Thanksgiving in Utah/Idaho

Yes, amazing but true, a picture other than my foot.  I'm sick of it just as much as the rest of you are.

For Thanksgiving this year, our family took our yearly trip up to Northern Utah and Idaho. We always look forward to getting together and doing things we would never get a chance to do in a place like Las Vegas.

Marijke is very into planting trees, plants and flowers.  On her back fence, she has grapevines producing the most wonderful grapes.

Bill has a room designated only for his trains. This picture just shows one section of this amazing room. Benjamin was in absolute heaven here. He ran around showing me everything. Dadoo Train is the name the kids have called him since they could speak. Hmmm, I wonder how he got that name?

Can you believe the view they have from their balcony?

The first place we went to when we arrived in Rexburg was a pizza place named Craigo's. This is one of our favorite places to eat when we're there.

Not many know that I have two veneers on my front teeth. Weeks ago, one unfortunately popped off. Because that tooth is dead, it's much darker than the rest and in order to get a good fit they need to file down that tooth before to have a base to work with making it look even darker. May sound archaic, but in order to save time & money, I superglued that dang tooth on instead of having a new one made (my dentist would kill me).

Craigo's just happened to have a pizza named "Hillbilly". I felt so at home!

Although it was very cold, surprisingly there was no snow up north. The kids were able to play on their cousins' swingset, ride dirt bikes and four wheelers, and go bowling in a alley that oddly doesn't reek of smoke. Ben preferred to just watch the others outside from the doorway (bottom left). They live so close to the Rexburg temple. It's a picture-perfect view at night in their family room (upper right).

Marijke and Nicole stuffing the turkey. Both of these women are fantastic cooks. Benjamin fell asleep before we even ate (upper left and right).

Taylor finds another lucky participant to walk on his back.

Baby Will was born two months ago.  Everyone loved to hold him, and I'm sure Nicole enjoyed the break.  

It was so nice getting my baby fix each time I held him.  I now realize how grandparents feel about their grandchildren.   It's so fun to hold them and take care of them, but knowing you can hand them back whenever you are done makes it even MORE fun.

Saturday night, we decided to go to Temple Square. Instead of driving, we took the Frontrunner, a double-decker train that stops in each of the cities from Ogden on down. Then we hopped the Trax (trolley type of train). It took over an hour, but it was nice not to have to find a parking spot downtown.
Santa also played the bagpipes in a kilt just outside of the gates. Good times.

Of course we stopped by Great Grandma Scheer's house (Marijke's mother) to visit before we drove home on Sunday. She is always so excited every year to put out all of her Christmas decorations. She can hardly walk, but that doesn't stop her from showing the kids around her house, having them push all the buttons to make the toys work.  Ben couldn't tear himself away from anything that moved or made sounds.

She may be getting older, but her sense of humor is sharp as a tack. She loves to freak everyone out by taking out her dentures and giving that crazy smile (upper right).

Thank you to Marijke & Bill and Nicole & Jared for giving us a place to stay for the week. We had so much fun spending time with everyone, eating, playing, eating, talking, and did I mention eating? We hope all of our friends and family had a wonderful Thankgiving this year.