Olsen Family Thanksgiving Break

We spent a fun Thanksgiving with the Olsen Family in Utah this year. Cal was so excited to see his Grandma & Grandpa and his cousins, he got his suitcase out and packed (the essentials--all toys) almost a week before our flight.

We flew right into Provo, and boy was it cold in Utah! Luckily, Cal had his wool hat and mittens that Aunt Heather had knit him.

The boys had such a fun time together. They are both getting to the age where they play well and really enjoy each other's company. It was sweet to watch. 

One of the days, we all met up at the new Scheels sporting goods store so we could ride the indoor ferris wheel (yes, you read that correctly -- land is so inexpensive in Utah that you can build a store large enough to house an indoor ferris wheel).

There are so many fun activities in Utah at Christmas time! We also took the boys to see a small display of gingerbread houses, which they loved. Each of us got to vote on our favorite.

Cal took this picture of two houses that he really liked:

Even better, we were surprised to discover that the rest of the building was basically an awesome children's museum about the history of Utah. There were so many cute hands-on exhibits for the boys, including a house with a table and a kitchen, a yard where they could fish, milk cows, and hang laundry from clothespins, and a grocery store with hundreds of moveable food items.

The boys loved it, and so did the parents! It was fun to see them imagine, and to play with them.

Thanksgiving was filled with food preparation, the Macy's parade, and the Westminster Dog Show, which I insisted on watching. Cal helped Grandma make her famous rolls:

And of course, we all made ginger snap cookies (Cal was shirtless at this point, nbd).

Grandma Rosemary brought a fun activity with her. On a long scroll of paper, we each drew pictures of what we were grateful for. Then, after dinner, the boys got to present it to us by scrolling through the drawings. They were so excited about it, so we got the show several times.

The day after thanksgiving, Reed and I dashed off to Boston, leaving Cal to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We are so grateful that they are so good to him. He absolutely loves his grandparents.

Reed at I flew back early Sunday morning, and we all went to church together. It's always a treat to see the Christmas decorations in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I got some extra time to enjoy them, since my RLS had me walking the halls during sacrament meeting.

We had some delays with our homebound Allegiant flight, but eventually we made it back to California, safe and sound.

This year, we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends, good health, Reed's wonderful job, and the new baby that will be joining us in January. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!