A Vegas "Snow Day"?!

It is Vegas and it is snowing! It has been over 6 years since I've been in my own home whilst it was snowing! And today... Snow! Sticking to the grass and the palms and the red tile roofs ... Snow! Here, it seems terribly out of place.

































Growing up in SLC, on the cozy snow days, my parents would bake. So because I'm a creature of habit, and it's snowy & cozy; I've been bakin' like crazy! I'm not brave enough to try my parent's traditional recipes like Head Cheese (Yuck!), Fruit Cake, Raisin Filled Cookies and English Toffee. Instead, we've made Peppermint Hot Fudge Cake, Gingerbread Men, Parmesan Rolls and Chocolate Birthday Cake (for George's Teacher). Licorice Carmel's are planned for tomorrow! So stop by... we always have plenty for friends!

Thanksgiving With The "Other Butlers"!

Thanksgiving 2002 in Portland, Oregon was our first Thanksgiving away from our family and on our own... and it stunk! The mashed potatoes were runny, the gravy lumpy, the stuffing was soaked from all of my over-attentive basting and it all ended after about 2 minutes! It wasn't at all like the Grand Feasts of my Mom & Dad's or Dee's! And to top it all off, we were lonely! We needed visitors for Thanksgiving from that day forward. So we placed a desperate call and struck a deal! Every year since, the "Other Butler's" have been our honored guests for Thanksgiving Weekend! Some years the Judd Family makes the trip and maybe one day my family will take a break from cooking and join us! The more the merrier! There is nothing better than a full table (or two!) for Thanksgiving Dinner!

This Thanksgiving weekend was so fun and relaxing! Thanks to Dee and Auntie Kim, dinners were cooked, kids were entertained, groceries were purchased, house was cleaned, gifts were acquired, teasing was hysterical and laughs were plenty! I wish Thanksgiving came twice a year!

Cousins Tag and Hampton are full time entertainment for my kids! I would wake up to Ruby being bathed, changed, dressed and in the midst of an art project every morning thanks to the combined efforts of Lu and Hampton! They are quite the team! Tag had a shadow named George all weekend... he was even cool enough to take George golfing for two days in a row! When I asked George on Sunday "What was your favorite part of the weekend?", he said he had 5:

1. Golfing with Tag
2. Bike ride with Tag
3. Video games with Tag
4. Golf store with Tag
5. Watching football with Tag

Thanks Dee Dee, Auntie Kimmie, Tag and Hampton for making our Thanksgiving memories edible and memorable!