We had a blizzard on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Reed was driving a school bus near the Utah-Idaho border when it hit. Visibility was poor and roads were treacherous. I was thankful and relieved when he got home safely. Schools and businesses all over the area closed early. There were many road closures. Several inches of snow blew sidewards and were sculpted into drifts. The blast of winter affected travel plans for many. We've heard that the worst roads are here in Cache Valley.
Robin, Andrew and girls came the day before Thanksgiving for dentist appointments and stayed with us. Candace, Jory and family arrived the night before Thanksgiving and got to stay two nights at Spring Hill Suites at half off the usual cheap associate's rate. The breakfasts and swimming pool are a hit with the kids.
The VanWagenens and Burkhardts contributed some really good food and tasty treats to what we prepared. Everything was delicious. But what a lot of work to get it all ready and then be done in a matter of minutes!
We had a few disasters. Before filling a graham cracker crust for banana cream pie, I attempted to brush off some loose crumbs over the waste can. The whole thing slipped and broke into several pieces. Luckily, I had another crust in the pantry.
Two dozen rolls did not rise properly. I baked them anyway but had to hurry to get more ready. Instead of throwing the rejects away, I put them on the counter and every one of them were snitched and eaten prior to the meal.
Marshmallows were put on top of the sweet potatoes and placed under the broiler to brown. I said we'd better watch them carefully. Then I drained and mashed the potatoes and Reed started carving the turkey. Andrew saw flames filling the oven. He removed the sweet potatoes, placed a lid over the fire, and ran outside where he scraped off the blackened marshmallows. (We ate them anyway and they were fine) The smoke alarm went off and we had to air the house out even though it had been a chilly 14 degrees below zero earlier that morning.
Later, Candace went out to her van and returned saying that the neighbors across the street were also having a smoke detector incident. I knew they were out of town so I was concerned. I walked around their house, looked in windows, found all the doors locked, but couldn't smell smoke. I asked another neighbor if she had any cell phone numbers so we could call and see if they had a hidden key so we could check things out. She didn't. I called emergency services. I told them our neighbor works for Logan City so they could probably find a cell phone number. They eventually made contact with him. There was no extra key so they had to break a door. A full crew of firemen spent about two hours in the home. Several of our grandsons stood out in the frigid temperatures and watched. The rest of us watched through the window while Bryan monitored the event on his scanner and gave us updates. It ended up being a dirty sensor on a smoke detector. Since all of their detectors are inter-wired, they were all sounding off. Even though it was a false alarm, I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I would have a hard time forgiving myself if their house had burned down and I had done nothing.
Kim, Bryan and family had arrived later in the afternoon while I was checking out our neighbor's house. They were able to spend time with the rest of us and join us for a supper of leftovers, pies and other treats. Ashlyn and Katelyn went swimming at the motel with their cousins.
I was able to catch up on some of the comings and goings of family members, hear about health issues, school, work, awards received, races run, activities, lessons etc. We had impromptu dance, singing and gymnastic performances. The dress-ups were well used. The noise level was pretty high. Poor Aubrey, at 18 months and being in the stage of getting into everything, constantly heard us yell "No, no, NO!" Mason is our "Thanksgiving Grandchild," his mother having gone into labor with him after Thanksgiving dinner 12 years ago. He is a big kid. His men's shoe size has matched his age...men's size 10 at age 10, size 11 at age 11 etc. He recently announced the Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting in his newly acquired deep man's voice. It brought a chuckle to the congregation. Landon's favorite activity at our house is smashing aluminum cans. I had to dig some out of the recycling bin for him to do the honors.
Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. We have been having leftover turkey nearly every meal. We have much to be thankful for. Well, down with the fall and Thanksgiving decorations and up with the winter and Christmas ones. I think I will do it gradually over the next week or so.
Robin, Andrew and girls came the day before Thanksgiving for dentist appointments and stayed with us. Candace, Jory and family arrived the night before Thanksgiving and got to stay two nights at Spring Hill Suites at half off the usual cheap associate's rate. The breakfasts and swimming pool are a hit with the kids.
The VanWagenens and Burkhardts contributed some really good food and tasty treats to what we prepared. Everything was delicious. But what a lot of work to get it all ready and then be done in a matter of minutes!
We had a few disasters. Before filling a graham cracker crust for banana cream pie, I attempted to brush off some loose crumbs over the waste can. The whole thing slipped and broke into several pieces. Luckily, I had another crust in the pantry.
Two dozen rolls did not rise properly. I baked them anyway but had to hurry to get more ready. Instead of throwing the rejects away, I put them on the counter and every one of them were snitched and eaten prior to the meal.
Marshmallows were put on top of the sweet potatoes and placed under the broiler to brown. I said we'd better watch them carefully. Then I drained and mashed the potatoes and Reed started carving the turkey. Andrew saw flames filling the oven. He removed the sweet potatoes, placed a lid over the fire, and ran outside where he scraped off the blackened marshmallows. (We ate them anyway and they were fine) The smoke alarm went off and we had to air the house out even though it had been a chilly 14 degrees below zero earlier that morning.
Later, Candace went out to her van and returned saying that the neighbors across the street were also having a smoke detector incident. I knew they were out of town so I was concerned. I walked around their house, looked in windows, found all the doors locked, but couldn't smell smoke. I asked another neighbor if she had any cell phone numbers so we could call and see if they had a hidden key so we could check things out. She didn't. I called emergency services. I told them our neighbor works for Logan City so they could probably find a cell phone number. They eventually made contact with him. There was no extra key so they had to break a door. A full crew of firemen spent about two hours in the home. Several of our grandsons stood out in the frigid temperatures and watched. The rest of us watched through the window while Bryan monitored the event on his scanner and gave us updates. It ended up being a dirty sensor on a smoke detector. Since all of their detectors are inter-wired, they were all sounding off. Even though it was a false alarm, I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I would have a hard time forgiving myself if their house had burned down and I had done nothing.
Kim, Bryan and family had arrived later in the afternoon while I was checking out our neighbor's house. They were able to spend time with the rest of us and join us for a supper of leftovers, pies and other treats. Ashlyn and Katelyn went swimming at the motel with their cousins.
I was able to catch up on some of the comings and goings of family members, hear about health issues, school, work, awards received, races run, activities, lessons etc. We had impromptu dance, singing and gymnastic performances. The dress-ups were well used. The noise level was pretty high. Poor Aubrey, at 18 months and being in the stage of getting into everything, constantly heard us yell "No, no, NO!" Mason is our "Thanksgiving Grandchild," his mother having gone into labor with him after Thanksgiving dinner 12 years ago. He is a big kid. His men's shoe size has matched his age...men's size 10 at age 10, size 11 at age 11 etc. He recently announced the Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting in his newly acquired deep man's voice. It brought a chuckle to the congregation. Landon's favorite activity at our house is smashing aluminum cans. I had to dig some out of the recycling bin for him to do the honors.
Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. We have been having leftover turkey nearly every meal. We have much to be thankful for. Well, down with the fall and Thanksgiving decorations and up with the winter and Christmas ones. I think I will do it gradually over the next week or so.
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