Thanksgiving 2008 - Las Vegas!

This year we took a 3 & 1/2 hour road trip to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving to be with Mom and Dad Mitchell who just moved to Vegas this summer. It had been several months since we had all been together and it was such a blessing to all spend quality time together, full of laughter and joy! Here's dad carving the turkey...16 pounds of it.

My personal favorite, pumpkin pie.

Wednesday night we had a little dance party as a family...would you believe it lasted over an hour? :) Nate DJ'ed and all of us busted some serious moves.

Does the whole world have Costco rolls at their Thanksgiving table...they are the best!

The star of the show...the cook.

The day after Thanksgiving we did the Las Vegas Strip with Mom and Dad- our first time ever. It was so amazing. Once it got dark, and the lights lit up it was a sight to see!

Dinner at the Planet Hollywood casino.

The water symphony show at the Bellagio- this was incredible!

Here we are outside the Venetian- this casino/hotel was our favorite. Inside you feel like you are literally walking in a palazzo in Italy.

Paris...in Vegas...at night.

Posing with Caesar himself.

Inside the Bellagio was this amazing atrium decorated for Thanksgiving- all the flowers you see behind us are real.

Laguna Beach

We decided to be spontaneous today since the weather forcast said 85 and sunny, so we took a drive out to Laguna Beach and cruised down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). It was a gorgeous day to say the least and I couldn't have spent a day any better than with my love, on a beach, with not a care in the world. (Mom and Krystn you'll be happy to hear that :) ) Laguna Beach is amazing- very OC "glamorous," but we northwesterner's brought our own flavor to the beach city...grabbed a Starbucks first thing, and sat on the beach with our cell phones turned off!

Now that the holidays are just around the corner, we find ourselves laughing sometimes at how different it still feels to live in Southern California. It still feels like summer, and yet it's holiday season already. Here's So. Cal Christmas decorating...a nice wreath on the lifeguard tower.

He's always known how to enjoy God's beauty...

Another example...beach + a hot Americano...seems so odd but a reality today. :)

Fresh off the Farm Harvest Party

For Halloween we went out to LA for Nate and Kim's 2nd Annual Harvest Party. This year's theme was "Fresh off the Farm," and just about everyone looked like they had just come straight from the barn. It was a group of people from Reality LA (Nate and Kim's church), having some wholesome fun, while enjoying Texan-style bowls of chili and dern good cornbread. We met a lot of really cool people and enjoyed our time with family. We'll definitely be attending the 3rd annual party next year!