We’ve had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Everyone arrived safely on Wednesday evening for which I’m thankful. Thanksgiving Day started with Ty and me taking all of the kids bowling. Some years before we arrived in Colorado Springs someone started a Ward tradition of fathers taking the kids bowling on Thanksgiving morning to give mothers some space to get things ready at home. I think this is the third time that Ty, Heather, and kids have been here on Thanksgiving and the third time we’ve gone bowling. Of all the years we’ve gone bowling, this was by far the best experience. All of the kids are old enough now to be able to get their own balls, tie their own shoes, and have a good time. In total eight of us were at the bowling alley leaving Heather and Nina at home.
The traditional meal was traditionally delicious. It sure doesn’t take very much time to devour a meal — certainly not in contrast to how long it takes to prepare such a feast. Even the cleanup took longer than the eating! There doesn’t seem to be much justice in that. In any event, the food was great, the conversation was delightful, and all too soon we were cleaning everything up.
Football was the primary noise event for the rest of the day. Ty, Heather, and Daryl are involved in a football activity with other family members and they’re very interested in who wins, who looses, and by how much. Daryl picked both of the underdogs to win, and win they did. He was off to a good start on the weekend professional games. Heather, however, has a significant lead over the rest of the gang and probably can’t be beat. We finished the evening by watching the second Lord of the Rings installment, The Two Towers. The extended DVD version was released a week or so ago and is about four hours long. I could (and will) watch it a couple of more times before the third installment is released on December 17th.
Before the video and after the games, several folks spent a couple of hours building picture books for the Church’s Humanitarian Center. These books consist of six pages of pictures cut out of magazines, pasted on paper, and put in sheet protectors. Heather will take these books back with her to turn over to the center. This has been a fun project and just about everyone can particpate in putting together these books. They’ll be given to schools in other parts of the world so that kids can have their own books. We had several piles of magazines laying around the house. They’ve all now been sliced up and the remnants tossed away. I think this is a good use for old magazines. Some of the photography in these magazines is quite impressive!
So, on this Friday morning, we’re taking it quite easy. We’ve had a big, sumptuous breakfast. The kids are playing, the adults are lounging around, and we’ll just take it easy. Many other folks are out shopping on this biggest shopping day of the year. We won’t be among that group. Family time is much more important, thankfully!