Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister Sarah's house in Utah. I drove down with Annalee a few days before, (ostensibly to help cook, but Sarah ended up doing most of it) and we had a great time. Then Thursday morning Nathan and Steven drove down in one car and my parents and Grammy drove down in another.

We all had a merry meal (which we were too busy eating to take a picture of). We had fresh cranberries, cooked in a way so truly delicious that I have decided they are a different species than canned cranberries. We have this joke every year: Dad likes cranberries, so we buy a can of them and serve them in a dish, still in the cylindrical ribbed shape of the can from whence they came. At the end of the meal it looks exactly the same, except for the one spoonful my dad has carved from the Jello-like mold. It goes in a container in the fridge, and there it sits until sufficient time has passed that we are allowed to throw them away. However, Sarah discovered that cranberries are actually supposed to taste good, and prepared them accordingly. (YUM!)

After dinner, Mom and Grammy cleaned up while the rest of us went to an amazing park to play. I had read about this park in a parenting magazine before Sarah ever took me there. The idea for it came from this lady who wanted a playground that was handicap accessible. She set about raising the money, bit by bit, and the community joined in to help. People "bought" slats of the picket fence that surrounds it for $40 and got to have their names put on the slats. Some people wondered why anyone would want to build such a massive, expensive playground just for handicapped kids, but as the lady said, "When you build a playground for handicapped children, you build it for all children." And I have to add, for adults too. There are ramps and all kinds of fun obstacles.

Annalee really liked the swings.

Especially the "big girl" swings. She has always been on the baby swing before, but this time she wanted to show us that she could do the big swings without help.

Sarah and Steven had a contest on this balance beam (in which lightweight Sarah didn't stand a chance) and then Nathan and Steven decided to have a manly match. Who would win?



I really love this next video, even though nothing particularly exciting happens in it. I took it when I was standing on top of one of the structures. I was just basking in the moment of all of our family being together and enjoying each other. I couldn't believe that Steven and even Dad were all joining in on the fun.

You see Nathan pushing Annalee on the swings, Paisley (to the left of them) climbing into a handicapped swing (or nice adult swing, depending on how you look at it), Steven talking to Bob and Sarah and Calvin, Bob going to push Paisley, Dad heading over to the swings as well, and Calvin leading Sarah on another Follow-the-leader game (he wore out Sarah, Steven, and I at separate times, leading us up ramps and down slides and through tunnels, etc.) I just love the feelings of that day!

Everyone drove home that night, except me. Nathan took Annalee home so that Sarah and I could do Black Friday with no interruptions. We had a few doorbusters that we really wanted, so I stayed up playing online games and checking Walmart's site every half-hour to watch for their deals to go live. I figured I had a better chance of beating someone to a click than I did racing through a crowded store. I thought the sale might start at midnight, but with four time zones to choose from I still didn't have a clue as to when. I was wrong on all accounts, because the sale started at 3:40 a.m., and I got the item we so desired! (Which I cannot divulge here.) Then I went to sleep for an hour and a half, and then got up to go do the real shopping with Sarah. We hit 5 or 6 stores before I was ready to pass out, and then we went home so I could sleep. While I was napping, Sarah drove to Brigham City to pick up my keys so I could drive home.

See, when Nathan left I handed him the diaper bag, but I didn't think to take my wallet or keys out first. I couldn't just take the Salt Lake Express shuttle home, because I had given a ride to two BYUI students and needed to take them back! Turns out that Salt Lake Express will deliver a package on their bus for only $15--what a great deal! It sure saved us from Nathan having to drive an extra 6 hours that day. After my nap I picked up the college kids and returned home. I love traveling with students when it's just me and Annalee. Get this: they pay for most or all of my gas (depending on how many kids I take) AND they keep Annalee entertained, fed, and happy! They PAY me to babysit--how cool is that? Of course, she wasn't there for the return ride, so I just imparted my ancient wisdom to the young engaged girl and the newly returned missionary guy that was trying to figure out how to ask out girls. (Ancient . . . I can't believe I'm turning 30 next month!)

A happy and profitable weekend.