All together for Thanksgiving

I boarded a plane in Washington D.C. more than ready for a break and a piece of home. Fortunately, that’s exactly what I got! It was a surprise to my sister that I was Billings-bound. When I stepped of the plane in Billings, there was a wave of calm and excitement that came over me. I think this was due, in part, to the small nature of the Billings airport. Small airport full of families reuniting and hugging as they look forward to the holiday.

 

Kristi's baby shower was on Saturday in the afternoon and my interview ended at 12 pm in D.C. so, that meant I couldn’t possibly get across the country in time for the baby shower, but I arrived by dinner time to enjoy a meal with all the girls—Grandma, mom, Vicky, Kristi and me. Sadly, no photos of that dinner but let me tell you, it was just what I needed!

I do have a snap shot from breakfast together the next morning with pumpkin swirl cinnamon french toast (how come I almost always catch photos of food?

I was the only one in the house with the day off so that meant I was tasked with the grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. I have never been more grateful to be able to grocery shop, do laundry and clean! There's something incredibly wonderful about doing menial tasks when you've been on the road for nearly 2 weeks straight! Plus, it helped that it was incredibly sunny and warm out.

The next day I took some time to just BE. That included a walk with the pups in the gorgeous Montana sunshine. Look at Kristi and Tyrell's new house!

 

This is the view from the hill behind them. They are situated right on the top of this bluff that gives them a great view of Billings, the skyline and the golf course that their property is adjacent to.

 

 

I walked until the sun set with this breathtaking view. Then I settled in for a night of Monday Night Football when I got a surprise of my own! My mom (who had gone back to Missoula on Sunday to get work done at the mansion) had come back to Billings with my dad a day earlier than expected!

 

I got to spend a lot of quality time with my parents on Tuesday including a quick stop at this coffee shop for a spot of tea. I had a delicious new drink--a "foggy pumpkin" (pumpkin tea latte with vanilla = yum!)

  

As we settled in for the holiday, I was anxious for one more arrival--Tom! He few in from Seattle just as there was a storm brewing. I was worried his flight (via Salt Lake) wouldn't make it in safely as the snow began to fall, but he made it without any issues! The snow was a perfect backdrop for another walk with the pups. 

 And of course, a few silly selfies :)

 No matter how much snow we piled on peyton's  head, she couldn't be fooled into letting go of her stick!

 Just a slightly different view than the sunny one from a few days prior huh?

 Tom did a little happy dance in the kitchen as we started the task for the week: baking all sorts of goodies. Most importantly, of course, was the making of the pretzel jello!

 We consulted our notes and videos from the tutorial we received from Jean last Christmas and set out to make our own masterpiece. We must admit, this one was a winner!

 Kristi and I then tackled the apple and pumpkin pie making

 While mom and dad entertained the pups and got some much deserved relaxation (they, in case you didn't suspect, have been busy renovating the Mansion).

 I decided to go for a nice lattice topped pie, since I had time to be domestic and bake :)

 Kristi had to taste test the whip cream filling for the pretzel jello, and she approved (and so did the little peanut in her belly!)

 The pie turned out great and we were ready to eat!

 There's always a little bit of extra pie dough, so that meant some cinnamon sugar pie cookies were in order as post-baking snack.

 We settled in for the col. And, despite what the phone says here, it got MUCH colder than this while we were there. 

 

We went for a Thanksgiving walk together and we had to wait until at least 10 am to leave the house because it was only 3 degrees when we woke up!

The snow was light and fluffy that it almost felt fake. We took full advantage of the first snow of the season and went sledding on the golf course. 

Look at the beauty we were surrounded by!

  The bounty of food never ceased this trip. We were taste testers for a new flatbread recipe my parents were trying out for some Christmas parties at the mansion. Trust me, you want one!

 Anyone up for some pie? It killed me not to be able to take some of this deliciousness home, but sadly, there was no more room in my carry on (especially considering I had left Seattle on November 12th and hadn't been home yet!).

 The pups kept themselves entertained while we ate too much food and watched a lot of football.

 Whether it was appetizers or the official Thanksgiving meal, we ate like kings. 

 After dinner, it was time for some ping pong. We played a lot of doubles matches and learned that  Tom and Tom and Tyrell were much better than any of us girls (shocking, I know).

 But how cute is this? Pregnant and still busting out the foot with flare during her forehand shot!

 With sadness we departed Billings (in -8 degree temps!). But, I will say that this trip was different and SO MUCH BETTER than the last 15 or so plane rides I've been on. Why? Because I was with Tom! Traveling together makes it so much better!

We  got home just in time to catch the Apple Cup game. We weren't on the sidelines like we were blessed with two years ago, but it was a great game nonetheless. The sunshine followed me home and we had a great time at the game. 

 We were there for the Husky Legend ceremony for Jake Locker. I almost didn't recognize him sine he was dressed in full camo had had a giant beard.I  guess he is taking part in No-shave-November.

 The sun set and we said goodbye to Husky Stadium for the last time as students. No more cheap season football tickets when we graduate :(

I was happy to move indoors the next night for the next sporting event: volleyball. it was also the rivalry game between the Cougars and the Huskies. On top of that it was senior night. It was kind of surreal to see the girls that we started watching when we started grad school now "all grown up" and graduating too. 

 Not only did they beat the Cougars, they cinched the Pac-12 Champs title.

Four years ago, we met this lovely couple, Craig and Candace. Over many games, we became good friends and it felt right to share the last regular season game, and last home game as students, with them.

 

We came home from the game to the Christmas cheer that has taken over our apartment. As I posted on Facebook, we were looking ahead to the future and realized that a tree hunt may not be in the cards, or if it were to happen, it would only be a week or so before Christmas. So, because I couldn't stand the thought of not decorating until the week before Christmas, we caved and bought a tree this year. Two birds with one stone though, groceries and a christmas tree at Costco!

And after unpacking from my trip, I found this adorable stow-away from my parents that will help get the kitchen up to speed on the Holiday cheer as well!

 We were shocked at how lovely the tree was for such a steal of a price!

Half time of the Hawks game is over, so I've got to get going and finish the game before I set out to prep for the next 8 or 9 day trip. I leave tomorrow for San Francisco. From there I will go to Chicago, Illinois --> Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania --> Rochester, Minnesota --> home for a few days --> Palo Alto, California --> home for a few more days --> Portland, Oregon.  Here's to hoping for decent weather and no crazy snow delays!

Tom will have his head in a book (or several books) as he prepares for finals week and we both start comparing notes about he interview trail and making a final ranking list in January. 

Happy Thanksgiving and kick off to the Christmas season everyone!