Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts

12.11.2013

Thanksgiving Weekend, part 2


Go here for Thanksgiving Weekend part 1.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later Saturday morning, we planned to go to Helen Hunt Falls, walk around the lake at the Broadmoor, and go to Garden of the Gods that day. We also had my two nieces for the day, so now we were up to eleven people. Two vehicles were definitely in order. Sadly, we couldn't get to Helen Hunt Falls because Cheyenne Canyon was closed due to the flooding this summer. Huge disappointment. Up the street is the Starr Kempf house so we checked out his kinetic wind sculptures. They're so amazing.

large bird

short bird

We went the few blocks down to the Broadmoor and met with quite the variety of construction, but finally made our way around to the lake. It was stunning, as ever. We walked around, taking more pictures, but it was a little awkward, given the, um, class of people who stay and live at the Broadmoor.

hotel reflection

mrs water

lake bokeh

c and c kids lake

Then it was off to Garden of the Gods (for yet another vantage point!) after a quick stop at Sonic for hungry and thirsty people. Apparently, beings that it was a beautiful day and a holiday weekend, a LOT of people thought a trip to Garden of the Gods was a good idea. Meaning that parking was a little challenging and we had a bit of a crowd with which to contend as we walked around the park. But again, it was nice to be out and about, walking, taking pictures, and just generally enjoying the day.

I think this is so awesome!
plaque

The Garden of the Gods
given to
the City of Colorado Springs
in 1909
by the children
of
Charles Elliott Perkins
in fulfillment of his wish
that it be kept forever
free to the public


Many thanks to the Perkins family!


That's my kid - yeah, he's taller than I am, but he's still my kid. {wink}
z - bw-sm

Awww...sisterly love!
sisters

Always the climbers in Garden of the Gods.
rock climber

Quick! Run past the lady with the camera already. Sheesh.
passing me

One of my lovely nieces.
mrs fence sm

The oldest and the youngest of the collective offspring.
c and x

Somebody was getting tired.
x tired

The volleyballer. Out of her element.
b

Did I mention that someone was tired?
x tired 3

Like...really tired.
x tired 2

But not too tired to race John back to the car!
race

We decided on China Village for dinner for their last night. They got their things packed up and we just vegged a bit for the remainder of the evening. In the morning, as the car was being loaded, Carrie and I squeezed in a quick head shot for me, and then they were off a little before 8:00.

She did a great job with my head shot, don't ya' think?

IMG_1445-8-1

As opposed to the last two times she's come, this one didn't feel quite so short. Sure, I'd love to have had them stay for another day or two, but the time we had was fun and wonderful and not so rushed. We loved meeting Chris (they were married last December) and enjoyed the kids. I guess it's about time we make a trip to Kansas, though, since the count is currently Godwins visiting = 0 and Hilgert/Evans visiting = 3. We'll have to see what we can do to make it so.

11.30.2012

Thanksgiving Day

We had such a nice Thanksgiving day this year. Not that there was anything outstanding or spectacular, but it was just a good day. Splitting the meal preparation amongst Mom, my sister, and me is nice because no one person has to do everything. Although I think Mom gets the bulk of the work, being the pie queen and all.

Side note: every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas, Schwan's and Village Inn try like crazy to convince us to buy holiday pies. What they don't understand is that the best pie baker on the planet just happens to be my very own mother. So there's just no need for their pie sales and such. Not that their pies are bad or anything, but they'll never compare to Mom's. Ever. Sorry, fellas, you'll get no pie sales in my family!

I almost always buy the turkey. The biggest one I can find since everyone wants plenty of leftovers. And that's where my dear hubby is awesome. He knows how squeamish I am about raw meat and turkey innards, so he's happy to take the bird out of its package, pull out all that stuff, clean it up, and pop it in the roaster. And then I take it from there. I can handle brushing it with buttery olive oil and sprinkling it with Pampered Chef's yummy Rosemary Herb seasoning. I'm also very capable of putting it in the oven and checking its temperature later in the day.

tgiving-09


This turned out to be an exceptionally amazingly good turkey this year. Very moist and very delicious!

The guys were engaged in some auto repairs that were a little more challenging than they should have been.

tgiving-14


Something about a very stuck ball joint, I believe.

tgiving-13


With the unseasonally warm temperatures, Zach got in a little leaf blowing.

tgiving-06


When Mom & Dad showed up, Mom had a very nice gift for both Susan and me.

tgiving-12


Mine is the one on the right. Mom made these on her rigid heddle loom. I think she did a fantastic job!

tgiving-11


Mom usually makes the gravy. She's very good at that, too. Unfortunately, she didn't have a good method for keeping the entire spoon out of the pan, though.

tgiving-25


A rousing game of Pente is always a good way to keep out of the way of the cooking.

tgiving-01


Or maybe a little DS. In pink, thankyouverymuch.

tgiving-02


After all that hard work in the garage, they got to relax with a good movie.

tgiving-22


I always write at the top of our white board "I am thankful for..." and let everyone add their thoughts to the board. My niece decided to make her own version. She's so creative.

tgiving-20


And we've come full circle. John gets to carve the turkey when it's done. He loves the turkey. If I left him to do this job unattended, he'd be pretty full before it ever made it to the table. Fortunately, it was a 24 pound turkey, so there was enough for him to snack on, eat at dinner, and still have leftovers for everyone.

tgiving-19


Photographic evidence that I was there. Sans makeup and all, but there, nonetheless.

tgiving-08


After dinner, we played a game of Loaded Questions, ate pie, and then played Taboo. It was a really wonderful day. What about you? How was your Thanksgiving?


11.27.2008

Gratitude

I found this terrific idea over at We are THAT Family who found it at Domestic Accident. And I like it. So I'm going to copy it, too.

Right here and now, in mostly no particular order, I am thankful for:
  1. Jesus

  2. My hubby & best friend

  3. ClayGuy & the Comedian

  4. Our new home

  5. Extended family who we love and enjoy hanging out with

  6. Our chubby kitty

  7. Starbuck's Iced Venti Chai

  8. Canon Digital Rebel

  9. My craft room

  10. Being a stay-at-home mom

  11. Cozi

  12. My girlfriends

  13. Heated leather seats

  14. Playing cards with my family

  15. Bloggy & Twitter friends

  16. Macro photography

  17. Healthy family

  18. Our awesome living room rug

  19. Cordless phones

  20. DVDs in the mail

  21. Being silly with my mom and/or sister

  22. Front screen door

  23. Low gas prices

  24. Morning sunlight

  25. My Bible

  26. Indoor plumbing

  27. Lavender oil

  28. Bathrobe and slippers

  29. Laughing so hard my stomach hurts

  30. My laptop

  31. Playing Scrabble

  32. Our church

  33. Fine point pens

  34. Sony DSC-N2 digital point & shoot

  35. Autumn leaves

  36. Homemade bread

  37. Trader Joe's Dark chocolate raspberry sticks

  38. Rocky Mountains

  39. Contact lenses

  40. The library

  41. Woodwick Redwood candles

  42. The internet

  43. Electric blanket

  44. Photoshop CS3

  45. Paperback Swap

  46. Digital scrapbook supplies

  47. Fuzzy mittens

  48. LG Dare touchscreen phone

  49. Curly hair

  50. Blues music



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