Thanksgiving 2010 Away....

This was a first for us.....instead of hosting Thanksgiving

we left home! It was the "off" year for all the kids and they

were with the in-laws and clear back when Paige moved

she asked if we would come to her house for Thanksgiving

this year, so....we did! Having both Bryce and Paige's family's

in one location makes it so much fun to visit. And it seemed

like a good time to try out a new chapter in our lives.

But wouldn't you know that on the day we were to leave,

a blizzard was predicted. We took off earlier than planned to

try to "manage" the storm so we would be traveling in

daylight for the worst of it. Guess what...Wyoming girl

or not...I no longer have a desire to travel on icy roads!

It was just plain treacherous all the way to Reno

and then from Reno all the way to Santa Rosa, it was

off and on bumper to bumper traffic. Snowy road conditions...

and California traffic...bad combo!

First lesson learned:

in the winter, plan early, get a good rate and fly out.

This was the view over Donner's Pass...

gorgeous to the sight, but seriously????

However, the good news is that this little
guy was waiting on the other end!


While Nate and Mike took in a movie,
Miranda came over Wednesday night and helped Paige
and I prepare...so much fun! And Paige was a
fantastic host. Her table was gorgeous....

Here's the little hostess herself!


Here are the ladies taking a quick break
from kitchen duties to pose....
with Brig and Mike, of course!

Even though we stayed at Paige's new home,
we got to spend lots of time with Bryce, Lisa, Miranda
and Asher. It was such a treat to have our oldest
and our youngest together with their families!


Second lesson learned:
Grandkids make the most treacherous drive
worth it!!
Big P and Little P with Baby Brig...


Mike and Bryce drove out to the ocean Thanksgiving
morning and got some fresh dungeoness crab
straight off the boat to add to our feast.
And it was just plain delicious!!!

The two of them did all the preparation of the
crab. Bryce is somewhat of an expert!


Here is our host family....Nate is a really good sport
to put up with so many Williams under his roof!

They have a great home for entertaining

and they were terrific hosts. Paige did a

fantastic job on her first time hosting Thanksgiving.

And as always, it was over before you knew it....

but it was a huge success.

The following couple of days were spent just enjoying our

visit. We had a little family photo shoot with the Clark family.

Pretty easy task when your subjects look this good!

Miranda and Asher joined Paige and I for an

evening with Harry Potter at the local theatre

(perfect company for such a movie, BTW)

and then had a sleep over at Paige's.

Here they are enjoying a little breakfast with Brig.

Gorgeous Miranda....adore this girl!!
She is a part of my heart...

And our very own Justin Beiber...j/k!

Asher sports the hairstyle well and this is

one delightful boy. We had a great time with him.

Of course, there was the BYU vs. Utah game

and Nate and Brig were decked out in the Ute

garb and covered up in the Ute blanket.

Paige was sporting her Utah t-shirt as well.

Mike was pretty out numbered!!

And before we knew it, it was time to head home again.

Paige and Brig returned with us and once again we saw this

on Donner's Pass. The trip back was better until

about Tooele and then we thought we were going to die

again!! We finally arrived home safe and sound

and we had a wonderful time with our California kids.

Final lesson learned:

It's not really where you spend the holiday or how

you get there, if you are with those you love,

it's something to be MOST thankful for.

Thanks, Paige, for hosting us and for all your hard

work. We had a wonderful time and will always

remember our first Thanksgiving away.

XOXOXO