Thanksgiving in Phoenix

I am grateful for family!!

This Thanksgiving we spent with my family in Phoenix. We haven't been down to visit since last Christmas, so this visit was overdue!

Before we left, we desperately needed to get new front tires on my car. Patrick found a pair at the shop where he works and put them on the car. I needed to get them balanced before the long drive, so on Tuesday before Turkey Day, I went to Discount. They balanced one tire, then pulled the other one off and noticed a huge bubble. They wanted to charge us $190 for one pair of new tires, so we left and Patrick put on a new-old tire at the shop. Wednesday morning, he went to Big O Tires and bought 4 new tires for a much better deal. So, YEAH!!!, I have all new tires on my car!! This winter will be so much more pleasant with some traction.

It was so rainy on Wednesday. 2/3 of our trip was in rain. We opted to drive through Vegas to have nicer roads to tolerate the weather. We stopped in Mesquite to eat a $4.99 Prime Rib meal only to find out that the super sweet deal started at 4pm. Well, it was only 2:30pm in Nevada. We still ate pretty good food, though.

We stopped and bought some firecrackers. :) Fun!

We waited patiently through rush hour in Las Vegas. Not fun.

And we pulled in around 11:30pm at my parents' house in Phoenix.

Patrick was starting to feel like he was getting sick at the beginning of the drive, and by the time we got to Phoenix, he was definitely sick. Poor guy had to deal with that during the whole vacation. It stinks to be sick at someone else's house. It's so much nicer to lay on your own couch, use your own toilet, and leave your tissues on your own floor. :) Fortunately, we stayed in my parents' pop-up trailer in the driveway, so we had privacy and space as needed.

My mom made an awesome Thanksgiving meal. We had sweet potatoes, stuffing, peas, mashed potatoes (that my dad makes, and they are awesome), turkey, my mom's heavenly rolls, a big veggie tray with some veggies from their garden, cranberry sauce, pumpkin-cream cheese pie, pecan pie, and a butterscotch pie and chocolate pie that my brother made with silken tofu.

I ate waaaaaaay to much!

Friday, we went to one of my brother's house in Surprise. We ate lunch at his place with my parents, Patrick and me, my brother Jeremiah's family, and my brother Jonathan's family. The grandkids made a couple bottle rockets, and we went to the park to launch them and play. It was a fun day. One of the things I hate the most about living a state away from a majority of the family is missing out on the grandkids growing up. They are so incredibly cute.

After the park, we went back to Jeremiah's, ate dinner, put on a movie for the kids, and we adults played a game. It was so fun to hang out with my brothers and their wives and my parents. We had a riot playing the game.

Saturday, my parents, my brother Philip, Patrick and I went to the cafe where Philip works and ate lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan place called Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House. I LOVED the food. The herb selection is huge, and it's just a great place with great energy. (That's the hippie in me!)

We spent the evening with Jonathan and Ashlee. We ate dinner over there, played with the kids for a tiny bit, had family prayer with them, then watched The Bucket List and drank mate. I seriously LOVE my family to death!!

After that, we went over to my good friend Jenny's house and spent a couple hours with her, catching up and sharing a ton of laughs.

Sunday, we packed up our stuff, ate my mom's yummy cinnamon rolls, and left Phoenix around 11:30am. Later than we wanted to leave, but it was good to not be rushed.

We drove to Winslow to try to find an old friend of Patrick's. We couldn't find her, which is a bummer, but the drive was beautiful. Then we headed to Flagstaff to get on the 89, which we took to Page, then drove to Kanab, then up the 89 to the 40 or 70...I'm not sure as I was dead asleep. Then over to I-15 and home to SLC!! We rolled in around 2:30am. What a long day. I love my car, but I'm currently quite sick of her. :)

So, that was our trip. Patrick's health is much better, and my body was able to fight off his cold until the drive home. Now I'm congested and dealing with sinus pressure. I wish sharing colds was more difficult. Smooching a sick hubby doesn't help, I'm sure.

Now, for December and Christmas...