Thanksgiving Weekend

This Thanksgiving we stayed in Connecticut--it's our first time not flying to Las Vegas or Denver for the holiday since we got married.  A family from our ward, the Oesers, invited us over for dinner, so we were not all alone.  I made a salad, fresh green bean casserole (which turned out to be amazing), and cream puffs (Mabey family tradition).

Post dinner picture.  We made way too much food.

Nolan had a fun time playing with their dogs (of course). Before dinner he snacked on black olives and the cheese ball, and only ate his roll during dinner. He is not as good of an eater as he used to be.

The Oeser Family

Then after dinner we stayed very late playing games and had a blast.

Friday morning was our ward's Turkey Bowl.  Justin enjoyed playing ball...

...and Nolan spent some time playing with the other kids from the ward.  

I was just glad that Justin didn't get hurt.  Although, he did lose another toenail. No surprise there.

Saturday morning we took a short drive south to New Haven (on the Connecticut coast).  We stopped by IKEA to pick up some things for the house.  Nolan enjoyed playing in the kids section.  Apparently shopping wore him out and he needed a rest.

And then we stopped for some lunch in the IKEA cafeteria.  Great food and we got it for "free"!

New Haven is the home of Yale University, so we had to stop by and take a tour.  The architecture there is incredible.  We tried to pay attention but Nolan didn't cooperate very well, and it was so cold and windy.  We were able to learn a few things, though, and see many interesting buildings.  One tidbit--I was surprised to learn that most of the gothic buildings were built in the 1920-30s, but the architect (James Gamble Rogers) purposefully "aged" the buildings by throwing acid on the walls or breaking windows and repairing them using Middle-Age techniques.

Harkness Tower

And here's the Sterling Memorial Library.  Although always intended to be a library, it was built to resemble a gothic cathedral.

Inside, the circulation desk replaces the altar with "Mother Yale" in the background, and the stained glass windows have images from famous literary works, rather than apostles and saints.

We didn't get to see as much as we would have wanted, but we learned it's just a quick drive away and will be back soon.