Thanksgiving with Anderson's - San Jacinto and Battleship Texas

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas with the Andersons. This trip was not as scary for Lynn as going to see the alligators in their natural habitat. We also wanted to make sure they saw some of the Texas sites before they move to Germany. We will really miss them.

Jared, Ryan, Brett, Lynn and Sarah outside San Jacinto Monument.

The San Jacinto Monument, which is a little taller than the Washington Monument.

This is the 3rd time we have visited the San Jacinto Monument and the first time we were able to go to the top. Every other time the elevator was not working. It was great to be able to go up and look around. This is looking over the Houston Ship Channel.

Looking South toward the ocean.

Ryan looking out the window.

Looking out across the refineries and chemical plants in the area. It is just about enough to bring a tear to a Chemical Engineer's eye looking at all those tanks and processing equipment.

The Houston Ship Channel and the Battleship Texas.

The reflecting pond and the Houston Ship Channel.

Brett at the top of the San Jacinto Monument.

After going to the Monument, we went and had some lunch and then came back to tour the Battleship Texas. Here are some sailors getting ready to go.

Everyone crossing the bridge to the ship.

Ryan and Jared shooting the big guns.

Jared doing his part to aim the gun.

Brett taking careful aim.

Brett and Jared teamed-up to shoot.

Ryan and Sarah teamed-up to shoot.

Sarah taking careful aim while Lynn provides technical support.

Brett and Jared working as one.

While Sarah and Ryan were not as synchronized. It is tough to get synchronized with a red-headed 4-year old.

I am decided to see if I could help out the independent red-head and take careful aim at the photographer.

Ryan, Jared, Sarah and Brett taking a snooze on the roomy bunks.

Looking from the Battleship Texas back towards the San Jacinto Monument.

Debbie, Lynn, Brett and Lori on the ship.

Ryan and Sarah coming down some of the many stairs on the ship.

Everyone moving back down.

Ryan, Jared, Brett and Lori with the big guns.

Thanksgiving with Andersons - Brazos Bend State Park

The Andersons came from San Antonio to see us for Thanksgiving and we were very happy to have some company to enjoy the day with. The kids were really happy to see Sarah and be able to play with her rather than being with just us boring parents for the day. In addition, shortly after Thanksgiving the Andersons got confirmation that they will be moving to Germany so they will not be here in Texas with us for much longer. We were very happy we could spend some time with them before they leave the country and we will not be able to see them as often.

The Friday after Thanksgiving we went on a hike at Brazos Bend State Park. Both Brett and Jared needed to go on a hike for Cub Scouts and it was a great day to be outside. Here the kids are playing on a vine.

Sarah and Brett

Ryan and Jared.

It was a good day to see alligators as well. Lynn was a little nervous about it and did not seem to think hiking with the alligators out in the wild rather than behind a fence was a really great idea despite my assurances that we do this all the time. Lynn was really funny as he worried about what could happen and what my plans were if different scenarios were to happen, like "What if two alligators had the path blocked and cut off your escape?" I assured him that alligators were not that smart and if you left them alone, they would do likewise. He did not seem to think that was adequate and continue to worry and formulate potential scenarios. None of them happened and he did not have anything t0 worry about.

Sarah, Brett, Jared, Ryan and Lori by an alligator, although you cannot see him in this picture.

Lori, Ryan, Brett and Jared with an alligator in the background. I circled the alligator so you could see him in the small picture.

Lynn, Sarah and Debbie with the alligator. They are not as comfortable posing with the alligators as we are.

Ryan, Brett and Jared with another alligator. I circled the alligator so it would be easier to find in the picture.

Taking a break from the hike.

Lori, Sarah, Brett, Jared and Ryan with an alligator and turtles on a log in the background.

The alligator and turtles sunning on the log.

The kids on the big stump we regularly stop at. It is irresistible to climb.

Jared and Brett petting the baby alligator at the nature center.

Thanksgiving Day at Sorensens

After our trip to Moab we spent Thanksgiving with my family. It was great to all be together for Thanksgiving which has not happened in a very long time. The last time we were in Utah for Thanksgiving was when we lived in California. That feels like an eternity ago. It was very nice to be with family and be able to see everyone.

This is Nathan playing football with the kids in my parent’s backyard. It had cooled off quite a bit and Nathan really needed to be wearing a jacket, but at his age he is way too cool for a jacket. Even though I am an old guy, I am not too old to remember being way too cool to wear a jacket.

Mason playing football in the backyard. He has the good sense to wear a jacket in the cold or at least enough good sense to still listen to his mother still.

Dad, Dan and Angela getting the turkey ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

Shelby contemplating something very, very important.

Morgan is ready to eat and is screaming “Bring on the food!”

Chad studying hard. It is a ton of work to maintain a 4.0 GPA, which Chad has done. The kid is brilliant.

Dinner Time!

Nicholas is ready to eat!
This is the “Adult” table. I can call it that because Troy has not sat down yet and I am taking the picture, so it is still the “Adult” table at the time this picture was taken. Later, it became the “mostly Adult” table. From left to right going around the table: Dawn, Dan, Angela, Dale, Sacha & Lori.
The little kid table with little chairs. This is Nicholas, Shelby, Morgan and Ryan. Ryan is the youngest grandchild, but he is not the smallest.

The big kid table with big chairs. Starting closest to the camera in the center is Conner, Kaulin, Chad, Jared, Nathan, Mason, Brett & Dallas.

Grandma and Grandpa did not sit at the semi-adult table, but opted to sit at the bar by themselves. They were invited and we would have made room for them, but they elected not to.

Thanksgiving dinner doubled as the monthly birthday dinner, which we miss nearly every month since we live in Texas and cannot make it to Utah on Sunday evenings. So, we celebrated the November birthdays. First up to blow out the candles was Nicholas, who turned 5.

Next up was Angela, who turned really, really old. She had so many candles on her cake that Nicholas had to help her blow them all out. We like to give Angela a bad time about getting older because she gets so stressed out about it. I do not mind having another birthday, even though I got skin cancer, my metabolism continues to slow down and I am going blind, because it is still better than the alternative.

Everyone playing in Grandma’s living room after dinner. Shortly after this picture was taken Grandma gave away the geodes and fossils she has collected through the years. That added to the number of rocks we had to pack in our suitcases and take home with us.

Morgan playing with the kids.

We had to leave early in the morning the following day, but we were very thankful that we were able to make the trip. It was nice to baptize Jared in Utah where we had so much support from friends and family. We had a great time seeing everyone and it was wonderful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family.