Thanksgiving with Adopted Family

In desperate need of a holiday, Kent and I opted for my 'adopted American' family in Utah. When my Mom came over from Hong Kong for school, she was sponsored by Fred and Doris Wright. Though her stay with them was brief, it began a friendship that has lasted through the years and into the next generation. My blood related grandparents reside too far away for very many visits, but Grandma and Grandpa Wright were only a 14 hour drive away and so most of my summers growing up were spent there in their home. While I was down at BYU I often visited on holidays and weekends where they gave me a wonderful bed, stored items over the summer for me and loaded me with tons of veggies from Grandpa's garden when it was in season. Many of their children (my aunts) also kept in close contact over the years so it only seemed fitting to drive up and introduce Keila and Isaac to them.

It was wonderful to stay once again in Grandpa's home. Although Grandma has passed on, the house remains almost unchanged from when she was there ... I could even find the pots and pans where she usually kept them so as to give Grandpa a few good meals while we were there. It was a little surreal for Isaac to be playing with the toys I played with and reading the books I had read so many years ago. Much of it is that I still feel alot like a little girl, especially when Grandpa offers me the coveted toffee ice cream bars of my yesteryear's!


Isaac experience playing with snow for the first time. In ten minutes of our arrival there was a huge snow storm and Kent gathered the snow from off our car in the garage to make into snowballs to throw off the balcony. Isaac had a blast!


This chicken is legendary! Every grandchild of the Wrights always made a point of visiting the chicken who was always filled with candy. Grandpa had accidentally broken it once but it was promptly glued back together for the sake of tradition even though by then their grand kids were having kids of their own. From what I understand, this chicken is now visited by neighborhood kids. Long live the chicken! ;0)



Grandpa has the most amazing gift with gardening. His backyard was so beautiful and fun to play in as a child. Even with the winter snow, it still has that feel.



Isaac ADORED Uncle Matt and Aunt Margaret and makes a point to blessing them regularly in his prayers. Uncle Matt is all the playmate a little boy like him wants. We also drove out to Aunt Connie's home for the Thanksgiving meal. It was delicious and I'm positive I regained all my post pregnancy weight from much of that meal.

On the way out to Utah we stopped off to visit Kari and Brian where we stretching our stomachs for the big Thanksgiving meal. They always feed us well we we stop by and Isaac loves to play with Logan and Julia. While staying at Grandpa's we had a small outing each day and then napped and had a lazy afternoon. We went out to the museum at Thanksgiving point and on another day went out to an aquarium to meet up and visit with a friend from college and see her 2 darling kids. It was a very relaxing holiday.


My friend's daughter, and absolute doll!




For the first time Isaac wasn't scared of the dinosaurs, but the shark he was rather dubious of.


Isaac wore himself playing with his friends.