The Perfect Thanksgiving

Can I please just tell you how much I love Thanksgiving? 

I mean, I'm not talking, "Oh, I love Thanksgiving like I love puppies or like watching a good movie." That's not real love. That's kid stuff. My love for Thanksgiving is beyond comfort or lust - it's a straight-up romantic, I want to have Thanksgiving's babies, head-over-hills, totally committed kind of love. And that's why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday... and this year's did NOT disappoint.

This year I planned to drive to sunny Southern California with my little brother and his fiance (Oh yes, have I mentioned that my little brother is getting married? In one month? Because he is) for Thanksgiving. Well, a week or two before we left, I found out that the guy I'm currently seeing didn't have plans for Thanksgiving, so I invited him along for the fun... and he came! It was a road trip party, basically.

We got to my parent's house late Tuesday night, visited, and then went to bed. Wednesday we woke up, lounged a little, and then commenced a morning of pie-baking. Now, in my family, we believe in tradition. And tradition says that the pies must be home made. And that the pies must be plentiful. So, we made apple pie, cherry pie, 2 pumpkin pies, and then on Thanksgiving, another apple pie and a pecan pie showed up. That's 6 whole pies for 10 adults. Needless to say, I had pie for breakfast AND dessert almost every single day. And I'm not even upset about it. Oh, and don't worry, we aren't such sticklers for tradition that we never let in anything new. This year, mom decided to introduce the fruit pizza to the dessert menu:

Now, usually at my house, things get a little crazy on Thanksgiving and Christmas days (AKA, big meal days). Everything has to be timed just perfectly so all the food comes out hot at the same time and the oven schedule must be stuck to...precisely. This usually results in increased levels of stress, too many cooks in the kitchen, and pure exhaustion at the end of the day. But this year, well... this year was beautiful. It was like the sun came up, the birds started singing, the light shone through the trees, and somewhere in the sky the stars had aligned to make our Thanksgiving beautiful. And it was. And the food was glorious. So glorious. And the company was even better.

Cooks in the Kitchen. 

The Mom.

The 77 degree, most perfect November weather.

The beautiful Thanksgiving Table.

The sweet little cousin.

The only thing(s) missing from Thanksgiving this year, were my step-brothers and their families and my Grandmother, who passed away this July. She always loved Thanksgiving and she would have really enjoyed this one. And, now that I think of it, the deviled eggs! Somehow we missed the deviled eggs. (A dirty, rotten shame that I'm going to try not to dwell on right now.)

The rest of the week included lots of reading, enjoying the perfect weather, seeing Breaking Dawn part deux with my mom, sister, and soon-to-be sister-in-law (and laughing our heads off at the creepy CGI baby and the rolling vampire heads), eating real, can't-get-that-in-UT Mexican food, showing the guy around the hometown that I love so much (the wineries, the Old Town shops lit up at night, Christmas shopping at the Promenade), and playing dominoes with my family.

Oh, and don't forget putting up the Christmas tree. 

All-in-all, the trip was perfect and I have never been more sad to see my holiday time off end.

Group picture, Sunday morning after church.

Lucky for him, my family was on excellent behavior. :-)

And this is where I should probably list all of the things that I am grateful for this year, but that would take too long, so I'll spare you. Just know that the gratitude is there.

Hawaii Top 5 Lists

If you haven't seen it yet, check out a sweet video of my trip HERE.

Top 5 Things I Learned in Hawaii: 

1. If you order virgin drinks, servers will automatically assume you are under age and start bringing you kiddy cups.

2. You have to be 15 to sit in exit row seats on an airplane...Iand I apparently don't look old enough for that. (No, seriously, when the flight attendant asked me how old I was, I was shocked. And then when I said "24" with a slight tone of disdain, the guy next to me started busting up laughing.)

3. Touching sea turtles is a $5,000 fine.

4. If you think that because you'll be inside a tour bus most of the day you won't need sunscreen, you'll be wrong. (My skin started to bubble! BUBBLE!)

5. I'm more attracted to polynesian guys than I thought. (I'm talking to you, hot Samoan guys at the PCC... Call me.)

Top 5 New Experiences I had in Hawaii:

1. Fresh pineapple. (I have never liked pineapple. It's got a stringy texture that I just can't deal with. But in Hawaii, oh my, I swear I could have eaten a whole pineapple a day.)

2. Paddle boarding. And paddle boarding with more than one person. Both are fun. Both are recommended. Both people standing at the same time is not recommended.

3. Maui Tacos. A taco shop that makes food worth loving and life worth living. (I miss you, delicious chicken tacos.)

4. Snuba. No, I did not just spell SCUBA incorrectly. Snuba is a type of diving you can do that does not require certification. And, after you learn how to not keep floating to the surface and how to equalize your ears without getting water in your mask that causes you to have minor panic attacks, it's actually pretty freaking amazing. This is also highly recommended. (You get to swim with sea turtles!)

5. Pearl Harbor. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. I also recommend that you are well fed before you go there. (Otherwise the Navy will take all your newly purchased food and make you starve until the tour is over.)

Top 5 Things that Surprised Me: 

1. Pineapple that I liked.

2. The bluest, clearest water I have ever seen!

3. I found a place where I don't mind the rain.

4. You can swim way out into the ocean and not worry about the current carrying you away to your imminent death by drowning or shark attack.

5. Maui is really windy.

Top 5 Things On My Hawaii Bucket List: 

1. Ziplining

2. Hiking/exploring

3. Parasailing

4. Night show at the PCC

5. Spend a day in Waikiki

Top 5 Miscellaneous Things that are Cool:

1. Snorkeling in the middle of the ocean where it's really deep and you should be freaking out, but you don't because the water is so clear that you feel like you're in a giant swimming pool.

2. New bathing suit from Tommy Bahama that was practically designed with me in mind.

It's so nautical! <3 P.S. Sorry about the icky pic.

3. Maui sunsets. And blowing in conch shells when the sun hits the horizon.

4. Pineapple ice cream. And Dole Whips.

5. Being in ocean water that doesn't make you feel gross.

And one small dislike item:

1. Reading 300+ pages of your book and then accidentally leaving it on the plane and now you're stuck in limbo land wondering how it ends!

Aloha and Mahalo

I have lots to say about Hawaii. But mostly that I love it with one of the purest loves there ever was. And until I have more time to tell you all about it, please enjoy this mini version of my trip:

Hawaii 2012 (large) from Raechel Logan on Vimeo.

Rock You Like a Hurricane

So, this morning I saw a tweet from one of my friends that said:

"Wow this week has flown...already Thursday, really? Thought today was Tuesday"

I saw her tweet and laughed to myself as I shook my head in pity for her. I didn't want to be the one to break it to her that she was wrong twice. Today is actually Wednesday, of course.

And then I thought for a minute... and called over my cube, "Hey guys, is today Thursday?" The response was a resounding "Yep!" And that's when I realized that I am the one who's losing my mind. How did it get to be Thursday already? This is nuts!

You see, I've been super crazy busy this week (and the last few weeks), but I knew when the week started that AUGUST 10th was my Mom and Ron's 9th Anniversary, and I had plans to call them, tribute to them on my blog AND on Facebook. And now Wednesday the 10th has passed me by and I missed it. 

So, here you go... a day late, but still just as heart felt. I give you:

Ron & Mindy: 9 Years and Counting

Ron, thanks for loving my Mom, taking care of her and making her happy. 

Here's to a lifetime more!

Two Birthdays and a Wedding

Here's a few quick pictures from my weekend.

Last week my friend Brittany was in town for our friend Emily's wedding. While she was here it was also her birthday. Brittany lives in Maryland (which, for those of you who struggle with geography, means that she lives on the opposite side of the country as me) so I hardly ever get to see her. So having her in town made me feel like I have friends again!

Brittany's birthday dinner!

Then on Friday night I conned Chad into going to the wedding reception with me (HATE showing up to those things alone). Ok, I didn't have to con him. He's so sweet that he said yes. Plus, I went with him to a reception a couple of weeks ago, so I guess he owed me.

Rachel, Brittany, Nikki, Brittany, Raechel - totally accidental!

And the bride. (She and I used to be roommates)

By the way, I heard a quote recently that made me laugh: "At weddings, old people always poke me and tell me, 'you're next!' So I started doing the same thing to them at funerals." Story OF my life.

On Saturday it was Chad's nephew Tyson's birthday, so we went to his brother's house for ice cream and cake. But Tyson doesn't like cake, so his mom made him a super cool donut-hole tower instead. We all sat outside and watched him open presents, then after that I soon found myself playing catch with 5 small children and simultaneously. Which then turned into keep-away (which I do not think is a fun game! Especially since I'm usually in the middle!) For some reason these kids think that I am so much fun. Did you read that people? I'm fun! Anyways, and then Chad and I tossed a football around for awhile. Loved it. Loved all of it. And now my butt is sore from running around on the grass. Pathetic.

Free Cookies!

Tonight at FHE we had an object lesson. I walked in a little bit late, so when I got there I was greeted by someone saying, "Raechel, do you want a cookie?" I didn't know what was going on, but of course I wanted the cookie! I love cookies! They are practically my favorite food. And chocolate chip? The only way I'm saying no to a chocolate chip cookie is if it isn't soft (cookies just aren't meant to be hard. Oreo's and thin mints are some of the only exceptions).

So, naturally I said, "Um... yes I want a cookie [duh]!" I was then handed a cookie and a glass of milk while some guy did 10 push ups. Apparently, the price for a delicious cookie was 10 push ups. Luckily I wasn't asked to do 10 push ups because a) I can barely do 10 girl-style push ups and b) I would have said, "forget that" and gone cookie-less, which would have made me sad. But this nice fellow offered to pay the price for everyone in the room, so everyone who wanted a cookie got one for free while (we'll call him "Nice Fellow") Nice Fellow covered the cost. I believe we were told that he ended up doing 330 push ups and by the end of the lesson he (and Nice Fellow was in pretty good shape) was shaking, sweating, red-faced, and struggling. But still he pressed on until everyone who wanted a cookie got one.

The cookies were then, of course, likened unto salvation. Salvation is offered to all of us for free because the Savior offered to pay the price for all of us (the price being atoning for all of our sins - which is quite the painful process I hear). Of course, there were some people in the room who chose not to accept the cookie, but the cookie was still there if they wanted it. And I, for one, felt a little bad that someone had to suffer a little bit for me to enjoy a cookie, but in the end I was grateful.

The lesson is flawed, but it gets the point across; the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it so that we can all, if we choose, be "saved" and forgiven and able to live in joy and happiness.

So basically, the lesson that I learned tonight is this:

If:

Cookies = Salvation

and Salvation = free because of the Atonement

and the Atonement = Happiness

Then:

=

FREE COOKIES = HAPPINESS

I do believe that I agree.