Thanksgiving Weekend: Three Great Days Ain't Bad

Considering the weekend was only four days, I think three great ones is some good odds.

Thanksgiving: It didn't start out great. Our neighbors' dogs were left out all night and their barking woke me at 4:30 a.m. When the boys woke at six, I kicked them out of their bed and I got an extra hour of sleep in their bottom bunk. (Their room is on the opposite side of the house from the offending dogs.) After a long run and a full can of fully-caffeinated diet soda (!), I was ready. We cooked some and relaxed until we realized time was short and then we cooked a lot and didn't relax. We ate dinner with friends at 4, and it was lovely. Dinner was even outside under heat lamps. It's so nice having big kids that I can ignore during dinner. Hmm...maybe that's not the point of Thanksgiving. But it certainly was when I was young, so maybe that's okay. Sadly I got no pictures of dinner. But this kindergartner, oh I love him.


The Day After Thanksgiving: Wanting to avoid all things Black Friday, we bargained with the boys for a hike. This probably worked because we didn't tell them the hike was four miles long. But they crushed it! It helped that the hike was really rocky and these boys love rocks. Weather was chilly but perfect. I may have overdressed.


Kids and climbing.


We even saw this Park Police helicopter come right up the river. So cool! Ollie loved that the pilot waved right at him.




We didn't plan that great (no snacks other than three crunchy granola bars for each boy and nothing for the adults. ha), so when we were done hiking, we were all famished. And where does one go when famished? Taco Bell! Well, maybe not, but we did. We all enjoyed our lunch and then got the Christmas tree. The kids have been begging for Christmas decorations since Halloween, but I only allow it after Thanksgiving. And once the tree was done, we watched "Elf." It was really a great day.


The Day After the Day After Thanksgiving: We will not speak of this day.

The Day After the Day After the Day After Thanksgiving: After church (wherein I was released from teaching Gospel Doctrine!), we got lunch and then headed downtown to see the Botanical Gardens trains display. The theme this year was National Parks and it was pretty awesome. This is the Grand Canyon and I love how they handled the rock strata.


Mount Rushmore


Kennecott and Denali, which you can't see. I have been to both of these places, so that's fun. I will say I was disappointed by the absence of Utah's parks. I mean, Utah has more national parks that any other states except for Alaska and California. They had one for Arches, but it was kind of lame. I mean, no Angel's Landing? No Bryce Canyon? Oh well.


And then, because Chuck wanted left over turkey, that evening we did a mini-Thanksgiving for dinner. It was easy because rolls had already been made, frozen, and thawed. Sweet potatoes were reheated from Thursday. Mashed potatoes were made as was the turkey, but it was pretty easy. And delicious. I think my apple pie this year was the best it's ever been. And yes, that is china we're eating on. We're fancy like that.


It was a pretty good weekend (Saturday excepting) and we all have much to be thankful for! Tomorrow is December! AHHHHHH!

P.S. Oh, and Monday's FHE fun activity was pretty great too: making popcorn and cranberry garland for the tree. Well, it was fun when the boys weren't driving us crazy.

P.P.S. My parents are now back on the American continent! Only two time zones away! So excited for them (but mostly me)!