Thanksgiving 2011

On November 16th, we drove up to Utah for a 4 day vacation/ Early Thanksgiving celebration.  On Thursday were able to spend almost the entire day with my side of the family.  We hung out at Jen's house, did a little bit of shopping, and went to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama with almost everyone.  I wish I would have taken pictures at the dinner.  We were crazy and put the kids at their own table.  Not a great idea when your group is one of 19 people!  But it was still fun. 

On Friday my sister Jennifer went out of her way to get us reserved tickets to the brand new Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.  It was opening day.  We had the privilege of going into the back rooms, and even the labs, which closed to the public for good the following day.  It was so amazing and the kids had a great time.  

I thought this was the most fascinating part of the exhibit.  SHOES.  These shoes are believed to be over 1500 years old.  Amazing!

Luke forever wants to be the "baby" of the family.

 I couldn't believe their gem and mineral collection.  It was unreal.

 More shoes believed to be from the year 1200 AD

 And the kids loved this ant hill.  Mia was pointing out the ant catacomb, the tunnel where all the dead ants were.

 Jennifer's son Xavier went with us to the observatory, while she took Luke down to the kids zone.

 Friday night we went over to Scott's house and believe it or not, it snowed like crazy.  The kids were in heaven.  Enough to cover the grass, but not too much.  And warm enough to play in it the next day.  And so we did.

 Ella was so confused by this cold substance.

 All day Saturday was spent enjoying Drew's side of the family.  We were lucky enough to have an delicious dinner prepared by Esther.  Uncle Richard and Aunt Nedra joined us for dinner.  We love them so much.  Here's the photo I took with Meleena in the picture.

 Then she and I switched places.

 The little boys were excited to have their own table.

 And the older boys and Mia sat together.

 After dinner we went for a walk, and then the kids did a scavenger hunt made by Harris.  The treasure at the end...Gingerbread House Kit.

 And Luke's favorite part of the whole trip was sliding down the stairs.  Boys are crazy wild!  I have no idea how Esther handles 5 of them.

We headed back home on Sunday the 20th.  It was a wonderful trip and we were so happy to see our family during the holidays.  

Thanksgiving at our house: 

Drew had to work the entire day.  So I got up early and prepared the dinner.  It turned out pretty good.  Nothing too fancy, but it tasted great.  

After we ate we went over to the hospital to give Drew his dinner.  We were only able to visit with him for about 15 minutes but it was fun.  Then we came home and put up our Christmas decorations.  How did I have the energy, you may ask?  A huge Diet Coke from the gas station fueled my afternoon.

Oh, and one last photo.  A few days later Drew decided he was tired of dealing with his hair for a while, so he surprised us with this style before he completely shaved his head bald.  Menacing?  I think not.  It must be the curls in the mohawk.