Grateful for Warm Weather

As holidays go, Thanksgiving is not one of my favorites. Spending the whole day cooking for a 20 minute meal and spending the rest of the day cleaning up has always struck me as a little strange. I guess I don't need all that to remind me to be grateful. Most "Thanksgiving" food doesn't really appeal to me (surprise surprise), and I don't like pie crust .... so there you have it. However, that side of the family (the Tischner side) always makes this amazing salad that I LOVE. It is a mix of chopped apples, mandarin oranges, pineapple, pomegranates, walnuts, grapes, raisins, celery, and bananas, and the dressing is whipped cream. It is so yummy! So I filled up on that and rolls, had a bite of everything else, and that was that.

Despite the cooking/cleaning complaint above, I am a big fan of getting together with the family and I REALLY like going on vacation, and every other year, Thanksgiving means a vacation to St. George. This year, we decided to rent a condo at the Sports Village in St. George, and I must say, that was one of our better decisions (thanks to Jake for the tip!). That place was great! Who would have thought we would spend Thanksgiving Vacation in the pool - OUTSIDE! It was nice and warm (almost 60) and the pool was heated, so it felt great. The condo complex where we stayed had a clubhouse with air hockey, ping pong, video games, a workout room, a pool and hot tub, tennis, raquetball, and a playground.

Jake and Nicki and their kids flew in from Wisconsin and we met them in St. George. It was really fun to see them and catch up with their family. My Grandma and Grandpa Tischner live near St. George in Ivins, so we got to see them too. We actually ate Thanksgiving dinner at their church which was nice becuase the kids just played in the gym and we had plenty of room in the kitchen. It was a great idea. We crashed at Aunt Kati's for pie and games several times over the weekend and let the adults play the Wii. That was a riot. I think Jake and Brady boxing on the Wii might be more violent than an actual boxing match. We even got in a little shopping at the outlets, some breadsticks from the Pizza Factory, and a carmel apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Fun stuff.

We also went to one of our favorite places in St. George - Pioneer Park. The kids hiked around and ran all over the place. Dave found a cool slot canyon that he could barely fit through. At one part, he had to crawl down sideways on his elbow and knee to get through. He was so excited to make it through since most of the other adults were getting halfway up and then turning back. Dave loves stuff like that and well ... I took pictures. It was nice to get away for a few days and spend time relaxing. The kids were so grateful to have Dave all to themselves for a few days. It was a great opportunity to remember what we are thankful for, and this weekend, I was thankful for my family and for warm weather and for the opportunity to make memories.