This Thanksgiving we took a little ride up to the Pacific Northwest to spend time with Jeremy's brother and his family. We had a great time. Here are some of the things this trip helped remind me that I am grateful for:
1. Family of course. First of all I am so extremely thankful for a wonderful husband and two lovable little boys. They are my world. I am also very thankful for both Jeremy's and my extended families. They all do so much for us.
2. I'm thankful that REAL won the MLS championships. Way to go RSL! Jeremy got to go to the game. It was too cold for the little ones and me so we stayed in the nice warm house and watched it on TV. Great game! Jeremy and his bro lucked out with pretty good seats. I'm glad they were there to support.
3. I'm grateful for books. I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I quite enjoy books and the places they take me. The book that most influenced this trip was not one that I've read recently but it's been getting some attention lately with a little movie that just came out. My sister-in-law and I, wanting to get in the mood before we saw the movie, headed to Forks in search of some vampires and wearwolves. We didn't see any of those but we did see A LOT of twilight gift shops and a small town that has been overrun with Twilight mania. It's kind of fun to mock the Twilight fans for making the Forks transformation possible, but then I remember that I was there so guess I'm one of them. Every establishment had a piece of Twilight fever. Even the little gas station Subway had a twilight sub. No, we didn't pay $40 for the Twilight tour, but we did give ourselves a self guided tour of all the major sights. They were all pretty lame of course except for La Push. The coolest thing about Forks is that it is near the Olympic National Park and the La Push beaches are actually part of the park. They were beautiful. The drive to Forks was also quite impressive. It's a gorgeous place and definitely a good place to live if you were a vampire. Very rainy and quite eerie. Anyways, it was a fun little adventure for us. I'm sure Graham will appreciate that he was there when he gets older.
Grahams first beach experience.
3. Good health. There is nothing like being sick to make you realize what a blessing it is to be healthy. Beckett discovered this one for us. Poor little guy was just warming up to his cousins when he was put out of commission for several days. He's back to normal now, but I still feel bad about the couch.
We were also grateful that we were all healthy enough to do the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot around the Harbor. It rained the entire time and we had a blast.
5. Holidays. Some holidays seem a little silly when you think about it but they are a nice break from the rut and routine of life, and give you an excuse to do things you wouldn't normally do, like turn Oreos into Turkey's.
7. This beautiful earth. I am so grateful for the amazing sights and breathtaking beauty I've seen. Nothing compares to the sights of nature. We drove through the Columbia River Gorge on the way and it was incredible. Thanks to some It is perfect and humbling.
8. Animals. They bring variety, love, and wonder to the world. There is nothing like a two year old to help you appreciate animals. We went to the Zoo in Tacoma and had fun seeing all the animals.
9. I'm grateful for Children that sleep. While in Seattle Jeremy and I got to do one of our favorite things to do in a city. Walk. We planned on going to the Childrens museum, but when we pulled into the city Beckett was so tired and ornery we knew that wasn't going to work so we put the boys in the stroller and before long they were out. They slept for about four hours while we walked, and walked, and walked. We saw all the Seattle sights, enjoyed watching all the people, and finished off our Seattle experience with a hot chocolate in Starbucks. It was a perfect day.
Beckett's first date. They went to Temple Square. He totally put the moves on.
The first time Beckett chose to put his pile of toys in this particular place. Piles of toys are frequent (he things this is how you play with them), but this pile was a first.
