Thanksgiving Change of Plans

To stay true to tradition, we all managed to get the flu just before my family arrived from out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday! Usually this occurs at Christmas time, however apparently the "flu" knew our family was coming earlier this year. First the kids went down, then April and I. So we begrudgingly cancelled our plans and kept to ourselves over the holiday. We did get a special treat from our good friends the Kings, who brought us a full Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday- thanks Kings!

It wasn't all so bad, though... in fact, we managed to turn it into a fun weekend together. We decorated our Christmas tree and put up some other decorations. On Saturday, when we were feeling pretty much normal, we played outside for a while, and also went to the Nutcracker program at a nearby art center, then out to lunch.

On Sunday after Church, we decided we couldn't let a little thing like the "flu" keep us from a full-on Thanksgiving dinner. Since we were all back to normal, we went all out. Well, April put in most of the effort, I only added the apple pie. Check out these mouth-watering dishes...

April had already decorated our kitchen table for our company who couldn't come... beautiful, eh?

April cooked this turkey to perfection... it was so good to enjoy a big dinner like this after a few days of no appetite.

So all in all, it turned out to be an excellent Thanksgiving weekend. I am so thankful for a healthy, happy family who can take a "downer" weekend and turn it into a great family time!

Happy Birthday April!

April finally turned 34 yrs old (I've been waiting for her to catch up to me, but she just never does!) We had a low-key celebration at home with a cake, cards by the kids, and gifts.

No, I did not make this cake. But it was still good!... chocolate, caramel and whipped creme.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Elin took "licking the candle" to a whole new level.

What a crew! April is sporting her new glow-in-the-dark necklace from Nate. They also made her a card.

April and her new toy... a lens for her camera. Apparently this is supposed to help you take even better pictures, but I think April's pics were great before! Oh-well... happy birthday April!

San Fran

Last week I spent a few days in San Francisco for a medical conference. It's been many years since I'd been there, so it was fun to see it again. San Fran is such a culture-rich city, and you definitely need more than a few days to experience it. Here are just a few pics of things I did in spare time...

I walked the streets and ate lunch in Chinatown- the largest Chinatown in the U.S.

Fisherman's Wharf is huge, with a million stores and restaurants lining it's streets.

Fisherman's Wharf is known for their fresh crab and clam chowder, and there were a bunch of street-side stands just like this.

You can't go to San Francisco without trying their famous clam chowder in a sourdough bowl... so good!

Pier 39 is a huge pier located near the wharf, with LOTS of stores and restaurants lining the pier. Too many stores for me!

This is the other end of Pier 39, with its carousel and other fun places.

Alcatraz Island... you can barely make out the prison.

You can find a lot of culture in San Fran; you can also find a lot of people playing instruments on the streets. This humble guy sounded phenomenal on his wired instrument.

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