A Family Thanksgiving Weekend

What a party it was last week! It started early when Mom, Dad, and Hyrum arrived Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday. Bryce was able to be home to welcome them since I was late leaving work and in traffic. After they unloaded the car and we chatted, we headed to Costco for dinner and a few last minute items. It was busy, but we weren't in any hurry so the crowds weren't a bother. We then got home and headed to bed after more chatting.

In the morning, Bryce and I did our normal routine and headed to school and work. The family had a nice morning going to the hot tub and sauna before getting ready and heading over to the Nike campus for lunch. The original plan was to meet up with Aunt Marianne for lunch, but she was running behind so I took the fam on a campus tour. They were quite impressed and enjoyed the vertical jump challenge.

 After the tour, we ate lunch at the Boston Deli on campus and then we headed off to the employee store! They were there for a few hours while I finished working. Then Bryce and I met up with them after work and school. We did some shopping and then met up with the Petersen's. They had a place out in Hillsboro for the weekend so we headed over there for dinner and games. We played a fun game called Finish Lines and then had a yummy fish dinner. It was so fun to see the Petersen's!

Turkey day came with a bang! We woke up and started cooking right away. Mom made a persimmon tart while I made puff pancakes for breakfast. After eating breakfast, we then made pumpkin and lemon meringue pies.

By the time we finished the pies, we had to start the turkey and stuffing, which wasn't as bad as I had expected. Once the stuffed turkey was in the oven, we made the dough for the rolls and relaxed. Then with two hours left on the turkey, we all went on a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. When we got home, the turkey was done and came out of the oven, and the sweet potatoes and green beans went in and the mashed potatoes were started. After all those dishes were done, we put the rolls in and made the gravy.

 And only an hour later than planned, we sat down to eat our feast!

It tasted so good! And it was so sweet when Hyrum wanted to go around the table and say what we were grateful for - we are so blessed!

It was a full day in the kitchen and Bryce was amazing at doing all the dishes! I think he may have spent as much time in the kitchen cleaning as we did cooking.

So with full stomachs and full hearts, we relaxed and watched a movie, After Earth, to finish off the evening. Then we headed to bed, but found that the toilet wasn't flushing well so I announced to the family that we would be going Black Friday shopping for a....plunger! Let the party continue! We all got into the car and tried a few close stores, but ended up at Target with all the crazy shoppers! We got our plunger, checked out the deals, and headed home. Flushing Restored!

Friday we had a relaxing morning and then headed out to see Portland making a quick stop at Best Buy for a quick look at the deals. Then we took a drive-by tour of all the bridges in Portland. After we stopped at Salt & Straw to have ice cream and I think everyone was impressed! Next, we checked out the Pittock Mansion and got some great views of the city. Then we went downtown and hung out at the Pioneer Square mall until the tree lighting.

After waiting an hour for the tree to be lite, we were ready for some dinner. We decided on Montage and had an incredible meal! Of course, we made sure to have leftovers so we could come home with some tin foil creations!

Giraffe, squirrel, scorpion, crab, and bird (not pictured).

We finished the night off getting Voodoo Doughnuts! Dad tried Mango Tango, mom got the Memphis Mafia, and Hyrum chose the ODB. Bryce and I stayed with our usual - Voodoo Man and Bacon Maple Bar.

Saturday, Bryce and I got ready and went to the Portland Temple for our friend's sealing. Meanwhile, the family got new phones and did baptisms at the temple. Then we all met back home for lunch. The parents decided it would be best to head home that afternoon and so they packed up the sub and we said our goodbyes. So glad they were able to come!