Harry Potter and Pie Thanksgiving

If I had to sum up our Thanksgiving this year in two terms, it would be Harry Potter and Pie (Sounds like Courtney heaven right? It was.)

We headed down to Ramona, California last Friday with just my mom and dad. We had a beautiful condo up in the mountains above San Diego and enjoyed a very relaxing weekend. Besides a little venture out to church on Sunday and a trip to Julian (a nearby mining town, famous for it's fabulous pies) on Monday, we rarely left the condo. Mostly we read books, watched TV and movies, the men watched sports, and we all just relaxed. It was fabulous.

Then came Tuesday and the arrival of Will and Heidi. They barely made it out of Utah before the big blizzard hit, we were just grateful they made it! Upon there arrival, Will announced the one thing he really, really wanted to do on this vacation was to see Harry Potter 7. So after lunch at a famous Diner in San Diego, some shopping (for the girls) and touring the aircraft carrier in port (for the boys), we all met up to see the first installment of the world wide phenomenon Harry Potter movie. It did not disappoint. Harry Potter was followed by dinner at the Fish Market right in the harbor of San Diego. Of course I ordered one of the few things on the menu that didn't have fish in it, but everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their fish dinners.




I think it was at dinner that Will proposed the idea that we watch ALL the Harry Potter movies over this break. It was a little cold and rainy and not ideal beach weather, so it sounded like a pretty good idea. The next day they raided a blockbuster and rented 5 previous Harry Potter movies (we skipped #1). The bulk on the next few days was spent deep in the world of Hogwarts. I think Will was the only one who watched every minute of every movie, although the rest of us came pretty close.

There were a few breaks in the Harry Potter madness for a little football watching

And Pie Eating. We ate pie almost every day. I think it may have just satisfied my pregnancy craving for good. Seriously though, Julian pies are amazing. The consensus was they are the best store-bought pies any of us has ever eaten (because nothing tops my Mom's homemade pies).

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner in our condo. Heidi started off the traditional 'go around the table and say what you are thankful for this year' with stating, "I'm thankful for Harry Potter." Classic Heidi.
After dinner we played games. Once again, we learned that "girls against boys" in a trivia game where sports is a possible category isn't a great idea. Us girls held our own, but the boys beat us in the end.
We had a fabulous time in California. The trip was relaxing and fun and just so great to all be together. Of course we missed Nate, several trivia type questions came up in casual conversation throughout the trip that Nate would of course know the answer to, reminding us of his absence, but we are all thankful that he's serving the Lord. I love having a holiday set aside just to reflect on our blessings, because we truly have so much to be thankful for.