Reasons to Give Thanks

Little kids make the best models. When Dave, Michael, and I flew to Seattle for Thanksgiving, we were barely inside the door when we snapped these cute shots of Alyssa and Bryce.

Dave and I took the little guys, Kirsten, and Lisa to the Disney movie about Rapunzel, "Tangled," while Michael, Kyle, and the big Flindt boys went to a Harry Potter film. We thought we had the better deal, with our nifty 3-D glasses.

On Thanksgiving Day, the cooks moved into action.

Non-cooks attended the traditional ward football game--in the snow, this year. Then, the Flindt living room became the "staging area" for cooks and noncooks pausing to rest.

Michael Spendlove shared his "Ticket to Ride" board game...

and Michael Kyle enjoyed a few minutes on the computer.

Michael Spendlove handled one of the man's jobs--mashing the potatoes...

as Dave made the salad and cut the turkey.

Finally, the feast was ready.

On Friday, we paused at the Seattle Temple for Michael Spendlove to take some professional quality family portraits.

We then hung out at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, as Santa entered the city.

The kids made their first visit to Kyle's new office, with its interesting views of new and old Seattle buildings, and its enticing computers.

We stopped at the Sheraton for the annual gingerbread house display.

We picked out our favorite doggie as we wandered the brightly decorated streets. This little guy had been rescued from a shelter.

We wandered through Pike's Market...

where David discovered a special treat--dried vegetable chips!

We visited the picturesque (nasty?) bubblegum wall.

and met Kyle at "Scarey Teriyaki."

Michael Flindt, Michael Spendlove, and I took a tour of Underground Seattle, while Kyle went back to work and Dave, Lisa, and the kids went shopping for new tires for their Christmas vacation to SLC.

The Michaels and I stopped for caramel apples at Rocky Mountain Fudge.

On Saturday, Lisa and I took Kirsten, Bryce, and Alyssa to the Asian Art Museum, where the kids posed on fun statues outside.

They tried on kimonos in the children's room.

We finished the afternoon at a pizza restaurant.

Saturday night was Grant's Eagle Court of Honor. Dave gave the pledge and Kyle and Lisa tied on his Eagle scarf.

We spent Saturday night at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, enjoying the lights.