Off to Colorado for Thanksgiving

One thing we love to do, and have done twice, is to go to the Crockett's house in Colorado for Thanksgiving. We have so much fun hanging out, eating, baking, talking, going to the movie, watching sports, going on walks or runs and doing black Friday shopping. Kamiko really wanted to go for his last Thanksgiving before his mission.

Me in the back seat of the van

Elle and Melia on the horsies at the grocery store

Me and mom riding the horses

This is at the American Girl Doll Store. It's Sandy cutting my hair.

So, we left on Tuesday afternoon. It's an 8-hour drive to Highlands Ranch. The drive was uneventful and we got there around 10:00 pm. Mom and Dad and uncle Mike were already there because they left earlier in the day. Wednesday morning we all went to see the new Disney animated film, "Frozen." We all loved it. Then we baked and baked rolls and pies. Karen and I went on a walk, which we did everyday. I love being with Karen because she makes sure exercise happens, just like I do. Karen also took me, Elle and mom to an awesome yarn store. She's into knitting right now. We also went to a nearby herb and spice store and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar store. They were all lovely. I bought coconut balsamic vinegar for myself. I also bought some treats for others. We named ourselves after the Spice Girls singing group. Grandma was Ginger Spice since she has red hair. Elle was Sporty Spice for obvious reasons. Karen was Scary Spice because she's the "meanest" of all the Hunter girls. I was Posh Spice because that's all that was left besides Baby Spice. I wasn't about to be Baby Spice. We actually later gave that name to Jen since she'd been sick a bit of the trip.

The Knitting Peace

Savory Spice Shop 

We got to taste anything. Delicious.

EVOO Marketplace - the craziest and most delicious blends of olive oils and balsamic vinegars

The Sykes got in late Wednesday. We were already in bed. Thursday, the big feasting day, we got up, went walking and proceeded to get the food going. We had Turkey to do, more rolls to make, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, etc. Everyone pitched in and it all went really well. We ate around 2:00. Clean-up was done in about 30 minutes. Then we relaxed and enjoyed being together til it was time to go to Sports Authority to try to win some free stuff. They give away scratch off cards worth anywhere from $10 to $500. We're always convinced we're gonna be big winners, but we're not. We got $10. That's ok. I got some new running shoes that were on sale, so I only had to pay $30 for them.
Jen had woken up sick that morning. She really felt horribly and didn't look that great, either. She just took it easy. She was glad she was there instead of back home in Ogden, hosting a bunch of family. She looked like the disheveled actor, Gary Busey.

Sick Jenny

Gary Busey

Thursday night, the boys took off to see a movie. The girls went to the mall. Thank goodness for teenage drivers. Allie drove Melia and Emily to the mall. Kamiko drove Andrew, Christian, Sam and Chase to the movie, then to the outlet mall and regular mall. They were out all night. I heard some story about Chinese food and Subway at 3:00 am. I was in bed. I did get up early to go to Sports Authority again. Once again, $10. I got an awesome purple fleece for walking, though. It cost me $0, so I'm very grateful. Friday was relaxing. Not a ton of shopping, like in the past, and not low on sleep like in the past. Jen had felt well enough to join Scott and Keenan for a movie while Karen, Elle and I ran to the mall. We didn't get a darn thing, but ordered stuff online later.

Saturday mom and dad and Mike headed back to Utah. The rest of us went to Sam's basketball game and went to the Columbine Memorial. The girls left in a van together and we went back to the EVOO store and spice store to show Jenny. We then went shoe shopping for Karen. We had a great time. The boys came back with Keenan and went to the recreation center to play racquetball. Saturday night, we brought home pizza for the kids and the parents went out to dinner. That was a lot of fun. It was a great weekend. Really relaxing trip.

Elle and Mel: buddies at the shoe store

After sacrament meeting on Sunday morning, we headed home. An uneventful drive home. Monday was our last full day with Kamiko before taking him to the airport to fly to Chile.

One last picture of Kamiko and Allie sleeping in the van. Mel gets the back bench.