Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving morning: the house was bustling with busy hands cooking, prepping, baking. There is an Andersen family tradition to have scones with ham and cheese on Thanksgiving morning. I have to admit, I initially scoffed at this plan. Why on earth would you want to have such a fabulous breakfast on a day that you are going to be eating forever? Why? Because it is ah-mazing. Seriously, this is a tradition I can get behind. They were delicious. And I am happy to report that the Andersens, like the Freys, call fried bread scones, unlike the traditional-what-people-really-call-scones-scones. I love it! At any rate, whilst all these hands were busily preparing food, what were my hands doing? They were heading up to the mountains to go four-wheeling. *gasp* I know, pretty rotten of us to desert the women folk and head for the hills, but believe me when I say they were better off leaving my contribution with clean up rather than cooking. Brian's cousin was so kind as to invite us to go ride his four-wheelers and get the kids out of the way for a bit. So we went out where the sheep hunt had been taking place for the earlier part of the week. It. was. beautiful. Living in Vegas it's easy to forget that there is gorgeous scenery on the outskirts of town in every direction. The city is so cluttered that it's hard to imagine these empty hills and mountains. This was the beast that we got to ride in. Please notice that Xiana's car seat is attached into the back seat. That is a serious mountain climbing monster spacious enough for the whole fam!
Ready to go!
Brian's cousin and his twin boys on either side of him. Did I mention this was a blast?!
Xiana woke up pretty cranky (I think from all the over stimulation and lack of sleep) and as soon as we got on the bumpy roads, she followed her normal motif and fell asleep. I don't know how she does it with her head bouncing around all over the place, but it seems like every time we go off the main roads, she falls asleep.
We got out and hiked around and got to see the "blood rock." I think I'm gonna stick with the "don't as don't tell" policy on that one.
Xiana got to drive and it's a good thing because we were out in the mountains. She always assures me that "only mommy drive on street, but nana and brian drive in mountains." Right she is.
I wish their faces weren't shadowed because I love this shot!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... The girls really did outdo themselves. There was enough food to feed an army! Everything was delicious.
I felt a little guilty not helping and then eating away, but like I said, I adamantly insisted on being the clean-up crew which helped assuage my guilt.
Xiana is giving Brian kisses and Ali is taking a little Thanksgiving nap.
This was a great day. The food, company, setting, and feelings were perfect. I am thankful for family and friends who mean the world!