On Monday morning, Mike and I geared up in all our winter biking gear and went out for a ride in the freezing cold. As soon as we got in the open sun on the Murdock trail, we warmed up pretty fast. Then we headed back and got ready to head back to SLC. We left Madeline at home with my parents and Peter met me and the girls on campus so that he could give them a tour. Andrew was supposed to come as well but he got food poisoning so we brought him some provisions before heading to the U campus to meet Peter. The girls were super impressed with the campus and listened to Peter give them advice about college life. Mike met with a realtor while we walked around campus. Then we all headed to dinner at the Copper Onion.
On Tuesday we all slept in which was pretty great. I met up with some of my college roommates (Becca and Melissa) for lunch and Mike met up with a missionary companion from his mission. It was so fun to catch up with each other’s lives. Then after we gathered back at the condo, we took Emma and Abby to the BYU campus to shop at the bookstore and roam around campus. We headed to the sports complex so that Emma could see all the XC boards and awards. She loves that. We made sure to stop by the Tanner Building and the JSB which is where Mike and I spent most of our days at BYU.
On Wednesday I got up and ran with Becca on the trails behind her house. Then I spent most of my day making the pies with Emma and prepping for our Thanksgiving dinner. Mike headed back up to SLC to grab the boys since they were done with class for the week and brought them back down to Orem so they could have Thanksgiving with us.
Thanksgiving morning I headed out once again to go on a run with Becca and her friend. We ran an easy 3.20 miles on the Murdock trail and had fun talking and doing the challenges that someone had written on the trail. Then it was back to the condo to make the rolls and sweet potatoes, watch the parade and other fun movies. Thanksgiving is so much better when I don’t have to prepare the entire meal. I can’t remember the last time I had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. It was a lot of fun to be able to have Thanksgiving with all my kids and my parents this year. There is much to be grateful for this year, but good health and the love of family is on the top of my list
Everyone loved the dinner and the pies!
On Friday morning, Mike got up and drove Peter to Delta, UT to spend the weekend with his cousins and grandpa. The rest of us just relaxed around the condo for most of the day. We headed to the mall in the afternoon so that we could participate in the Giving Machine. The Giving Machine is a way to help others around the world put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Each of the kids got to pick something to give. Between the kids and my parents, we bought six chickens, a goat, polio vaccines for 100 kids, art supplies, menstrual care kits, and take-home meals for children. It was truly a humbling experience. We ended our evening and our week long Thanksgiving break in Utah by being treated to a wonderful Indian dinner by my parents.