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Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving + Our Search for Fall

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be grateful for. I love that we have a holiday specifically centered on gratitude. I hope that I can maintain that grateful feeling throughout the holiday season this year. I am truly thankful for the life that I have been blessed with. Kelson started Thanksgiving by playing the ward Turkey Bowl, and then we headed to his grandparents' house in Escondido for the rest of the day.  We had a fun day and a delicious dinner.

This year's dessert masterpiece was a toffee cheesecake covered with a layer of pumpkin pie filling. It was delicious! I got the recipe over at Our Best Bites. Definitely a keeper. Kelson made a pineapple sour cream pie, and it was great too!
 We spent some time exploring the orchard with Kelson's grandpa in the afternoon. It still fascinates me to see oranges and grapefruits growing on trees in the back yard, especially in the winter.

I love the beautiful weather here, but I recently started getting a little bit jealous of all of my friends who were gushing about their fall weather on facebook, especially our friends from New England. Kelson and I set out one Saturday to find Fall. We drove up into the mountains to Julian.
We found it! Julian had Fall colors. It made me happy. 
 Kelson and I enjoy exploring old cemeteries. Julian had a fun one, and Fall was there!
 The next weekend, we wanted to go for a hike, so we went to Cowle's Mountain, one of the most popular hiking spots in San Diego. There were hundreds of people there. Being from the mountains, I was a little confused why so many people wanted to climb up a hot, dusty hill. However, the view from the top was spectacular. You could see all of San Diego, clear out to the ocean. It was worth it.
 A couple of days ago, we decided to explore the Filipino grocery store, and we found some very interesting surprises. Some were more appetizing than others. In case you can't read the lids, Kelson is holding beef bile and pork blood. I really hope I have never unknowingly eaten beef bile in an Asian restaurant. That just sounds really unpleasant.
 We may not have Fall or a white Christmas here in San Diego, but I'm not going to complain. I can be at the beach in 20 minutes, and this is the view from my balcony every evening.
I would say I am pretty blessed.
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Now, it is time for my favorite season-Christmas!
Bring on the holiday cheer!