Thanksgiving this year was a little untraditional for the Farrell-Landers family. Since Lynsey was in the states presenting at a conference in Washington, D.C. the week before Thanksgiving, she decided to fly over to Arizona for a quick trip home and a little turkey. Thus, the Farrell family celebrated our Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday prior to the actual day. Even though we celebrated early, we still filled ourselves with yummy goodness and felt the warmth of family. We were lucky to be joined this year by my aunt and uncle from Colorado, Micky, Josh's sister, Alisha and Lynsey's boyfriend from Kenya, Tonny. It was much fun.
Since we celebrated Thanksgiving early, Josh and I decided to drive to California for the long weekend to visit his grandparents instead of having another huge feast. We packed up the car and our sleeping kids and headed to Calabasas, CA, on Thursday evening after enjoying a bowl full of Turkey Soup. Thanks, Mom! The drive was relatively uneventful, except for all of the crazy people heading out to "Black Friday" shop at the outlet malls on our way into Los Angeles. It was ridiculous. There was such a long line of cars trying to enter the outlet mall parking lots.
After a limited amount of time spent "sleeping" at the hotel, we awoke Friday morning, headed to breakfast and then to a park so Madi could play before we headed over to Josh's cousin's home. The park we decided to visit is called Brandon's Village at Gates Canyon Park. It is one of the *best* parks we have ever visited. There are two separate play areas -- one for older children and the other specifically designed for younger kids. Madi enjoyed playing in both areas and stayed thoroughly entertained. We were so delighted to have found this wonderful destination.
We spent the afternoon and evening with Alisa, Gabriel, Haley, Jenna, Judah, GG, GP, Lori and Richard. Madi enjoyed playing with her second cousins and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. We also joined the Vorobiof family for Shabbat on Friday night. It was my first ever Shabbat. Shabbat is a festive day when Jews are freed from the regular labors of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and spend time with family. Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles, reciting a blessing and enjoying a special dinner with family and friends. I really enjoyed this traditional dinner and I cannot wait to host our own Shabbat in 2012.
On our last day in California, we enjoyed just spending the time with GG and GP at their home in Laguna Woods. Josh and GP were able to play nine holes of golf, while GG and I entertained Madi and Aiden around the house. We really enjoyed being able to spend some quality time with them, especially since we are not able to see them more often than a couple of times a year.
After a limited amount of time spent "sleeping" at the hotel, we awoke Friday morning, headed to breakfast and then to a park so Madi could play before we headed over to Josh's cousin's home. The park we decided to visit is called Brandon's Village at Gates Canyon Park. It is one of the *best* parks we have ever visited. There are two separate play areas -- one for older children and the other specifically designed for younger kids. Madi enjoyed playing in both areas and stayed thoroughly entertained. We were so delighted to have found this wonderful destination.
We spent the afternoon and evening with Alisa, Gabriel, Haley, Jenna, Judah, GG, GP, Lori and Richard. Madi enjoyed playing with her second cousins and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. We also joined the Vorobiof family for Shabbat on Friday night. It was my first ever Shabbat. Shabbat is a festive day when Jews are freed from the regular labors of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and spend time with family. Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles, reciting a blessing and enjoying a special dinner with family and friends. I really enjoyed this traditional dinner and I cannot wait to host our own Shabbat in 2012.
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