Just a few things from November

November went by fast. That happens when you spend half of it out of town. Hooray for epic vacations and holidays with family!

Here are the very few non-vacation related things deemed worthy of documentation (not including stuff I was having too much fun doing to stop and photograph):

We didn't do Pie Night this year. Thank goodness our Thanksgiving buffet offered me plenty of options.

The Lunar Chronicles were my favorite find last year. The final novel was a fantastic wrap up. I read it twice before returning it to the library (800 pages is not a small commitment). Thank you for the recommendation, Kate. I loved it!!

This was how I felt when I finished Winter. You have been warned.

Bought some new dress shoes. I've wanted colorful pumps for ages and they were on sale. Hooray!

I still have glitter all over my car from the Glinda costume I wore at Comic Con and for Halloween. No amount of vacuum will ever cleanse my Evie Elantra. I kinda love it.

December boats big deadlines at work and all sorts of Christmas stuff. It's gonna be good!

Thanksgiving in Moab part 1 - Delicate Arch and Double Arch

My family spent Thanksgiving in Moab this year. It's been a long time since we last had the whole family together on vacation and it was great to spend some time hiking, eating, playing games, watching movies, laughing, and making memories. That's what family time is all about. Or, at least, it's always what we hope will happen, right. It was pretty ideal!

My dad found a three-bedroom condo just outside Arches National Park, and we all crammed in together. Wednesday night, we arrived a carpool at a time. Aaron and I were the last to arrive and managed to snag a few games of Scattergories. Aaron even brought a pumpkin pie from Costco so we could celebrate a low-key Pie Night. Lucky I thought to bring whipped cream.

When it was time for bed, guess who slept on the common room floor?

We single adults are flexible and fun-loving!

The morning of Thanksgiving, we were all up bright and early and took our time eating breakfast and putting on layers for our day of hiking.  It was time to introduce our kids to one of Utah's most famous landmarks: Delicate Arch!

Turns out it was a perfect day for hiking. High 50s and sunny. We took our jackets off during the walk up but needed them when we reached the windy top.

I'm really happy about how well I did. I have never enjoyed hiking, mostly because I've never been in great physical shape. I learned that all of my fitbit walking and yoga has done more good than I realized -- I flew up that mountain, and there are some steep places! I was slow and steady and had little problem keeping up with my hiking buddy, Breezy. We were the first to the top :) Maybe I don't hate hiking anymore.

Do you see me under the arch? It's huge!

Dave spent a few minutes sketching the formation

The walk down didn't take nearly as much time as the walk up. This is fortunate, because we were cold!

Next, we headed to Double Arch. It was a much easier hike -- less than a mile from the road, and no incline unless you wanted to hike inside the arch in the back. Of course I did.

The back is a fairly sheer face. No leaning back for us.

Well, okay. Dave found a place to lean back.

G-unit was happy to run around and toss the football to anyone who would toss it back

When we'd had our fill of the outdoors, we went home to wash up and change for Thanksgiving dinner.

To be continued...

Pie Night and Thanksgiving 2014

Another year, another happy Pie Night party and Thanksgiving Day. I sure am lucky to have such dear family and friends. I love them and excuses to hang out with them!

Pie Night

I did not bake a pie this year. Fortunately, a lot of other people did, so there was plenty of food. Phew! and Yay!

(Thanks for sharing these photos with me, Aaron!)

Baby PJ keeps growing more handsome and more excited to explore.
He is the cutest.

Steph J!

Grammy and PJ

Larissa, Luci, Theresa, and Steph

Heidi and PJ

Peter and Dave

Grammy and Breezy

Old friends Heidi and Rob

Peter and Jordyn

Aaron, David, and Jordyn

Adam and Peter

Shilene, Roger, and their daughter

Larissa (haha!), Luci, Theresa, Steph, and Kristen (Scott is hiding)

Thanksgiving Day

A low-key affair, with half the kids gone to in-laws this year and our cousins off visiting St. George for a real vacation. So, I cooked green beans, Lindsey cooked sweet potatoes, and Gram made fruit salad, while Mom covered the rest. My mom is pretty much the best. 

Mom, Dad, Dave and I met up with Aaron and Heidi after dinner to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. I highly recommend the movie, and the company!

Lindsey making gravy

Dad carving the turkey, obviously ;)

Adam and the G-Unit watching football

Uncle Dave with Breezy and Zonks

Cooking crew (I helped, too!)

A small, cool group

The regular -- and very tasty -- food. Hooray for leftovers!
I made the green beans this year. I'm so proud!

Most of the family worked on this puzzle at some point. I'm not a puzzle person, but my mom and I finished it at about 10pm while we listened to my dad watch O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Looking forward to more holidays and vacation time coming up!