Thanksgiving Visit 2018
/
0 Comments
It happened! We finally reached the last ring on our countdown chain! So, for the last two weeks we've been soaking up the good weather and endless amounts of fun that come with being surrounded by loved ones. And after all is said and done, I think the kids understand better now that home will always be there for us, even when we're far away. So a success all around!
The first week we spent mostly with my family and with our friends. This included a wonderful Friendsgiving gathering at the house with several of our favourite friends, beach and breakfast dates, book club, escape rooms, parties, tide pool visits and forest walks, lots of baking, casual hang outs, some bakery visits, lots of just dance, super late night games and discussions, some Christmas movies and much much more. Another high light was my Mom's bday-it was low key, but fun with presents and games and all sorts of good stuff. We all know how verbose I can be, but I will spare you all the extras and just say that it was like drinking the most delicious chicken soup you've ever had-it made everything feel right and better, and warm and like everything was going to be just fine even if it wasn't right then. It was nice to be reminded of how much love we have to share, and how much love there is willingly and readily waiting for us wherever we are.
The second week we spent predominantly with Lester's family-which included several of his cousins and family who were visiting from Australia. The kids were in heaven playing with their cousin Max, and Lester and I love being able to spend so much time them, and in our old stomping grounds in SF. We fit a lot in to a short amount of time, with visits to Muir Woods and Sausalito, Union square, the Mission area, and so on. We went on hikes, visited more beaches, did a ridiculous amount of shopping [some on black Friday, some just because haha!], some great eating out, and visits to Golden Gate Park and the Academy of Sciences. We also got to celebrate my FIL bday, with a trip to Half Moon Bay for the most fabulous brunch and a fun beach walk afterwards. I am sure I am forgetting things here, but the most memorable stuff will just be spending time with the family, as we don't get to see each other too often. It was wonderful!
On Thanksgiving itself, we started the day out with Lester making the turkey, which was a treat as his Mom had invested in Mary's organic heritage turkey-something we'd always hoped to try, let alone cook! After brining overnight, he did a fabulous job the morning of and we had fun stuffing ourselves silly and showing our Australian family their first Thanksgiving haha. There were endless amounts of food, and the whole house was full of warmth, fun catching up, and lots of hide and seek, courtesy of the girls and Max. Poor, usually happy Bear was feeling sick, so he slept through most of it, but was a good sport nonetheless. Afterwards, we headed over to my families house, where we got to see my Grandma and some more cousins Aunt's an Uncles quickly-I spent most of the time helping Bear in the back, but I'm still glad I got to see them even if it was just for a second. Afterwards, we went back to my inlaws for our 3rd round of food haha, some black Friday shopping and movie watching [thank you Crazy Rich Asians].
All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we loved every second of it. We are back in Boise now, enjoying a real winter, and getting ready for Christmas. Its nice to be back-and it will make going home again all that more sweet in a months time! Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!
