Thanksgiving in the Desert

We headed to the desert for Thanksgiving. The boys had the whole week off from school so it was worth it to travel. Funny enough, we had to go to the desert to pull out the winter apparel. It was a lot chillier than Southern California.

Nash's "relaxing" photos have become his trademark.

The cool temps didn't stop the boys from jumping in the freezing cold pool every afternoon. They only lasted about 10 minutes, but they went in every day without fail. 

We enjoyed lots of leisurely trips to the park without having to cram school, homework and after-school activities into our days. 

We kicked off Thanksgiving Day with the local parade.

The parade itself was underwhelming, but the boys had no qualms about collecting the candy that was thrown.

Finn insisted on holding a sucker in each fist.

He took turns licking each one.

The speaker system cut out halfway through the parade, but in true Jorden fashion, my brother was prepared with the right tools to rig the wires and get the sound working again.

None of us were the least bit surprised.

Finn borrowed his baby cousin's turkey hat for a minute.

Back at home, the boys set up an obstacle course in the driveway to ride their bikes through over and over. I was glad we had enough room in the car to bring their bikes and helmets because they were well used throughout the week.

It's hard to resist my parents' downhill sloped driveway.

What would Thanksgiving be without a little pre-feast swim?

Crew wasn't interested in braving the pool, but he was all about shooting his brothers with water guns. 

The warm feast that we all worked together to prepare tasted even better after burning off some energy out in the cold.

The boys loved having baby Ollie around to play with.

They thought it was so funny when their cousin tried to eat the rocks. I reminded them it wasn't all that long ago when they tried to do the same thing.

We reluctantly left the desert knowing what awaited us; December. A month packed to the brim of stress and being on the go nonstop. Each year I appreciate Thanksgiving more and more. Not only do I enjoy reflecting on our many blessings, but it feels like the calm before the storm.