A Week of Thanks!

I am finally posting again.  It has been long overdue.  Talia and Tucker had a week off at Thanksgiving it was so wonderful to have a break from school.  The highlights of week included spending an afternoon with our dear friends, the Cheslers from Portland, going to Wild Animal Park and spending Thanksgiving with our good friends, the Holmes.  Unfortunately I only have pictures from Wild Animal Park and seeing the Cheslers.  I was a slacker on Thanksgiving and didn't take any pictures.

We went to Huntington Beach to meet the Cheslers.  We went to the beach for a couple of hours and the kids had a wonderful time.  The weather was beautiful and Tucker even got in the water.  He is crazy!  After the beach we went to Red Robin for dinner and then the kids and dads went go-kart racing.  First the kids went and then the dads.  The moms didn't want pay the extra money to go.  It was fun to watch them race and everyone had a great time.  The afternoon and evening we spent together went way too fast but it was so good to see them always.  I am so glad that my friend's parents live in Huntington Beach so that they come down to southern California and we get to see them.

Talia, Tucker and I have San Diego Zoo Passes which means we also have passes to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido.  We had been to the zoo but never to the Animal Park.  It is about the half distance the zoo is so the drive was much nicer.  The Wild Animal Park was also not crowded.  We had a great day looking at all the animals.  We went on a little safari ride and it was almost you were in Africa seeing the animals out in the wild.  Talia was able to see her favorite animal the Giraffes.  The highlights of the day were the elephants.  There were 17 of them and several baby elephants one of who was only about 2 months old.  Very cute until he started to fight eating poop.  Another highlight was the baby gorilla.  I don't think I have a baby gorilla at a zoo.  It was pretty cool and he was pretty cute.  It was a very fun day and we hope to go back again before our passes expire.

We were able to spend Thanksgiving day with our close friends the Holmes.  They are in our ward and live a few blocks away.  They hosted since they had some family in town.  We missed our family and it was hard to be away from them on Thanksgiving but being with friends helped.  I started the day out running a turkey trot with my friend which was great.  It was only a 5K nice and short.  Trent and Tucker went and played in the annual Turkey Bowl our ward has each year.  They had a good time.  I was asked to bring the green bean casserole, rolls and pies.  I made delicious homemade rolls with cinnamon honey butter, green bean casserole from scratch, and a triple berry and dutch apple pie.  Thanksgiving dinner was amazing.  My friend Britta's turkey turned out great and her stuffing was delightful.  Everyone ate way too much.  After dinner the dishes were done and the kids played.  That evening the moms and kids went to the movie Arthur Christmas and the dads stayed home with the baby and watch their own movie.  Arthur Christmas was a fun movie and everyone enjoyed it.  It was a very busy but fun day!  We are so grateful for the many many blessing we have been given and are grateful for a day to celebrate gratitude!