For Thanksgiving this year, we had to stick close to home. We had planned to just have a low key Thanksgiving, but when we found out our Friend, Alex, wasn't doing much for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to fly him to Colorado, and visit!
I first met Alex back when I was 12, when we lived in upstate NY for a year. Joe, Alex, and Ben, were all friends. Although my family only lived there for a year, Joe and Alex's friendship continued to grow over the years. When Joe and I were reunited, and then married, I got to see Alex again a couple times while Joe and I lived in upstate NY. Shortly after we got married, he moved to Chicago, and we moved to Denver. A couple years later, Alex went on a mission. So, Joe and I hadn't seen him for over 4 years, and for me, it felt like I really hadn't seen him since we were 12! It was so much fun to spend some time with an old friend, and get all caught up!
Thanksgiving day, Ben, Kismet, and Idealia came over, and we all made the "feast" together.
let me take a moment to say "THANK YOU!" to all the people who have ever invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner, having slaved in the kitchen all morning. This was my first Thanksgiving where I didn't just have to make a dish or two, but I actually had to put together the entire thing! I learned that it is like, seriously stressful! I had a perfect vision of me doing it all by myself, and then calling for everyone to come and dig in, (in a very Martha Stewart/Julia Childs kinda way), with my hair perfectly in place, and not an ounce of sweat, or stress on my perfectly made-up face. In the end, it was NOTHING like my perfect vision, and I was very grateful for the helping hands in the kitchen! Amidst the chaos, I would from time to time, chuckle in my head. Having Alex at our house, would sometimes make me feel like I was 12 again, and the image of all of us as kids in the kitchen, trying to put together a thanksgiving dinner cracked me up! In the end, it all came together. Although, I did have a cold, and couldn't really taste anything. I was blissfully unaware if anything tasted not quite right...but I'm assuming it did in fact all come together in the end ;)
Joe and Alex took charge of the turkey. Joe and I weren't quite sure what to do for the turkey, but luckily Alex had a few tricks up his sleeve!
Kismet got to meet Ruby for the first time. They became good friends ;)
Our blood, sweat, and tears;) :
After we were all done eating, Joe and Alex headed to the Bronco's game together:
They were sweet, and made sure they took lots of pics for me. Even if it meant getting weird stares from people, looking at two guys pose for a picture together ;D
Over the next few days, we went to downtown Denver where we went to the Cheesecake Factory and saw "The Blind Side", went to the Aquarium, went to the Nuggets game, and enjoyed catching up with each other.
Ridding the bus into Denver:
Aquarium:
I find this picture to be cute, and freaky, all at the same time:
Nuggets game:
It was so much fun getting to visit with Alex. It was fun looking back on old times, and laughing at ourselves. It was also fun to see how far we've all come, and how much we have grown and matured. He was a lot of fun to be around, and kept us laughing the whole time, with his witty sense of humor!
We saw lots of deer.
My dad loves this sign:
He wants to put a sign underneath it saying. "Because mooning is illegal" And that pretty much sums up why I love my dad.
While we had everyone together, we celebrated Ben's 25 birthday!
We enjoyed having family around, and we're so grateful they came to be here for Joe and I as we went through the temple for the first time!
We thought we were all done, so we started looking for the door to leave. That was when we realized they had an out door jungle, filled with all sorts of exotic butterflies!! You're allowed to walk around, and the butterflies fly right pass you, and sometimes, right on you!! Joe and I could seriously spend all day there!
A couple butterflies landed on Joe's dad, while he was sitting down taking a break...
They stayed there for quite a while.
Finally, his patience payed off!
It was a fun 5 days, and we're so grateful he came out to visit us!
Kismet got to meet Ruby for the first time. They became good friends ;)
Our blood, sweat, and tears;) :
They were sweet, and made sure they took lots of pics for me. Even if it meant getting weird stares from people, looking at two guys pose for a picture together ;D
Aquarium:
I find this picture to be cute, and freaky, all at the same time:
