Thanksgiving in Reno Part 5

Sunday morning early, we packed the car and headed home. The trip was great with beautiful scenery and good roads. We arrived just in time to unpack before heading to the Colver's house for Sunday dinner with the family.

Reno sunrise view from the Hastings

Sunrise on Mount Rose

The leg lamp

Daniel, Emily, and Madeline

Meg, Lizzie, Max, and Ollie

We are behind the Christmas-decorating curve and will need to get busy to catch up with our neighbors and kids. Even Uncle has his lights up!!! So I will go hang some lights and that will be all for now.

OXO

D.

Thanksgiving in Reno Part 4

Saturday morning, Maren and Gavin headed to Las Vegas en route to Peoria. The afternoon was filled with errands, including a stop at Trader Joe's for Christmas Joe Joes, etc. When the various groups returned, we hopped in two cars and went in search of Christmas trees. It was a hard slog with a few false starts, but the final purchases were beautiful, fresh, green, and perfectly-shaped. The evening was full of decorating trees and eating Anna's traditional decoration feast. It has taken on a style all its own in response to most of the Hastings, who don't like cheese. She has added panini to the mix with great effect.

Eggs for breakfast

The Young boys loved bouncing with the cousins

The entire group

See you soon -- notice the cousins "running

with them" in the background

The elves are ready for a tree

This is a fine fellow

One tree per car

Bright sun two minutes before sunset

Placing the tree

This girl is a whiz

Ready for the party

A wonderful spread

Santa Lucia 

San Roberto

A long-standing Hastings traditon

These folks are excellent hosts providing food and entertainment of every sort. What a great holiday we had with them. Thanks for everything.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Thanksgiving in Reno Part 3

Friday morning Anna made an enormous batch of delicious ebelskivers for breakfast. When everyone was ready we drove up the Mount Rose Highway to Lake Tahoe and Sand Harbor. We skipped rocks, hunted crayfish, walked the nature trails, and snacked a bit. We drove back up the mountain to Tahoe Meadows for some sledding. Back home, Rob won several rounds of Bananagrams. For supper, Rob and Anna introduced the adults to 168 Chinese Restaurant. We were the first ones there, but very quickly it filled up with Asians, which is always a good sign. They have all the typical sweet Hawaiian kinds of Chinese food, but Anna ordered some extraordinary things off the chef's menu, and the server recommended an item. All told, it was wonderful: new and different dishes and flavors!

 Ebelskivers are us

 Yummy little suckers

 Beautiful blue Tahoe

 Rock skippers

 Live crayfish in the water

 Dead crayfish in the fingers

 The troops at Sand Harbor

 Walking the causeway

 Tucker instructing Beckham on the finer points of nature

 Gavin, is that "blue steel?"

 Beckham and his mommy

 The weather was very pleasant and warm

 Those are Joe Joes Kris is holding

 Avid sledders

 Across the meadows to the sledding hill

 Anders catches some air

 Beckham had a good ride

 Rob is the Bananagrams master

 168 Chinese Restaurant

Anti-clockwise: Pepper Chicken, Fish with Wine Sauce, 

Pea Sprouts,Mushroom Beef, and Steamed Rice

This was yet another fun day. The Youngs are headed back to AZ today and that is the only thing I am sure of. We will, however, let you know what happens today. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Thanksgiving in Reno Part 2

Thanksgiving morning began with a "turkey trot/fun run" organized by one of Anna's friends from the ward. It was nice to meet her circle of friends and I believe everyone enjoyed the "run." In reality, I walked two miles on my own. Finn was so stiff and sore from his run that this morning that he had to crawl to the door and pull himself up! The rest of the morning was filled with preparations by the adults while the binkers played happily with all the great toys in the Hastings play room. Clara and I organized a center piece of whatever we could scrounge up in the yard. It was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. The dinner was delicious with all the traditional fixings. Anna brined the turkey and it was moist and tasty. We overcame the effects of tryptophan and cleaned up all the dinner mess. Dessert came a little later. The Costco pumpkin pie was really very good, and Kris's apple pie was splendid! We finished the day with a viewing of Rise of the Guardians at the local Cinemark. It was surprising how sparse the crowd was; in Provo, the theaters are packed on Thanksgiving.

 The turkey trotters

 The birthday girl and her friend Ellie

 Anna and her friends

 Beckham building tall houses

 The boys laying out their train tracks

 Anna stuffing the bird

 Clara and Dickie's centerpiece

 Carving the finished bird

 Can I have some skin?

 The delicious meal (before cranberry salad was added)

 The youngest binkers

 The east end of the table

 The west end of the table

 At the movies

Ditto

Thanksgiving was a smashing success in every way! I'm unclear on what will happen today, but I will keep you posted. That's all for now.

OXO

D.