Turkeys, Tigers, and Trees- Oh My

My youngest sister was able to spend Thanksgiving with us before moving back to California! The kids couldn’t stop asking me when we were going to pick her up. I brought them all with me to the train station, and they shared “Did you know?” fun facts with her about their favorite animals the whole ride home, hahaha. We found out her favorite animal is a White Tiger, her spirit animal. My little munchkins LOVE her. Auntie’s a lot more fun than Dad and Mom, who don’t always read and play with them on repeat. She even brought them treats called “Dinosaur Eggs” (freeze-dried Hi Chew candies). The kids stayed up late watching Eragon with her, haha!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated with some major snack-age while making the feast and watching Narnia. Apparently this Thanksgiving is all about funky movies. Of course the dog loved my sister, and I think she got really excited to have a visitor who adored her. The kids and I also got to play Quirkle with their Auntie!

This is our first Thanksgiving turkey made in our home! We were actually going to rebel and do a roasted chicken this year, but I’m going to blame the kids on this one asking about turkey. We went legit and got ourselves a digital meat thermometer, and we’re gushing about finally just knowing that something is cooked properly now instead of playing “Salmonella or Overcooked Roulette”. I stuffed it and everything!! Jer was busy so I also ended up making the mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and a fresh cranberry sauce. So happy it all turned out delicious!

Our Thanksgiving table wouldn’t be complete without the French Onion topping my sister brought! I watched her magically convince W to eat his mashed potatoes (which he hates) by sprinkling some of that stuff on it!

On the day after Thanksgiving, we took my sister to our favorite Christmas Tree lot to choose our tree this year. The home we grew up in usually had fake trees, so I hope she liked the experience! We grabbed some Apple Cider Donuts from the Red Barn and ate them with hot cocoa and Thanksgiving leftovers while Jer set the tree up.

A Day at the Zoo

On the way to bringing my sister back to her place, we took everyone to the Hogle Zoo! It was her first time seeing many of the live animals before, and we loved sharing our favorite spots and experiencing the zoo with us, including their soft pretzels at the Pinniped area. Not sure why, but many of the animals we don’t normally see were Up-and-Close with us- like the Red Panda! F has decided that his new favorite animal is the Meerkat (which he is patting on the head below), and talked about wanting a Meerkat Stuffy all the way home.

The kids were so bummed to see her go, but she reassured them that she’d see us again soon. She got an awesome job in California, so this will be our last “you and me, we both live in Utah!” hurrah haha. We’re all rooting for her, and are filled with gratitude for so many blessings.