Thanksgiving Break

We got back yesterday from Idaho after a rather long car-ride which invovled an hour long detour through Odgen trying to find a Bajio that we never actually found. But because of this detour, we were in the car during the last quarter of the football game and we were able to listen to the end! It was pretty hardcore---BYU was up pretty well until the fourth quarter when Utah suddenly started scoring---and so the game went into overtime at 20-20. Utah then scored a field goal on their possession making it 23-20.....and then BYU scored a touchdown!!!! Hooray! So the game ended 26-23 and we sent those Utes packing! It was great! Then we went to Bajio and we were the ONLY people there---it was wonderful, didn't have to wait in line! Then we all went home, and Sarah and I have had a great time so far being the only ones here and even decorating a little tree that Aunt Sylvia gave us.

So: the week. Let's see if I can remember everything.

Tuesday: we left about 2:00 and made it to Idaho just in time for dinner. The company included Grandmother, the Turleys, Uncle Gordan's brother and his family (the other Turleys), Aunt Amelia and Max, Uncle Owen, and us. After dinner.....hm, I have no idea what we did after dinner.....oh yes, we talked for a bit, listened to Brian and Aaron play together on the guitar, then we played dominoes and then had some AMAZING blackberry raspberry pie that Aunt Amelia made and then watched Angels and Demons.

Wednesday: Started the morning with waffles that tasted very much like Dad's. Then we debated about where we were going to go that day, and basically drove around Rexburg doing different things and meeting up with the other Turley family and eventually realized that the hot springs were closed until after Thanksgiving. So we went to Mesa Falls. It was kind of a long drive (this was the day that we wondered if we would do anything on this trip but drive. The roads were a bit scary up in the mountains, but we made it safely and the view was beautiful!
This was where we stopped to overlook the valley and have a massive snowball fight and I may or may not have been pushed to faceplant in the snow a few times. That was not fun. But pictured from left to right is Mary Beth, me, Brian, Sarah, Sandy Turley, Robert Turley, Gordon, Sylvia, Brett Turley, Erik Turley, Aaron, and Nicole Turley.

The view overlooking the waterfall was also breathtaking--everything was so frozen! It was exactly like Chronicles of Narnia.There was a rather unfortunate incident above the falls, however. Amidst the fun and the snowball throwing and the leaning over the rail---Brian's camera fell out of his pocket. It was a very sad occasion.



We took the long and treacherous drive back and then that night we made pies, I discovered I was getting sick, and I really can't remember what we did that night. Oh wait, it was Max's birthday so the Cliffords came over and we had an amazing dinner of lemon chicken, cous cous, broccoli, and then an incredible red velvet cake. It was amazing. Then after that, I don't know what happened. Just a second, coming back here. Brian and Aaron had a plot to manipulate their dreams by creating a dream soundtrack with sound clips from all sorts of movies: fight sequences, romance, epic battles, all sorts of things. While they were trying to get a clip from The Return of the King, Brian, Aaron, Mary Beth, Sylvia, Gordon and I all ended up cramped in the bedroom just watching about a half hour of the movie because we all loved the part. So they put it together, but I don't think it actually worked. Then that night, Brian, Aaron, Mary Beth, Sarah and I stayed up talking for a while.

Thursday: Thanksgiving. Oh man, this is so hard to remember! I knpow we started cooking pretty early, cause we were planning to eat around 1. Oh, cool thing of the day: I discovered that I sometimes like yams. Aunt Amelia made a yam souffle that was incredible. I liked it a lot. I think a lot of people had that realization about themselves and their relationships with yams.
The potato line.

I'm trying to think if we had anything out of the ordinary for Thanksgiving--there were two turkeys and a ham---also a million people there, lots of which I didn't know, and I was feeling pretty sick and tired cause I hadn't slept well, so I was rather overwhelmed for a bit. The missionaries were also over, so one of them (who knew both families of the Turleys from having met them in the temple in San Diego and then happened to serve in Rexburg) gave his conversion story (for about half an hour....but it was okay). Then we played outside for a bit--oh Scratchy! There was this adorable almost grown up black kitten named Scratchy that everyone loves. He is actually very cuddly and will suffer being held for a long time--I decided that I may indeed like cats. But he has his name because he likes to play a lot and when you are holding him and he is in a playful mood, he will play cat and mouse with your hand, which is rather fun!!! He is actually really gentle, cause when he bites it doesn't hurt at all. The only thing that is prone to being painful is when he grabs for your hand with his cute little paws...which have little tiger claws on them. I got scratched once, but if you wear gloves or long sleeves, there's nothing to worry about. He is so cute and just likes to play and he bites very gently, just kind of grabbing your fingers and hands with his mouth but not biting down at all. So cute!!!! We all miss him a lot :( But anyway, that night, we went out to the sanddunes (after driving a bunch again....we got lost. Brian said he thought that Aaron had no idea how to get there, but he was pretending he was...haha) Anyway, we had a big bonfire and then set off Sobe bombs! You take Sobe bottles, fill them about halfway or 3/4 with gasoline, poke a little hole in the lid, set them in the middle of the coals in the fire....and then book it away. Then some awesome fireballs happen! The first one was pretty full, so it kind of exploded a fireball, but with the second we poured some out, so the bottle shot flame up and then it turned into a fireball...like a dragon! Then we went back, played some fun games, ate more pie, and maybe watched a movie? Can't remember, but Sarah says we may have.

Friday: We began the day with birthday waffles--the Bahr family tradition. Aunt Amelia made buttermilk waffles and then you basically make a sundae out of it! Ice cream, sprinkles, whipped cream, and hot fudge and caramel sauce! So good....then Sarah and I played the piano and had some musical time, and then we set up the Christmas tree with Aunt Sylvia and Mary Beth. Furniture was rearranged and then Karl, Marie, Daniel, Ben, Joseph, and Matthew all came and we went shooting at the dump! We even went skeet shooting! It was my first time and I liked it a lot! I hit three out of six, and had lots of fun...wasn't even sore the next day, haha! Then we got very very cold, watched the boys shoot Uncle Karl's very cool gun which I know how to say but not how to write. Our toes got cold and we were excited to get back in the car...but we had fun! We went home, played more games (these are mostly Psychiatrist and Smerf/Fargle...which we will definitely have to play over Christmas break!), some more dominoes while we listened to Brian and Aaron write a song (which will be stuck in everyone's head for the next month--unfortunately, we only know about two lines of the lyrics and then the tune....it's rather frustrating.) We then watched Wolverine, and then talked for a while.

Saturday: We got up, had lunch, then got ready and packed up all our stuff, said goodbye to Scratchy, then found some photo albums and stayed a bit longer looking through those. But we got on the road at 2:00 sharp and headed home.

Now I need to go get ready for church. It was a wonderful vacation and we had so much fun--unfortunately, now it's time to work hard and study and be diligent little students--but only for 3 MORE WEEKS!!!! HOORAY!!!!