We were very fortunate to be able to take a family trip up to see my side of the family for Thanksgiving weekend this year. We flew into SLC on Thanksgiving Day, and spent the day at my Aunt & Uncle Mangone's house. Ashlyn and Sierra headed straight to the backyard and played in the snow for a while. We then ate a scrumptious turkey dinner with all the fixin's, and my cousin Lessley and her family were there to share it with us too. That evening, two of Lessley's brothers and their families came over as well. We all had some yummy desserts, watched the kids play, and perused the Black Friday ads (over and over and over and...well, you get the idea!).
We then headed down to Lessley's house to stay the next couple of nights there. The next morning, Lessley and I ventured out (with Sierra in tow....little stinker!) to some of the sales to see what we could find. Target was a no-go (no items and Extremely LONG lines)....Walmart was quite productive and stress-free (appeasing Sierra with a toy works wonders!), and Kohl's was a breeze as well. After that, we were set. We went back to Less' house and went about the rest of the day....eating at Taco Time for lunch, picking up some cold weather sweaters at JCPenney's (once we found it---dumb directions on the GPS led us to a bridge in Provo at first!), replacing Matt's shoes with new Skechers at the outlet near the Mangone's house.
Then we met up at the Mangone's with everyone and headed over to Temple Square to watch the Temple lights ceremony. We grabbed some hot chocolate beforehand, but it didn't seem to help keep us warm---it was COLD ! The lights were beautiful, but we had to leave early since we were all completely frozen.
So, back to Lessley's we went for the night.
Saturday morning we headed up to Bancroft, ID where my Grandma Munro lives and where my extended family gathers for a reunion-like afternoon. We eat a big, yummy turkey dinner, visit and catch-up, watch the kids run and play, eat yummy pies and fruit salad (and new this year--pumpkin roll), cheer the kids on as they hit the pinata--this year: Spongebob.
Also this year, Jared was able to drive up and brought his fiance' Victoria and her two boys, Cyris and Akris. The boys absolutely LOVED the snow (couldn't keep them out of it, actually!), and it was great to be able to have all of us together for this annual family get-together!
That evening we checked into our motel rooms in Lava Hot Springs, and headed over to the hot pools. For Matt, myself and the girls, it was our first time actually going to the hot pools. One wouldn't think that going out in 20 degree temperatures into a hot pool then walking home in the same below-freezing temps would be a smart thing to do....but it. was. FANTASTIC!!!
We were so warm on our way back to our room that Ashlyn and Sierra wanted ice cream!
It was a nice break from the cold, that is FOR SURE.
There is one more tradition to finish off the day in Idaho: Pizza and Milkshakes at the local pizzaria (Royal Pizza). Yum. and. Fun.
Sunday morning, we woke up to about 4 inches of snow on our rental car (a fantastic 2011 Toyota Camry w/traction control: pretty much a car with 4 wheel drive!). So we decided to start heading to Elko in case the roads were bad as well.
Which, parts of them were.
But we made it.
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| Finally some blue sky right outside of Elko :) |
And we headed straight out to Spring Creek to visit some of our friends out there: the Woinarowicz's. The girls bundled up and headed outside to play with their friends in the 8 inches of snow in the backyard. But when the older girls (Ashlyn, Madilyn, Paige, and Kiera) came inside, Sierra stayed out.
She absolutely LOVED the snow! (This trip was her first time seeing snow--since she was a baby.) She sat in it on the back porch and ate it, kicked it, and made snowballs with Schawn. She had a blast!
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| L-R: Ashlyn, Madilyn, Sierra, Paige |
We visited for a few hours, then ate a tasty ham & potatoes dinner and had s'mores for dessert. Chris came home from work around 7:30 and we stayed until 9:30 visiting with him, and letting the girls play their little hearts out!
(After the head count, there were 10 girls and 3 boys: me, Amber, Krista, Ashlyn, Sierra, Madilyn, Paige, Kiera, Kayla, Sylvia, Matt, Chris, and Schawn.)
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| L-R: Paige, Madilyn, Ashlyn |
We headed back to Elko and stayed the night at my parents' house--which was pretty full, since Jared and his family were staying there as well.
Monday, we went to 11th Street Deli for lunch (of course!), then drove back out to Spring Creek to Matt's sister's house.
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| She loved her quesadilla, but makes the FUNNIEST faces while separating the tortilla and cheese! LOL! |
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| Sierra as a "princess" with Caitlin's leotard and princess shoes on |
The kids were in school, but the twins (Caitlin and Connor) were out at noon, and Zach got out around 2. So we chatted and the kiddos played together....inside with toys, and outside in the snow.
That evening, we went back to my parent's house for some pictures...in the snow.
:-)
After pictures, we headed to eat some grub at one of the local Basque restaurants, The Star. As always, it did NOT disappoint! What a great way to end any vacation!
We went to bed, and got up extra early to head back to SLC to catch our flight home.
We weren't too sad to leave the -2 temps that morning, and land in 60 temps here at home. But we will miss everyone up "north". It was a GREAT week; never a dull moment. (Ashlyn's nose, lip and chin are healing up from her unexpected encounter with the ice in Bancroft...just a little bruising left. All of the swelling has finally gone away.)
We love all of you, and are thankful for each and every one of you! And we are already planning next year's trip up north!
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