Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving!  I used to hate it as a kid.  My mom was always stressed and spent hours in the kitchen preparing a huge meal for lots of people and I barely ate any of it.  But as an adult who loves food, family, and a holiday break from the daily grind, I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving!  I made a gratitude tree (shocking, I know) and the boys and I filled out leaves throughout the month.  Elder Sabin said in his General Conference talk, "You will never be happier than you are grateful."  Words to live by.  It's true that finding things to be grateful for can really change your outlook. 

This traditions is a keeper!

This year the Johnson's couldn't come for Thanksgiving so Randy wanted to do another ski trip to Whistler the. The boys were adamant they wouldn't miss the annual turkey bowl on Thanksgiving morning so we figured out a way to do both.  I whipped up a smallish Thanksgiving feast for lunch and then we drove up to Whistler that afternoon. 

Henry actually loves turkey as long as we tell him it’s chicken. So he ate two things :)

The best pie I have ever made—Blackberry Custard pie with brown sugar streusel topping. You can find it on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe but she uses blueberries. It’s DIVINE! Oreo Cream Pie is the boys favorite. 

I think this is the 5th Thanksgiving we've spent at Whistler and the first one without any snow.  Usually there is several feet at the base of the mountain and even more at the top but not this year.  Our ski-out hotel room was really a walk-out hotel room.  And the walk wasn't easy!  But with snow it would've been amazing!  

Unfortunately Randy forgot to pack Henry's ski pants so fortunately for me, I spent half the day trying to find a shop with small enough ski pants for Henry.  $150 later he has the best ski pants he will probably only wear this season.  Grrrrr.  But we had fun together exploring Whistler Village and taking our time to get up the mountain.  There were only a few runs open and they were all blue and green runs.  Perfect for me!  

We had to take the lift back down the mountain because the bottom half was closed. No snow to be seen!

Parker and that view! 

Henry refused to be like his brothers and take to skiing like a fish to water.  Nothing with Henry is ever easy!  But we cheered him on and waited patiently as he tipped over every time he got going too fast.  Hopefully he'll learn how to do turns the next time we ski.

Ski trips at Whistler are extra fun because of the heated pools and hot tubs.  It's the best way to end a day on the slopes.

Whistler Village hasn’t changed much. We still love going to the candy store!

Henry enjoyed the playground

Here is Marcus feasting on McDonald’s in L.A.  he actually didn’t really get a Thanksgiving dinner and ate a giant bowl of ramen.  I felt so bad when he told me that so I Doordashed lunch for him and the three elders in his apartment. Perks to being in the States!