Thanksgiving and Beyond

We had a great Thanksgiving break this year, braving the tides of holiday travelers to visit Justin's parents in Belfair, WA. First, however, we drove to Utah and visited with his aunt and uncle and grandma. To get to the airport, we rode the FrontRunner from Syracuse to Salt Lake City, then switched to the Green Line to get to the airport. I felt very urban taking a public transportation system and Chad had a lot of fun looking out the window and flirting with all the little girls near us.

On the FrontRunner

Traveling with a baby, a stroller, three rolling suitcases, a duffel bag, a backpack, a purse, and a diaper bag was quite the adventure, especially with getting everything on and off the trains. But we managed to make it to Washington in one piece. Chad did well on his first airplane ride, though he didn't sleep like we'd hoped. He spent most of his time playing peekaboo with the man in the row behind us.

First airplane ride

Thanksgiving week we saw Catching Fire in theaters (well worth a watch), played some tennis, and did some Christmas shopping. We also got to have lunch with my old friend and co-worker Julie Null and her husband Andrew. It was fun seeing her and reminiscing about old times working at the Prepared Pantry. Justin also got to assist in the slaughter and preparation of our turkey dinner at his sister's house, an experience I was only too happy to pass up.

The big day was of course full of cooking and food and fun. Chad slept right through dinner, which was a blessing because I was able to actually enjoy a full meal without being interrupted once. That evening we journeyed to Port Orchard to stand in the cold in front of Office Depot in order to purchase me a new laptop. We arrived an hour early, expecting horrendous lines, and ended up being the 6th and 7th people in line. I guess people don't really think of Office Depot when they think of Black Friday. Needless to say, I was able to get my new laptop.

We are now in the final week and a half of the semester. While Justin studies for tests and writes final papers, I am kept busy with grading. Just 20 papers to go! It was another good semester of teaching for me. I really enjoy what I do and feel so blessed to be able to work for a church institution. This last Saturday we were able to attend the BYU-I Christmas Concert featuring all the choirs, a bell-ringing group, dancers, the orchestra, and guest singer Nathan Pacheco. It was held in the BYU-I Center and is the pinnacle of my holiday season so far. Really astounding singing and showmanship. In a little over a week we'll be driving to Boise to spend the Christmas break.

In other Chad news, he has finally decided to try out crawling! It's a lot of starting, stopping, rocking, and rolling, but he has begun to travel. Last night we tempted him into crawling after our Jamba Juice cups and I don't know who was more excited, me or him. Now I'm afraid I'll regret my excitement for his learning to crawl as he begins to get into things, but it's so fun to see him progressing and growing. He is also starting to cruise along furniture a little bit, so walking may not be far in the future either. It's funny he's ending up learning to do both simultaneously. We've also been introducing him to snow, but aren't sure what he thinks of it yet. It's been mostly in the single digits and teens so we can't keep him outside for very long at a time. He does seem to think it's good to eat, though.

Look at that snow!

The Grinch and Santa Claus

Goofy boy