Paul and I arrived in Southern Utah on Thursday in the late afternoon. We didn’t miss Thanksgiving because my Mom usually prepares the meal on Saturday to make sure that everyone has plenty of time to get there and we can enjoy each other’s company before pigging out. Works for me.

And enjoy each other’s company, we did! That night, we played a rousing game of Scattergories (twice) and pretty much laughed our butts off. Mom and her sister Irene were on a team for the first round and if that doesn’t spell trouble, I don’t know what does. My mom is notorious for mispronouncing and sometimes butchering the English language, so it can be pretty comedic.

One of my favorite examples was when we had to come up with a “Type of Clothing” that started with the letter “H”. Most of us put down Hat or something along those lines. Jake was clever enough to think of Hollister (the clothing brand) and we all thought that was pretty good. Mom was the most impressed, saying “Oh yeah! Cowboys wear them Hollisters!” It took a moment to register with us before we all basically fell to the floor with laughter. Then I explained that cowboys don’t really wear Hollisters so much as they wear HOLSTERS. Classic.

For the second round, Mom and Jake were on the same team and besides her constantly giggling in his ear, the best part of that round was when we had to come up with “Items in a Medicine Cabinet” that start with the letter “T”. Mom’s brilliant answer was “Toilet Plunger!” and Jake’s retaliation was “I want a new partner!” Cue laughter.

So Thanksgiving was great, Zion Nat’l Park was great, bowling was great, the company was great, and overall it was just a great weekend. The only bummer is that our 7-month old car broke down, and no repair shops are open on Sunday. So we will be here for another day.

But being here isn’t all that bad.