November 24-27, 2014 (Yuma, AZ)

Monday

It was time to hit the road and head to Yuma this morning.  We got everything all packed up and were on the road by 9:15 a.m., pretty good for us.  We traveled south with a nice light north wind pushing us along which was nice.  We had a nice uneventful drive to Yuma and arrived around 12:30 p.m.  I wish I would have had my camera ready once we got into Yuma because we passed a lettuce field that was being harvested, it was really interesting to watch. 

We got setup at our site in The Palms.  Rich did a great job maneuvering around a telephone box while backing into our site.  Too bad when you are picking out a site at the office that they don't clue you in to these little obstacles.  I guess if they did, they wouldn't get the site rented out as often.  =)  We did our regular walk around the park and found it to be very empty compared to when we were here last March.  I guess a lot of their visitors must come after the holidays.

The rest of the day was pretty low key, just hanging around relaxing in the sun.

Tuesday

We got up and went to the Walk Away the Lbs class they have here.  It's nice that they start the class an hour earlier than they did at Lake Havasu.  After we were finished with the class and had our showers we headed out to the local Fry's grocery store to get our turkey and other thanksgiving dinner trimmings.  We have invited my nephew and his little boy down to share Thanksgiving with us. 

After our shopping trip, we did a little walk in the park so Gracie could get her exercise and then spent the rest of the afternoon in our lounge chairs enjoying the nice warm weather.  After dinner, I updated our blog with our adventures from Lake Havasu.  It always feels good to get that completed. 

Wednesday

Walk Away the Lbs was the first thing on our agenda today and with that out of the way it was time to start baking the traditional pumpkin pie.  Our propane oven does not cook real evenly and I have burned several items in the past so was a little leary about trying to bake the pies in it today.  Our microwave also has a combination convection and "speed cook" setting so I've been experimenting with that lately and decided to try the pies that way.  The "speed cook uses a combination of the upper and lower lamps in addition to the microwave and convection functions.  I'm happy to report that the pumpkin and the berry pies turned out.  I made a loaf of banana bread and it was a little soft in the middle but still edible.  You get very creative when trying to bake/cook in a small space.

While I was making a mess in the kitchen, Rich ran some errands and picked up a few more items from the store.  After I got my mess cleaned up, I headed to the pool for a couple hours of sun bathing and swimming.

Our nephew Taylor and Jayden were scheduled to arrive around 5 p.m. and they showed up right on time.  Wow, has little Jayden grown since last year when we saw him and he was talking up a storm.  Rich BBQ'd us some burgers for dinner and we sat around catching up on each others lives and being entertained by little Jayden, he was quite the character and so cute.....

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! 

We woke up early because Rich needed to get the turkey in the oven.  Taylor and Jayden spent the night on our hide a bed couch and we hated to disturb them, but you know little ones, they wake up pretty early and Jayden was no exception.  So Rich was able to get the stuffing put together and the turkey stuffed and in the oven by 8:30 a.m. 

After breakfast and watching little Jayden who is into his "Power Rangers" and liked to act out different scenarios.  He also is a big spiderman fan, so between those super hero's had quite a show going on.  Little kids have so much energy, it's amazing.  Rich and I both had good visits with Taylor, he's a very responsible young father and he does really well with Jayden who was actually quite well behaved for a 3 year old.  =)  It was good to visit with Taylor (his dad, my brother, passed away last January) and see how well he's doing though he misses his dad a lot. 

Finally the turkey was ready and we were ready for our feast.  We got to eat our Thanksgiving dinner outside in the nice warm sunshine.  And was it ever a yummy feast.  Rich brines the turkey ahead of time which makes an amazingly flavorful and tender turkey and I love his stuffing, which is so delicious.  I really am blessed with an amazing husband and I'm very thankful for him and not just because he is a good cook!  =)

We really enjoyed our visit with Taylor and Jayden and are so glad they made the 2.5 hour drive to come down to Yuma to spend Thanksgiving with us.  It is nice to be able to spend the holiday with family.  

 

Taylor & Jayden

Me, Jayden & Taylor (you can tell the locals vs us winter visitors, the locals are in long sleeves and the winter visitors are in shorts and tank tops.  =)

This hug from Jayden is for you Great Grandma!