Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so great. Seriously. We went out to Denver to visit my family, and it was one of the most enjoyable visits I think I’ve ever had with them. Here are the highlights, in order of occurrence:

1. Lego was perfectly behaved on the eight-hour drive. He might have fussed for a minute or two softly in the last hour, but other than that, he happily enjoyed reading books and playing with whoever was sitting next to him. He snacked in the car and drank his chocolate milk, which meant we didn’t even have to stop to nurse the entire time. That means he didn’t nurse for nine or ten hours. I still can’t believe he did that.

2. Lego slept through the night every night while we were there. I’d still nurse at 5:00 or 6:00, but I consistently got lots of sleep. Hooray!

3. Jon Boy’s parents came down for Thanksgiving dinner. While his mom, my mom, and I were snapping green beans, we had a really nice chat about all things Church. Nothing earthshattering, but nice.

4. Lego had a blast. He loved everyone and learned their names. He wasn’t even shy for a minute or two. In fact, the first night we got there, he didn’t want to go to bed because he wanted to play with Grandma some more. We’d arrived less than two hours before. It was so nice to see him so happy. The nice thing about Lego is that when he’s happily surrounded by people he loves, he doesn’t get hyper; he just smiles a lot and talks a lot and sits and plays with his toys. And then occasionally he’ll point to someone in the room, exclaim their name, and then continue what he was doing. Everybody who knows him at all thinks his little personality is adorable, and I happen to agree. Watch this kid: he’s going to be a social butterfly later in life.

5.  The meal was extraordinarily good. I especially loved my uncle’s mashed potatoes with 1/3 each sweet potatoes and squash. And of course my old favorites, the stuffing and the green beans.

6. The mornings were some of my favorite times. Jon Boy and my two youngest siblings would sleep in later than me, Lego, and my parents. So the house would be quiet and calm, and I got lots of good time to spend with my parents. Sometimes we didn’t even do or say much.

7. It was fascinating and really cool listening to my siblings compose songs together.

8. We had a Qdoba vs. Chipotle challenge. We got a couple of identical burritos from each place and compared them for flavor and for speed. The speed challenge was a draw, but everyone agreed that Chipotle burritos are far superior. So that solves that. I still like Cafe Rio better than either, for what it’s worth.

All in all, a great trip. (The drive home and hotel stay Saturday night were not quite so awesome, though.)