Thanksgiving in Colorado

I’m going to rewind 2 months to the 8 days we spent in Colorado visiting Justin’s family for Thanksgiving in November! (Also this recap will remind me of warmer days, as we are still stuck in the subzero part of the thermometer here in Alaska.)

We spent last Thanksgiving with Justin’s family, and every visit is full of fun activities thanks to the family planner extraordinaire, Jamie (Justin’s youngest sister). Justin’s other sister, Julie, opens her home for the masses, and this time, we actually stayed with them the whole time since Justin’s Uncle Pete drove from NJ again and stayed with Justin’s mom.

Anyway, the 8 days was full to the brim, with a few repeated traditions from last year, plus a few new ones.

First up, our one-on-one day we always try to spend with the nephews. We’ve pretty much exhausted all the kid activities across Denver through the years, so we told them to pick a place they wanted to repeat, and they chose Denver Slick City Action Park. If I’m being honest, I was relieved! Slides are the easiest on my old bones, especially since “taking them” always means we’re expected to participate too.

Another hot spot they wanted to repeat: a visit to the Dollar Store since we load them up on all the goodies their parents wouldn’t even consider buying them, like silly string!!!!

Unbelievably, Everett turned 13 when we were there! We celebrated as a family by bowling again. Him getting older makes me so sad because it probably means the next time we come to Denver, he’ll just stay locked in his room …

As a family, we replicated a trip to the movies to see part 2 of Wicked. I did not enjoy Wicked For Good as much as the first one, and I think my mother-in-law and Justin’s uncle agreed since they took a snooze during the very long movie.

A unique outing was to Casa Bonita in Denver. Have any of your heard about this place? The Mexican restaurant originally opened in 1974, and the pink building with the 30-foot tower drew a lot of attention for its immersive dining experience, like the cliff divers off the 14-foot indoor waterfall. The business closed in 2020, much to the chagrin of long-time Coloradans. The creators of the South Park TV show (Trey Parker & Matt Stone) saved and reopened the restaurant after a $40 million renovation (the documentary about this is fascinating!!). Now there is a waiting list to get a reservation (my sister-in-law booked ours nearly a year in advance!). Here’s what I will say: it was fun, but I am one-and-done for a Casa Bonita experience.

Eight days is a short period to squeeze all this in, but we still took a quick jaunt to the mountains at 10,000 feet with Justin’s sister and her wife. I can confirm, the short hike did not offset all the Thanksgiving eating.

And now back to reality, where I hope someday we will climb into the positive range on the thermometer.