Giving Thanks

This is our daughter Jenni, and her husband, Mark, with their two children, Payton and Sadie. They were so sweet and invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them in their new home in Covington, WA.

We had a good Seattle Rain all Thanksgiving Day.

But that was okay by us; there was plenty to do to keep us all busy indoors!

We became reacquainted with our little Sadie Bug who was a bit shy with her Gammie and Potts for just a moment or two.

Jenni dressed and basted the 23lb. Turkey she had soaked in brine overnight. She just LOVES handling raw meat!

Emily was in charge of making the rolls.

And all I had to do was stir up my sour-dough and sausage stuffing. Sorry... no picture, but in case you are curious, it looks like every other stuffing, but tastes extraordinary, that's for sure!

Payton busied himself with entryway bowling.

a daily activity for him, so I hear from his mother.

We wonder if he will grow up to become a professional bowler?

He is totally obsessed with the sport!

Our scholarly Audrey caught up on her studies, like a good BYU senior.

Jenni and I dawned our "flirty aprons" (Jenni designed and made mine for my birthday!) and set a fancy table with her new Lenox "Opal Innocence" china plates.

Well, the turkey came out picture perfect and was honestly the best and most tender I have ever tasted.

We were joined by friends, the Cooks,who brought delicious marshmallow topped sweet potatoes (May I please have your recipe, Cali?) and relished a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together. It's a good thing we "enjoyed the journey," because dinner was literally gobbled up in no time.

Audrey? Were you really afraid to try Jenni's pumpkin pie?

Our Converse Kids - Emily and Sadie!

Thank you, Jenni and Mark! There is such a sweet feeling in your home. It is one of my favorite places to visit. The Northwest holds a special place in my heart because you are there.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

~Thornton Wilder

Twelve Hours on the Road to Covington, WA

It's hard to believe that an individual can fly to Seattle in just an hour and a half, but it takes over twelve hours in the car. It's a long stretch of road, that's for sure, but sometimes it is good to take the time to experience the "scenic route" in the company of one good husband and two very entertaining daughters!

How did we pass the time? We played "Would You Rather" for three straight hours!

• Would you rather be blind or deaf?
• Would you rather be the sand castle or the wave?
• Would you rather give up your computer or your pet?
• Would you rather have a big group of friends or one close one?
• Would you rather be saved by Superman or meet Winnie-the-Pooh?
• Would you rather become uglier or stupider?
• Would you rather have knees the size of basketballs or fingers the size of toothpicks.
• Would you rather wake up every morning with your face in a bowl full of peanuts or shimmy uncontrollably every time you meet someone new?
• Would you rather be forced to preface everything with the phrase, "Tuck it in!" under threat of being slapped or have a magnetic head.
• Would you rather have needles for leg hairs or flares shoot out your nose every time you say the word "the".
• Would you rather be able to stop time while you sleep or never need to do laundry.
• Would you rather have a foot long eyebrow hair you are not allowed to pluck, or an earlobe the size of a football?
• Would you rather meet the Beatles or eat beetle meat?
• Would you rather have a freakishly huge smile or a freakishly small nose?

But when Randy came up with "Would you rather lick an old man's stinky armpit or chew on a rotten yellow toenail?" that was it! We were grossed out to the max and laughed until we cried.

Well.... What would you rather do?

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

~St. Augustine