Above the Clouds

We headed over to the breathtaking Waimea Canyon and Polihale Beach to celebrate Thankgiving. I discovered Mom has a fear of heights, or at least a fear of hikes with my kids running around! After driving "all the way" to the the west shore, we were richly rewarded with one of the most incredible views on earth. We also got to put the truck to the test on some deep sand and rugged terrain on our way to the beach. We made it home in time for the 4th quarter of the UT/A&M game and Texas won in a nailbiter! Happy Thanksgiving, Dad!

Sela's Sand Art

Thanksgiving

I just love Thanksgiving. What's not to love about good food, thankful hearts, and spending time with family?!  We had a week off of school because of snow/ice and freakishly low temperatures. Zig was in town and working from home most of the week. I was able to make one last grocery run on Tuesday and we pretty much hibernated the rest of the time. Thursday morning we got up early. I took Evan on a walk in the sled. He sang the entire time. He was so happy in that little sled. When we got back, he warmed up in a bath with Nina and Rollin, who requested a bath with the candles.










I made a few dishes early in the morning and then every time we would take a break from either sledding or making snowmen in the yard, I would come in and make another part of the meal. At the very end, everyone pitched in for the final touches and the meal came together beautifully. Sela made the pan roasted brussel sprouts. She massaged every little sprout individually with olive oil before putting them in the pan. They were delicious. The rest of the menu was pretty traditional. The one problem that occurred to me about an hour before meal time was we only had one dessert, the pumpkin pie Sela  made. Pumpkin pie just does not do it for me. In fact, it's kind of a big joke with my Grandpa. He likes to tease me and offer me pumpkin pie when he knows I want the chocolate pecan pie.   I don't hate  the pumpkin, it's fine, but I had to come up with something else. So in honor of this lovely American holiday I made a Tarte Chocolat Caramel. Nothing like a little French Tart on Thanksgiving. Oh well. I'd been eyeing this little gem in one of my cookbooks for quite some time, so I decided to give it a shot. And oh my goodness, I'm so glad I did. The crust was not perfectly formed as I was in a hurry, but it sooo did not matter. It was so good. The tart consisted of a delicate buttery crust, fleur de sel caramel sauce layer, and a dark chocolate ganache on the top. Forget the turkey, I'll have half of this tarte please!I actually guarded this little treasure for the rest of the week and just finished the last bite up last night. It's super rich so you can really only eat a tiny sliver at a time.


Sela and I chopping brussel sprouts and chocolate

Sela doing a little pan roasting

oh yeah!

We filled Evan up with some sweet potatoes and stuffing and then put him to bed just before we sat down to eat.  We had such a nice dinner together reflecting on our blessings and expressing gratitude for life, health, family, and lots of other very random things the kids came up with.







Recently I read a book about the value of creating stories in our lives. Memories that stick out and moments where we make ordinary things extraordinary. We had a little moment that I know will certainly stick with me on Thanksgiving day. We decided to hike to the top of the neighborhood behind us with the sleds and the kids. They were tired but when we got up to the top we all piled in the sleds, Zig and the boys in one, and the girls and I in the other, and had this amazing half-mile ride down the soft powder. The neighborhood was totally quiet, the snow was soft, and we glided down almost side by side, just our little family. Zig had a huge smile, the kids were screaming and having a blast. Laughter was echoing through the trees. It felt like we went forever! This was such a joyful moment for all of us.The kids were just beside themselves when we finally slowed to a stop.  All day long they kept saying  this was the best Thanksgiving ever. Even though I had been  having a tiny pity party for myself earlier in the week knowing most of my family was gathering in Texas for my cousin's wedding, this Thanksgiving turned out to be one of my favorites as well.



Zig and his 5th child. I laughed so hard. He was trying to get Kona to pose for a picture. I must have take 20 shots of Zig wrestling him, Kona rolling over, Kona running off, Kona looking away, lying down, etc. But the funny thing was Zig's persistence. I think he really wanted a photo of he and Kona. He loves that dog like I love my chocolate tarte!


SIT!

The happy couple. I told Zig this looks like an engagement photo. He didn't think it was quite as funny as I did!





Our family of snowmen.


The snowmen had a rough night.

Rollin finished them off.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"It's pitch white out there!" -Nina

We had this unexpected arctic blast this week! Freezing temperatures...almost single digits at night and lots of snow. We  talked about the possibility of snow all last week. The kids hoped and prayed for it. Sunday we had flurries and Monday it stuck, much to the everyone's delight. Tuesday school was canceled and I was just as thrilled as the kids. We slept in, played board games, did lots of sledding, hot chocolate, movies and Nina and I braved the roads to get some last minute Thanksgiving groceries. It was a long, wonderful day. Did I mention sunny? I absolutely love the look of the trees and yard with a fresh blanket of white. I had a prayer of thanksgiving in my heart all day long for this gorgeous afternoon.

Thanksgiving at the Sleeping Lady

We had such a great time at The Sleeping Lady last year that we decided to go back again on Thanksgiving. Zig's Mom, Tina, and younger brother, Clement, drove up from San Diego and were able to come with us. The drive was gorgeous and Thanksgiving Dinner was so delicious. Fresh, local and beautifully presented. It was quite a nice feeling to be at the grocery store on Tuesday morning with just a few items knowing my Thanksgiving Feast would be stress free this year. I do love to cook, but my thoughts about Thanksgiving are a big crowd or go somewhere fun! And not many people are dying to visit Seattle in November so I have a feeling this could be a trend. Friday the weather was gorgeous, sunny and cool. We spent a couple hours in Leavenworth and then headed home to set up the Christmas tree!!


One of my little moutain goats

Clement hauling the girls in the luggage carts

He's got the "cheese" pose down

Nina with one of the painted salmon

Thanksgiving Dinner at Kingfisher Lodge

Evan enjoyed the squash soup and being held

A little post-turkey dancing with the stars routine

Sela and Nina enjoyed tossing things down at us from the loft and giggling all night long.

Leavenworth

Snow baby