Happy Holidays!!!!!

It has been an amazing Thanksgiving break for us.The original plan was to leave early Monday morning to visit Niagara Falls where would see the falls, do some hiking, and scout the gorge for a possible future run :). We would then head over to Palmyra, New York, and spend the next day and a half visiting church history sites. On the way home we would stop at the Aaronic Priesthood restoration site and then at Kirtland, following (more or less) the trail of the Saints as they made their way west.

As it turned out, Rachel got a horrible toothache and was seeing the Dentist all of Monday morning getting a root canal. Not the greatest start to our vacation, but we were able to make the best of it. The Niagara/Palmyra trip will have to wait for another time, which is great because it gives us something to look forward to! Instead, I was able to play racquetball in the mornings, which was a lot of fun. Rachel was also excited to be also able to workout all week which she has missed because she has had a terrible cold, then an exquisite toothache.

Also, on Tuesday we went on a hike at Cuyahoga National Park. This is a small park just about a half hour south of us, and every time I go I am reminded how pretty it is out here. It is the time of year that the trees don’t have many leaves on them anymore, but the ground is carpeted in an immaculate array of color from those that have fallen. We were there for a few hours, and we did several small hikes to different landmarks and overlooks. It was a beautifully brisk day that was perfect for hiking. We feel lucky to have a place like this so close to where we live.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with friends from the ward and from school. We were able to have our feast in the cultural hall of the ward building. Eight other families showed up and we had a lot of fun eating, talking, playing basketball, and just “hanging out.” The food was great- the company was better; we are happy that there are such cool people around us to share our time with. Also, there were plenty of leftovers, which means that we can have Thanksgiving dinner again and again for a long time!

The day after Thanksgiving I had a new experience- I went shopping. Not just a leisurely stroll through the mall either-no, this was extreme shopping. I’ve kayaked class V+, and I’ve climbed mountains with thousands of feet of exposure, but those pale in comparison with Black Friday Shopping. We got up at 3:30 in the morning. We stood in lines. We watched fights break out all around us. We laughed at the things people say and do- for example, I heard someone at Circuit City ask what a particular electronic device was. “I don’t know,” their friend replied, “But it’s fifty dollars off. I’m buying it!” I think next year instead of shopping I’m just going to bring a lounge chair and watch people squabble over the hot items. Nevertheless, we did get some pretty fantastic deals, so I guess to some people all the madness pays off in the end.

On Saturday we made our annual gingerbread house. This is a tradition we started the first year we were married, and hopefully one that continues through the years as our family grows up. Every Thanksgiving we carefully make our blueprints (finally! A good use for geometry), plan our decorations, then go to the store and buy tons of candy. This is generally a two or three day process because of the gingerbread recipe. The dough must chill overnight, then we roll it to cut our designs, bake them, trim off the edges and wait for them to harden enough for the structural design. Our home building skills improved considerably this year because we figured out some new tricks! First off, the hack saw we used to trim the pieces was a great success, and second we figured out how to put the frosting in a bag and use it to ice the pieces together (it took us way too long to figure that out). I think that this year’s house turned out pretty good, but more importantly, it was a lot of fun to make- and it will be a lot of fun to eat when the time comes.

Also, the day after Thanksgiving is the traditional “decorate for Christmas” day, and it was fun to bring out some the Christmas decorations and music. I love this time of year! Happy holidays to everyone! We are looking forward to seeing many of you in upcoming weeks.

Here are some pictures:

This is a cool tree we found at Cuyahoga National Park. Does anybody know why it looks like that?

Here's a cave we hiked to. It actually goes back pretty deep. We'll have to come back with flashlights to explore.

I'm posting this for Diane because she very stealily sneaked into it. These are the preparations for The Feast.

Fun, Food, and Friends. What a good way to spend a holiday.

Our annual gingerbread house. I think it turned out pretty good.