These Are A Few of My Thankful Things

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. I ended up being in charge of the rolls for dinner. We did Rhodes' Rolls and since we had to make about 35, I did the quick-rise method rather than the 5-6 hour method so we could sleep in a little. The directions said to preheat the oven to 200, turn it off, then put the rolls in with boiling water in a pan underneath. We had dinner a few nights before at my sister's house using the same method and they turned out huge and yummy. Well, after 4 hours of baking and rising, I had 1 batch of really awesome rolls. The first were somewhat rock-ish and had not risen well. The last batch was better but not a whole lot. Apparently our oven cools down to fast for the directions to work. Thankfully I didn't hear anyone complain about the holiday being ruined because of the rolls so that was relief to me.

I love holidays when all of my local family gets together. My sister's 19 month old twins do a pretty good job of keeping us entertained with their little words, giggles and curiosity. You can tell their parents have trained them pretty well since they opened almost every cabinet in the kitchen, but never took a single thing from them. They really are sweet little girls.
This is a tradition that my random family has done for several years now. Many years ago, my oldest sister Krystal decided to make a cornucopia out of rice krispy treats. (We make rice krispy treats with peanut butter: the best way). She has since moved away to the east coast and we've had to find substitute cornucopia makers in her absence. This year, rumor had it that Dad was going to take over. But because he couldn't find a tutorial on Wikipedia or Youtube, he wouldn't do it. (I'm sure we're not the only wierd family that does this, but he insists there was nothing). So Shelene and I did the main part of the horn and then Cheriss took over and do the "tail" after I gave up and Shelene had to take care of her kids. We didn't munch on it as much as we usually do between dinner and dessert but it's almost not Thanksgiving without the rice krispy cornucopia.
Each year I find myself with more and more things to be grateful for. Of course I would this year because I have a wonderful man back in my life permanently. The holidays always remind me of how much I take for granted in a year's time. I'm thankful for education and the wonderful experiences (and also painful ones) it has brought me. My job: some days are harder than others, and then there are the moments when you love it. My husband: who works hard to make us enough money to live in such a nice place and lets me have my own car =). Most importantly my immediate/extended family. Where would any of us be without them?

We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas together back in California with Mark's family. Conveniently in the same city (3 blocks over) we will also get to see my Grandparents, Aunt and her 2 girls. Some of the perks we look forward are hitting up various restaurants that don't exist here in Utah. (Jack in the Box, Baja, Doughnuts Plus, Reds, Eggs'N'Things....yum!)