Thankful

When you have married kids, they have to perform the annual “holiday juggle”, splitting time between families. This year happens to be an in-laws Christmas, meaning Alex and Kaitlyn will be with her family. Since we can lay claim to Thanksgiving, we invited all the kids to come up to Montana for the week. Julian came out as well, and we had a full house.

There were, naturally, a lot of board games. Zack’s wearing a scarf because he had a head cold and felt like his mouth kept getting dry. Apparently wearing a scarf kept his lips and mouth moist?

There were some intense games of Mario Kart. We talked about having a family tournament, but let’s be honest: Zack and Kyra are the undisputed champions, and leave the rest of us in the dust.

Ollie loved having all the space in our house. It’s a nice change from the somewhat cramped quarters he’s used to in the college apartment. He also decided he liked his noodle bowl better as a hat than a bowl.

On Thanksgiving Day, it was all hands on deck as we prepared the meal. Everyone chose a favorite dish and was responsible for making it. But now that I think about it, I don’t remember Alex actually choosing or making anything. Instead, he kind of hung around the kitchen and sampled everything else…

Although they were here for almost a week, the time flew past and before we knew it, everyone was heading back to Utah and Washington. We snapped one last photo before the group split up.

As always, I’m eternally grateful for these good folks in my life. It’s nice to be reminded to be thankful.