorporated a classic Hunger Games move-she put three fingers to her mouth and then held them up in the air, just like Katniss Everdeen. It was rather funny to see a kindergartner bust that move out, unprovoked by anyone haha.
We also went to Gardner Village which has cute little shops and the store, Kris Kringle, where Autumn worked. The store is filled with Christmas décor and amazing ornaments. On that particular day a woodcarver from Bethlehem was signing pieces/ornaments he had carved from the same wood in that is in Gethsemane! I came across a tiny ornament, a silhouette of the nativity of Jesus, and had it signed by the artist himself after I bought it. It is SO beautiful and SO special to me!
Later that night Makayla and I attempted to work out while Autumn picked up groceries at the store for our Mom. When we pulled into the recplex parking lot we saw it was closed and were SO bummed! I had to workout and we had all this cooped up energy so I thought, "why don't we run around town and meet Autumn at Target?" haha. So guess what???? We ran in the 28 degree weather in just our running capris and jackets. Call us crazy for running in the freezing cold uphill on the treacherous Ozark hills, but it was a complete blast! We kept saying, "yeah we are nuts, it's so cold" or "this is so intense, I love it!" After running almost a mile in a half uphill we made it into Target on endorphin highs. I love that Makayla and I could share this special memory together. She truly is the other half to my jokester/silly heart and is always up for anything I suggest :)
The next day was Thanksgiving and oh what a feast we had! I slept in and got ready and a few hours later my Mom had put together the MOST delicious feast you could ever dream of! I'm not kidding people, my mom makes everything from scratch. My parents always get smoked turkey and smoked ham from the most amazing farmer in Arkansas and it makes me salivate, just thinking about the smoke and juiciness of it. Mmmm hmmm! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving feast:
I must say, although I splurged a little on my clean eating, I didn't overeat, which was a big accomplishment, lol. After dinner I took Lauren and Samuel to find their first geocache which they enjoyed so much. They followed the clues and little compass on my app to find the hidden cache. When they found the first one they were thrilled and wanted to find more and more!
I found that Geocaches in Branson are spread out far and usually require hiking in or up somewhere. This was an great opportunity to spend time together and enjoy nature. That night was our parents wedding anniversary so they went away for the night and the next day Lauren, Samuel, Alexis and I set out to find 10 geocaches. They were pretty determined and I didn't want to let them down so we found a seven around town and then took a few hikes to find three more. The hike led us to paths that overlooked the Branson hills and valleys which were so beautiful! Samuel had a natural eye and competitive nature to find the geocaches first, which was pretty cute. On the way back from one of our finds, we were just besides Inspiration Tower, so we climbed to the top (which had me feeling a little dizzy :/) and looked out over the hills. It was SO beautiful! I thought little Alexis would be fearful but she was surprisingly calm and mature. I love how she always surprises me-one minute she is the biggest sass and the next she is growing up so fast! The day we spent hiking and exploring together was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so fun to spend some quality time with Lauren, Samuel, and Alexis. I love them sooo much!! Here are some photos of our hikes that day:
After a fun day of hiking and enjoy nature, that night Autumn, Olivia, Makayla, and Lauren and I went out. We got dinner at our favorite Chinese place in town and then went to the movies to watch Catching Fire together. It was great to spend time with my sisters and I enjoy our tradition of dinner and a movie with the older ones in the family. I am so lucky to have so many sisters!
I love all of my siblings so much and am so grateful I got to visit them for Thanksgiving break. It truly made my month amazing and brought so much pure joy into my life. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well! I'm sorry these posts are so delayed, but hopefully I can get caught up soon. Thanks for reading and have a great month!
Love,
Calissa
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