Thanksgiving in Colorado

The holidays are such a big deal to the Peaden family and we have been looking forward to them with excitement but also a little wariness. This will be the first holiday season without Sue, and it just feels like things will never be the same. She was so much of the magic, the gathering force, behind any holiday celebration with her family.  The thought of trying to gather like we regularly do with the absence in her bedroom like a void felt almost too much to bear. When we were visiting Bruce on our way home from Nauvoo, the idea was thrown out that maybe we should celebrate Thanksgiving there instead. It was a big change, for sure - but I think it was something that we really needed this year. Here are the reasons that I loved celebrating Thanksgiving at Bruce's home in Colorado: 

-It turned a 3 hour dinner into a weekend full of togetherness and connection. 

-It was fun to be at Bruces's house with everyone. 

-The weight of Sue's absence was present but not overwhelming. We were able to talk about her: about how much we loved her and missed her, without it being quite so acute. The different location eased the pain. 

-We finished almost all of our Christmas shopping online but still hit the stores for some Black Friday shopping.

Things that I didn't love as much: 

-The Renchers were planning to come with us to Colorado, but they had to stay home last minute. We really really missed them. 


The food was delicious, a real traditional Peaden Thanksgiving Dinner with lemon jello, homemade mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Bruce ordered a smoked turkey this year, we got pies and rolls from Kneaders and Marie Calendars, and even though it was more store-bought than usual, everything was great. 

Bruce's house was plenty big enough to host us all. We were grateful that he has invested in so many air mattresses and blankets so that we could all stay together at his house. 

It was just so nice to be there all together, especially Cal. He hung out and did his stuff, while still being a part of everything. He spent time with each of the kids, interjected his thoughts while we were playing games, and was a steady presence the whole weekend. The drive to Colorado was worth even just this one thing: that he didn't have to go home to an empty house after a short Thanksgiving Dinner. 

We ate dinner, black Friday shopped, watched football, and played LOADS of games. Lydia and Austin were in Heaven. Lucy got a new "Go Fish" game and we played round after round after round of Go Fish on the rug in the great room. 

It was a lovely weekend and eased a lot of the worry I have had about the upcoming holidays. We have so much to be grateful for and one of the biggest things is this Peaden Family. We were so glad to celebrate together. 

Bonus Trip to Canyonlands National Park

We drove home on I-70 instead of I-80, because of the snowy conditions through Wyoming. As we were crossing the Eastern Utah border, I mentioned that I had absolutely NO idea where we were on the Utah Map. No clue. We started looking up exactly where we were and how close we were to certain things. We realized we were less than an hour away from Canyonlands National Park! "Should we go?", David asked? I am almost always the one to initiate and push spontaneous things - but this time it wouldn't have happened without David! We only had about 5 minutes until we hit the fork in the road that would take us to Canyonlands instead of home, so we stopped for gas, talked about it and decided to go for it! I'm so glad that we did. 


We have never been to Canyonlands as a family, and I've never been at all! It was beautiful. We explored the main area, went to the visitors center (and got Jr. Ranger packets/badges), and went on a hike. It was warm enough to hike comfortably but still cold enough for snow to be on the ground. The snow was covered with these incredible ice crystals and we just loved this bonus adventure. Plus it was beautiful! 

Happy Thanksgiving!