There is no better way to spend Thanksgiving than with a few of the people you love! We headed to New Mexico to spend the holiday with Melanie and family. Just the day before, Jadeyn had started to get a bit sick and we wondered if it would still be okay to go. Melanie graciously welcomed us in despite what Jadeyn sounded like. He did surprisingly well on the drive there, sleeping most of the way, but boy, did that ever change when we arrived. He was so ecstatic to be with cousins that he quickly disappeared as they raced around the house chasing each other with Nerf guns. The funniest thing is that normally when he is with cousins, he is the loudest one there. We didn't hear a peep out of him as he dashed around the house having a blast, but not making a sound. Hum. Shortly after we arrived, his breathing took a really bad turn and we realized that we really needed to take him in. Better on the day before Thanksgiving than the day of. Off to the emergency clinic. Diagnosis: a good case of croup. Eew. He really improved with the steroid they gave him, and it still didn't slow him down much, but he was able to really enjoy himself.
Lots of food! and pies!!! Thanksgiving dinner was filled with tons of food and fun in the preparation of it! Everyone pitched in and it was delicious!!!
We spent an afternoon hiking in the Bisti Wilderness area nearby. It felt like we were in Goblin Valley with all sorts of strange rock formations and crazy caves appearing out of nowhere. It was a kids play haven! It still blows my mind that you can find chunks of petrified wood just laying around out here. They say that the weathering of the rocks exposes new petrified wood constantly. Wow.
Playing at the parks and out in the back yard was another highlight. They have built a magnificent greenhouse in the back! So cool. An early Christmas present of a computer game was a hit! All the kids crowded into Nathan and Brendon's bedroom and battled it out. One night, Melanie pulled out a few photo albums and we walked down memory lane looking through family pictures, pictures from high school musicals, etc! So fun.
We have always felt welcomed with Melanie's family and were so happy to spend the Holidays with them!
And on a side note, I just love these last few pictures. Jadeyn jumping into a massive pile of Maple leaves. Then Kevin's attempt to "need" a new lawn mower by mowing over too many leaves. He's a little disappointed that the mower still works after that!
