Thanksgiving Extravaganza

We spent this Thanksgiving in Utah with Joe's family. Joe's grandparents, the Hollsteins, and Grandma Hansen, live in Salt Lake. So does Mary and her new hubby, Jesse. We drove down to Gunnison and carpooled with Joe's parents. We left on Tuesday and were there until Sunday. So we're just barely back!

It was a good Thanksgiving, filled with gorging meals. Not only did we have a huge Thanksgiving feast, we also went out to eat three times. I wasn't the best at taking pictures, yet again, so I only have pictures from the last two days (when I remembered that I had a camera). I also wasn't incredibly energetic for the first few days of the trip . . . Dottie, Joe and I all had bad colds. And mine was worse, because pregnancy plus cold= worn out. I went to sleep at 7 on Thanksgiving. Talk about a party pooper. Still, it was nice to be with family and to have a break. We watched a lot of TV . . . Joe and I don't have cable, and Joe's grandparents have a satellite. We were pretty excited to have unlimited access. I also read a lot. I read a whole book in two days . . . A Thousand Splendid Suns. It's as good as Becca claims, although sad and often disturbing. Anyway, here's the highlights from Friday and Saturday:

On Friday, we randomly ran into Joe's Uncle Bryan riding by on his moped. Bryan was so excited to see us, he treated us to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. As Joe's dad would say, "That Bryan, what a guy." Joe was intrigued by a dish called the "Burrito Grande." Under the description in the menu, it said if you finished the whole thing, you'd get a free dessert. Well, being the overeater that he is, Joe couldn't resist. He didn't imagine it would be as large as it was. This picture really doesn't do it justice. Imagine three Chipotle burritos combined, and you'd be coming close. Mary's look of disgust should help you imagine the task at hand.


Sadly, Joe didn't finish the burrito. He ate the tortilla part and thought that if he pushed the rest of the food on his plate around, they would think he did it and give him the dessert. The waiter was no fool; there was no dessert that meal.


This is one of those rare moments where Dottie ate Mexican food. Mary tricked Dottie by saying the tortilla was "bread." I've tried that trick at home, and it usually doesn't work. Mary has the special touch.

On Saturday morning, Amanda and Jonathan came and visited for a few hours. As you can see, Dottie's filled with glee to be with Banda again.

Later on Saturday, we went to the Hogle Zoo with the family. Who took this lousy picture? There's shadows all over everyone's faces!

Dottie and Joe chasing a peacock. Dottie kept on screaming like she was afraid of the peacock. This is strange behavior because at the Colorado Springs Zoo she loves the peacocks the most. Who can understand the behaviors of a two-year-old?

Dottie and Daddy climbing a tiger.

Dottie posing with the bunnies. Sorry you can't see them very well . . . they're those little lumps that look like rocks.

Joe and Mary having a musical moment, of which there were many. Joe loves to play his grandparents' piano.