For Thanksgiving dinner, Jordyn made us a reservation for a buffet at Red Cliff Ranch. My dad was thrilled to give my mom a break from cooking and to sit and enjoy dinner with her. My mom was thrilled to eat crab legs along with her turkey. I was thrilled to eat three different kinds of pie. When we'd eaten our fill, we toured the Film Museum in the basement. Golly, a lot of movies were filmed in Moab and thereabouts.
My nieces and nephews received their first Christmas presents that evening -- pajamas and books. Watching kids open presents is about the best thing ever.
Then the "big kids" watched family favorite UHF, and Lindsey and the little girls watched Peter Pan. We all went to bed a little early. It had been a long and happy day.
The next day, Aaron, David, and I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast (all of the family groups volunteered to take a meal or two). Then we all trooped over to see some Dinosaur tracks and cave drawings.
We decided to check out Longbow Arch, having no idea that it was kind of a long hike and somewhat strenuous. Even so, most of us made it all the way to the arch. Even me!
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| Longbow Arch |
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| Unckie Aaron was happy to be the official photographer. He toted his fancy camera everywhere, and our nieces were happy to pose for him. |
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| This view! |
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| This little boy is not terribly chatty. I heard him speak for the first time on the trip. The first word? "Uh-oh!" |
After our impromptu hike, we had to get baby PJ (not so babyish anymore, is he?) home for a good nap. We ate lunch and watched Home Alone. I and a few others took naps. Dad and Dave decided to check out Landscape Arch.
When the movie ended, Adam, Lindsey, their kids, Aaron, and I found a local recreation center and spent some time swimming. The kids had a great time jumping off the diving boards and going down the water slide. Adam's flipping skills and Aaron's diving is impressive! When it was time to head back to the condo, we learned that it was snowing. Aaaaaaah! In our towels and wet swimsuits we bolted for the car Adam so thoughtfully warmed up for us ahead of time. He's a good husband, dad, and brother :) My shower that night was very, very welcome!
That night, we played the Smyth Family Game and laughed over the answers to questions from our own childhood and more recent memories. We're starting to forget the answers, so we had to write several of them down. Can't lose our history! After the game, the littlest kids went to bed, Mom, Dad, and I watched Jurassic World, and Adam, David, Aaron, and Gunner played Settlers of Catan.
Saturday morning, we slept in a little -- just kidding! With little kids around and a bed in the common room there was no sleeping in for any of us. Fortunately, Mom and Dad made it worth our while with leftover Monte Cristo sandwiches for breakfast.
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| Service with a smile |
