In my conscious effort to not be one of "those" bloggers--you know, predictable, saccharine, and boring--sometimes I forget to blog about actual life events, as opposed to just random embarrassing personal stories. So prepare yourself for THANKSGISTMAS: the post where I blog about two months' worth of holiday happenings.
THANKSGIVING: We spent this holiday in Huntington Beach with my in-laws, and it was grand I tell you. Just grand. Tammie (my MIL) made an unbelievable homemade Thanksgiving spread for THIRTY PEOPLE. It was rockstar status! Around this time, the news story had just broke about the guy who told TSA not to "touch his junk." Grandma Tanner didn't quite understand what this terminology meant, and had us all rolling on the floor when she proclaimed that she wouldn't mind this at all, and would in fact wear a shirt to LAX with "TOUCH MY JUNK" displayed in bold letters on the front. Awesome. Later that evening, we all headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Tanner's for--what else?--Santa Bingo. 25 rounds (and eight boxes of See's Chocolate) later, we all exchanged our winning tickets for small gifts, ate leftover turkey sandwiches, pie, and Grandpa's famous "slush." I just about needed a dolly to wheel me out of there!
The best part of Thanksgiving was that Gary and Tammie surprised us all (me, Brock, Ryan, Tara, Allie) with a quick trip to Catalina Island! We sailed on over the day after Thanksgiving and stayed for three nights and two days. During the first day we played a killer round of family mini-golf (SURPRISE: I lost) and ate dinner at a pizza place with extremely suggestive cross-stitches on the wall (you don't want to know). Later that night, we all played 99 (a card game) and read the gossip magazines that Tammie had bought at a grocery store :)
The next day, Brock and I enjoyed a nice morning run together before family pictures at the beach! Our photographer was--well, he knew how to physically take a picture, but not much beyond that! Consequently, we ended up with some very funny photos, but eventually managed to get a good one! Later, Brock and I rented a tandem bike that we rode up to botanical gardens, and then met Gary at the pier to catch some fish (line of the day, by Tara: "PEAS FOR EVERYONE!!!!"). The vacation ended with a yummy seafood for dinner to celebrate Tammie's birthday, overpriced ice cream at a place called Big Olaf's, and a movie night back at the condo :)
CHRISTMAS: Hmm. This post is already getting quite long. I'll spare you all and just list highlights:
1. Visiting the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Red Feather Lakes, CO. Seriously awesome. All of you Fort Collinsers need to go if you already haven't!
2. Seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra LIVE at the Pepsi Center! My eardrums are still ringing. And my eyebrows are singed.
3. My best friend's wedding!!!! (Always wanted to say that.) My dear friend Tiffany Whitsitt (née Christensen) had a beautiful wedding at the Denver Temple on December 28th! The entire day was beyond fun (we probably shook our groove things a little too much at her reception), and their wedding dinner at Sonny Lubick's Steakhouse was awesome. Brock and I also went on a fun double date with the to the Cheesecake Factory in Denver a few nights prior, where we saw the true extent of their fanatical healthiness. Get this: They didn't order cheesecake. AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. However, they did eat out at Uno's once the got home to Chicago, so they are forgiven.
4. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without going the movies! We saw "True Grit," "RED," and "Unstoppable," which were all fantastic!
5. Movie night with the family. One night Connor (6) suggested we "make hot chocolate, curl up with blankets, eat popcorn, and watch 'How to Train Your Dragon' as a family." Too cute! :) So that's exactly what we did.
6. PING-PONG. I pwned Brock multiple times.
7. Rock climbing on Christmas Day on the cliffs above Horsetooth Reservoir.
8. Avalanche-Redwing game for Brock, Caleb, Colby, and my dad. I let Brock go to this instead of Tiffany's wedding dinner . . . yes, I am a good wife. Although he missed out on killer filet mignon.
9. Playing games at the church's cultural hall. All us kids got together and played epic games of dodgeball, freeze tag, soccer, tail tag, and kick the can. Straight up Brady Bunch style.
10. Family pictures. Always a joy.
11. Sleeping in!
12. ANGRY BIRDS.
13. Having the whole family together for the first time in years.
The next day, Brock and I enjoyed a nice morning run together before family pictures at the beach! Our photographer was--well, he knew how to physically take a picture, but not much beyond that! Consequently, we ended up with some very funny photos, but eventually managed to get a good one! Later, Brock and I rented a tandem bike that we rode up to botanical gardens, and then met Gary at the pier to catch some fish (line of the day, by Tara: "PEAS FOR EVERYONE!!!!"). The vacation ended with a yummy seafood for dinner to celebrate Tammie's birthday, overpriced ice cream at a place called Big Olaf's, and a movie night back at the condo :)
CHRISTMAS: Hmm. This post is already getting quite long. I'll spare you all and just list highlights:
1. Visiting the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Red Feather Lakes, CO. Seriously awesome. All of you Fort Collinsers need to go if you already haven't!
2. Seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra LIVE at the Pepsi Center! My eardrums are still ringing. And my eyebrows are singed.
3. My best friend's wedding!!!! (Always wanted to say that.) My dear friend Tiffany Whitsitt (née Christensen) had a beautiful wedding at the Denver Temple on December 28th! The entire day was beyond fun (we probably shook our groove things a little too much at her reception), and their wedding dinner at Sonny Lubick's Steakhouse was awesome. Brock and I also went on a fun double date with the to the Cheesecake Factory in Denver a few nights prior, where we saw the true extent of their fanatical healthiness. Get this: They didn't order cheesecake. AT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. However, they did eat out at Uno's once the got home to Chicago, so they are forgiven.
4. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without going the movies! We saw "True Grit," "RED," and "Unstoppable," which were all fantastic!
5. Movie night with the family. One night Connor (6) suggested we "make hot chocolate, curl up with blankets, eat popcorn, and watch 'How to Train Your Dragon' as a family." Too cute! :) So that's exactly what we did.
6. PING-PONG. I pwned Brock multiple times.
7. Rock climbing on Christmas Day on the cliffs above Horsetooth Reservoir.
8. Avalanche-Redwing game for Brock, Caleb, Colby, and my dad. I let Brock go to this instead of Tiffany's wedding dinner . . . yes, I am a good wife. Although he missed out on killer filet mignon.
9. Playing games at the church's cultural hall. All us kids got together and played epic games of dodgeball, freeze tag, soccer, tail tag, and kick the can. Straight up Brady Bunch style.
10. Family pictures. Always a joy.
11. Sleeping in!
12. ANGRY BIRDS.
13. Having the whole family together for the first time in years.
Kristi - Your family is amazing! And my sister said Catalina Island is beautiful. Lucky =)
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