Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend started out Wednesday.  I got up early and began my morning by making sugar cookies.  This quickly became a very large project.  Let me explain why.  Last year I burned out the motor on our hand mixer and we just never got around to buying a new one.  Why?  I have no idea.  So anytime something needs mixed,  I grab a sturdy spoon and start stirring.  This morning trying to make a triple batch of sugar cookies with a wooden spoon was challenging to say the least.  But after hours of baking.  I had enough cookies for Thanksgiving and was even able to put some in the freezer for Christmas.     

Jordan had gone into work and was sent home early and told to enjoy his holiday.  So we went to the movies and saw the new Russell Crowe movie 'The Next Three Days'.  We thought that the acting was good but that the story line was depressing and didn't flow very well.  It was OK.  After the movie we came home and I started making frosting for the cookies.  (For future reference making frosting without a mixer is way more work than cookie dough.)  I mixed all the colors and filled my frosting bags.  Picked out the tips I wanted to use to create cute turkeys on circle cookies.  I started with the feathers and realized right away that they were not going to work.  The looked horrible.  I had to start all over.  I made another batch of frosting and went for a more simple look of frosted circles. 

We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Shawn and Nicole's family. The idea of going to a strangers home for the holidays, knowing very few people, felt a little strange.  But once we got there it felt like Thanksgiving.  They were so welcoming and friendly and within minutes we felt like part of the family.  We had such a great time and although we missed spending the holiday with our families we couldn't have asked for anything better.  They had a traditional Thanksgiving feast with two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls, stuffing, and cranberries.  They also had a snack table set aside for those waiting in line which I thought was so smart.  It was full of cheeses, a vegetable platter, crackers, and olives.  After dinner we had my cookies, pumpkin, blackberry, chocolate and key lime pie especially made for Jordan.  Then began the afternoon of Bang.  Bang is a wild west card game that Shawn and Nicole introduced us to and we LOVE playing this game.  There is a lot to grasp when you are just learning but once you have the rules of the game down and can come up with strategies it gets fun, really fun.  It took awhile to teach everyone the game, but once they had it down they were hooked and we spent hours playing. 

Right before we left Nicole asked if we wanted to go shopping at Target in the morning.  We got online checked out what was on sale and what did I see.... a $3.00 hand mixer!!!  We were going black Friday shopping!   At 3:00 A.M. the alarm goes off.  We roll out of bed, throw on some shoes and a coat and are hit with a blast of cold air.  Luckily Shawn and Nicole had arrived earlier and had saved us a spot in line so we only waited for about a half hour in the cold.  It was crazy.  Hundreds of people were waiting in line.  They handed out maps showing where in the store the items on sale were.  Right at 4 A.M. the doors opened.  Jordan headed to the movies with Nicole while I went to find my hand mixer.  I turned down the aisle where the mixers were and there was a woman using her cart to block the mixers on sale.  Much to her dismay I politely moved her cart and started handing out the mixers to everyone around me.  It felt a little like Santa Claus and I left with last mixer in the store!  We ended up getting five new movies, the games connect four and battleship and my hand mixer all for $30.00!  Not too bad.  It was a crazy experience. I am not sure that I would want to do it every year but it was fun and worth it this year.

I am thankful for Jordan, his job and the move we made to Arizona. 
I am thankful for our families and the love and support that they give us no matter where we live. 
I am thankful for the gospel. 
I am thankful for science and the hope it gives us that someday we will be able to start our own family.
I am thankful for friends who have welcomed us into their lives and made our move so easy.
I am thankful for the uncountable blessings we have been given this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!