Thanksgiving in Idaho

Since we were unable to fly back to Texas for Thanksgiving, we were so excited to be able to spend the holiday with Ashleigh, Matt, and the kids in Idaho. We hadn't seen them in over two years, so our time spent together was extra special. With their house being only a nine-hour drive away, it was affordable as far as money and leave go.

The night of my birthday, I got really sick. It wasn't letting up after a few days, so Nathan took me in to see the doctor on base. We were afraid our trip was going to have be cancelled, or at the very least delayed a day. I explained to the doctor that I didn't want to make our trip and infect everyone if what I had was a virus. After giving me some pretty faulty logic and making some outrageous statements, she prescribed me an antibiotic and a pill to combat nausea. My meds, combined with feeling like I was on the upswing, gave us enough confidence to go on to Idaho, so after arriving home, we packed and hit the road.

The first leg of the drive was pretty, up near Tahoe. But then we entered Nevada, which looked like a wasteland, and the tiny corner of Oregon we passed through was deserted. It was complete darkness and we lost cell service for a while as we approached Boise and all its suburbs. The kids were already in bed when we arrived, but we stayed up talking with Ashleigh and Matt before calling it a night.

Thursday morning was devoted to cooking, mostly done by Ashleigh, and then we had our big Thanksgiving meal in the early afternoon.

Friday morning we helped Matt put together the Ikea furniture we had picked up for them and brought with us, and then took a walk around the nearby streets. In the evening, we dropped the kids off with a family from their church and the four of us went to downtown Boise. We saw the big Christmas tree that had been lit earlier in the evening, and then we had coffee at a local place called Dawson's before eating a delicious dinner at Fork, a farm to table restaurant. After picking the kids up and getting home, we watched Intolerable Cruelty.

On Saturday, we stopped at the Farmer's Market in Boise and at Whole Foods before driving out to Bogus Basin. The road was extremely winding and we had to stop before reaching our destination because everyone was feeling so carsick. The kids had a good time in the snow and ice though. After making the drive back down, we ate lunch at LuLu's Pizza and then picked out their Christmas tree. After dinner that evening, we helped them decorate the tree and watched them open their Christmas presents from us. Once the kids were in bed, we watched Children of Men and a few episodes of Seinfeld.

We went to church on Sunday morning, and then had to hit the road after their congregational fellowship.

We had such a good time together, and already have high hopes of seeing each other again in the next six months or so. 

For pics, check out Ashleigh & Matt's blog.