November 28, 2013
Our Thanksgiving this year was very different from our previous years as a family. Our cul-de-sac families planned a trip to the Mountains as one big family. We rented a large house with enough bedrooms to sleep all eighteens of us. The house overlooked a beautiful lake and we were given a nice snowfall while we were there. The trip was very laid back and relaxing. We played lots of games, ate, watched movies, ate, soaked in the hot tub, ate, hiked, ate, read, ate, napped, ate, had a scavenger hunt, and ate some more. On Thanksgiving we all pitched in and cooked a huge dinner with all the trimmings. It was delicious!!
Most of our time was filled with games such as dominoes, cards, Telephrase, Uno, Phase 10, and several others. Mexican train dominoes turned into a real competition. We played all thirteen rounds and stayed up most of the night. The competition got fierce because so many people wanted to play. We instituted the rule that each round the player with the most points had to give up their seat at the table. This was fun because it kept everyone interested and made the game ever changing.
Our dinner was beautiful, yummy, and very memorable! It was a very touching time of the trip. We took a moment and went around the room and each person spoke about their thankfulness. The kids did a great job telling what they were thankful for in their lives. By the time it got to the adult table the emotions were already flowing. We each talked about how special we were to one another and what a unique bond we all have. It felt so good to be honest and real about life struggles and knowing we have each other. It was great to share this with some of the people that mean the world to us. We are beyond blessed to have each of them and their children in our lives. We all know that no matter what life brings our families we will live it out as a supportive group together. Thank you, God, for giving us such wonderful family friendships.
The cul-de-sac boys!
After dinner we headed outside to take some photos!
the Case Family
the Kelley Family
the Miller Family
the Johnson Family
The boys decide to take a polar bear plunge. Yikes! The water was cold!
Friday we had a scavenger hunt for the kids. The adults took a hike around the area and picked out things for them to find. Technology has really changed scavenger hunts because we took pictures of what to find. Then when we got back to the house we divided up the kids and made sure everyone had a phone. We sent the "list" of photos to each team. The rule was that the teams had to take a creative photo with the items. The kids came up with lots of fun pictures. It was great to see their individuality and creativity with the pictures. Kirkland and Ryan won the hunt with the best percentage found and the most creative pictures. They got to take home the trophy for the year until we play again.
The house had evidence of a real live beaver!
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