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Happy Thanksgiving 2013

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Mark's family this year.  Such a blessing!  Thank You, God, for the blessing of family and specifically our families.  We pray that this coming year each of them will sense Your blessings in their life and give thanks to You.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning

 

My contribution - cranberry sauce

View from the car on our way to Thanksgiving Dinner

Cooks in the kitchen

Sports fans watching the Dallas/Raiders games (Dallas won 31-24 yay!)

Deep fried turkey is cooking

Mark with three of his four brothers

Three of our nieces

Three more nieces and nephew

Mark's brother and family

Mark's niece, her daughter and fiance

Mark's brother and his family (plus his other brother's daughter)

Mark with his nephews

The two responsible for all of this - Mom and Dad!

Thanksgiving Morning

Mark and I woke up early this Thanksgiving to drive up to Dobbins Lookout on South Mountain which is on the south side of Phoenix.  It was only a 30 minute drive from our hotel.  Technically we didn't have to get up that early since it would have been 8am Eastern time. :-)

The drive was nice and it was definitely worth it for the views.  Good memory to make on this Thanksgiving Day 2013.  The last time we were on South Mountain was the day that we got engaged - almost exactly 13 years ago.  My - how time flies!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day!

Phoenix is in the background of this picture

We're always drawn to dogs :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2013 FROM MARK & MELINDA!

San Tan Valley, Arizona

Today we made a trip to visit my aunt and uncle, James and Mary Ellen, at their winter home in San Tan Valley, Arizona.  It was only about 45 minutes from our hotel and was a beautiful drive through desert landscape.  James and Mary Ellen treated us to a delicious lunch at a restaurant in the small town of Superior and then drove us a short distance up into the mountains for a picturesque view.  We also enjoyed seeing their home and meeting their energetic dog, Tofu. :-)  Here are some pictures to share.  Thanks for the few short hours, James and Mary Ellen.  It was a special treat!

Stopped at Starbucks on the way - yum!

Porter's Cafe for lunch... pet friendly but Tofu stayed in the van

James and Mary Ellen

Very interesting house in Superior, Arizona

Mark and Melinda - beautiful bougainvillaea in their backyard

Meet Tofu

Guess he liked us since he was willing to pose with us! :-)

Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix

We spent the morning on Monday at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  Things weren't in bloom as much as they would have been in the spring or summer but it was still beautiful.  We got a lot of walking in too.  Just thought I'd share some of the photos - hopefully these aren't too many!  If I could remember the names of the plants I would label them.  We'll just call them desert plants! :-)