Thanksgiving

*This post is really more for my own personal benefit, than for anybody else's. I just want to remember what a great holiday weekend we had. It was amazing to relax and be with family, not worry about taking pictures (I took none), and just enjoy what was going on.*

Devin and I celebrated Thanksgiving 5 times this year! That's sort of a lot! We tried to spread it out as much as we could, but it still made for a pretty busy weekend. I can't even tell you how nice it was to have 4 days off, especially when Devin had a few days off to spend with me as well!

We had a big Thanksgiving dinner with some of my coworkers a few weekends ago, and honestly, it was so much more fun than I thought it would be. Everyone pitched in and brought a dish and the food was all so, so good. After we ate, we played spoons. Have you ever played spoons before? This was the most epic game of spoons I'd ever participated in. It was insane! We were laughing so hard, we had tears streaming down our faces! I left that dinner with serious gratitude for the guys I work with every day. They drive me crazy sometimes, but I'm pretty lucky. I could never work in the industry that I do with anybody else. These guys make all the difference, and it's nice to be in a setting with them that wasn't focused on work.

On Thanksgiving day, we went to two dinners! We started out at Devin's sister, Amanda's house. We headed over early and I helped cook, which was so much fun. But by cook, I mean I stood in front of a cutting board with a big old knife in my hand and chopped every vegetable that was put in front of me, but it was still a great time to be in the kitchen with my sister in law, mother in law, and Devin's sweet Nana. We had so much fun cooking!

Amanda is an incredible cook and made everything from scratch, including her famous stuffing that I love! Nana brought a cranberry relish she had made from scratch that was amazing, and the turkey cooked so perfectly, I couldn't stop picking at it as Jason carved it! We had delicious homemade rolls, Suzanne's yams (she puts apples in them - it's incredible, and Devin's favorite). There was so much food and it was all so good! After getting waaay too stuffed, way too soon, we went to my Grandma's house for meal #2.

Once we got to my Grandma's we knew we weren't going to be able to eat again, so we just waited until dessert! I had made a triple berry pie, and it actually turned out! Pies are hard, though, so I think I'll stop signing up to bring them. We had a great time playing card games with my cousins and aunts and eventually wound our way back down to Nana's house for some snacks, and visiting with some of Devin's extended family.

We watched my sister's dog, Zero all weekend, and it made for a lot of dog wrestling and hardly any sleep, but we still had a good time and Zero's a good boy. While Devin worked on Friday, I did some Christmas shopping with Kayla and we went out to dinner. She is about 32 or 33 weeks now I think, and she has vertigo (which is a really awful virus that attacks your equilibrium), so she's not feeling the greatest, but she looks so dang cute and we can hardly stand to wait any longer to meet that baby girl!! Kayla has enlisted my help in decorating the nursery and I'm so excited - I've never decorated a nursery before! I'll let you know how it goes.

Saturday, Devin and I took the morning really slow and relaxed, and then headed into Salt Lake to try a new sushi place he had heard about called Kobe Sushi. I'm not a huge sushi fan, but I tried each of the rolls he got and they weren't so bad! Maybe it's growing on me? I just got teryaki chicken, haha. It was the best japanese I'd ever had though! Their miso soup was so delicious and I loved the chicken and tempura vegetables. Devin is obsessed with sushi, so he was totally content.

After lunch, we drove by the new gym Momentum is building in Milcreek. Devin has shown me lots of pictures and videos, but it's so different in person! It was cool to finally get to see the giant project that's been in the works for so long. I really think this new gym is going to change climbing in Utah. It's going to be another world class gym, just like the Sandy location, but I think it's going to bring a lot more attention to Utah's climbing scene, in a really positive way. I am so anxious for it to open!

Next, we took the very, very long way home and did a little apartment searching. Because of the new gym opening, we are looking to move in September when our lease is up, a little further north, and I was surprised at how many places we were able to find just by driving down the street! It's always hard finding a place that's pet friendly, though, but I'm sure we'll find somewhere no problem. At least we're starting early!

That night, we had another party! Maybe this one doesn't count as Thanksgiving, because we had lasagna, and it was technically supposed to be a Christmas party, but it was over the same weekend, and it was with family, so it is what it is! Anyway, this time it was with my Dad's side of the family. We get together with them much less often, and usually those parties aren't structured and you go for the food (haha), but this year, my aunt Elaine was in charge, and although I'm sure she'll disagree, it was the funnest party yet! I won cool prizes, we played all kinds of fun games, and we had such a great time!

On Sunday, Devin had to work, but when he got home, we set up our Christmas decorations (which resulted in completely rearranging our living room so the tree would fit, because we live in such a small house), Kayla came over for awhile, and we started Insanity, which is a workout program. Uh, it's day 3 and I can't feel my legs, so that's how that's going...

The weekend was amazing. It was over way too soon, but at least now the countdown to Christmas is on! I am stressing about everything that's left to do before Christmas, but it snowed this morning for real, for the first time this year, so I'm in a pretty good mood. I can't wait to ski!

Anyway. Holidays. They're the best. And so is my family.