Thanksgiving Part 2

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, the little one and I flew to Utah to spend some time with my family.  It was a last minute decision and I was and still am grateful that I was able to go, even if the trip ended up different than expected.

Thanksgiving day was spent with my immediate family at my Grandma's old house.   She has now moved in with my uncle and was sadly not able to join us.  My uncle's family was going to have Thanksgiving on Saturday and I was going to join so I could celebrate with her but I ended up getting sick and didn't want to spread it among the old and the young alike.  We had a wonderful meal though and the day was thoroughly enjoyed even if I had already begun to feel ill.

Side note: The turkey for this part of my Thanksgiving was cooked in a big slow cooker made for large cuts of meat and it was just as good as the imu.  I am already planning to purchase one when I leave Hawaii.

The rest of the trip was spent just relaxing with the family with a quick stop at the temple and a visit with an old friend.  It seems that every time I go to Utah my list of things to do gets ignored because I am not feeling well (I was prego last trip).  Someday I will accomplish this list of things to see, food to eat, and people to see.

Utah had a huge snow storm the day I was suppose to leave and on the way to the airport we got in an accident.  I did not see anyway I could make my flight on time and the agent said I would have to spend more than $500 to get a new ticket which stressed me out.  Thankfully, while I was crying helplessly, my brother found a taxi driver who said he might be able to get us there in time.  I thought this guy was a bit full of it and didn't see how it would work out, but the guy did get us there and there were no lines at the airport so we made our flight home.  I was so grateful as taking care of the little one without the hubby was wearing on me.

One of many naps taken in peoples' laps.

Wearing a coat, something we don't need in Hawaii.  

Chipotle!  Come to Hawaii!

The nice china out for Thanksgiving. 

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Our names made out of chocolate - a cute idea by my sister-in-law. 

Chilling with one of his aunts. 

Introducing him to the snow. 

Snow is a no go. 

Thanksgiving 2013 Part 1

Our Thanksgiving in Hawaii this year was uneventful, small, but nice.  Our ward's tradition for Thanskgiving is to do a imu, or underground pit cooking, to slow roast the turkey.  When they said they were doing a imu we were so lost and felt pretty lost throughout most of the process but it was a fun thing to participate in and I am glad the chances of them doing it again next year are extremely high.

They usually start the imu on Thanksgiving eve but to prevent all the men from showing up to Thanksgiving exhausted, they did it the weekend before. And in the end it worked out great for us because we were going to celebrated Thanksgiving early anyways.

Friday night some of the men dug a hole in the ground and built a huge bonfire.  People dropped off their turkeys and chickens and used the time to socialize and enjoy a meal together.  I left before it occurred, but later that evening, they cleared the bonfire and put the turkeys in the pit with hot stones and covered the whole thing to trap the heat in.  Some of the men in the ward then stayed all night to watch the pit and early the next morning the meat was ready for us to take home.

They say the meat takes on a smoky flavor but I didn't notice it that much.  What was very apparent was how juicy and tender the meat was.  No carving needed.  It was awesome.  

Though lets be honest here, it was not as awesome as having someone else cook your turkey for you, especially when it was your first time cooking a holiday meal.   Now that was AWESOME!!!  Later that day we just whipped up the sides, heated the turkey, and were good to go.  Our two friends came over with their daughter and we ate a nice holiday meal outside on our balcony.  Simple but sweet.

 The pit and the bonfire. 

All the turkeys.  (Blogger keeps flipping this picture.  Sorry!)

 The next morning before the turkeys were removed. 

Jack still in his pjs. 

 Getting the turkeys out.  It was a really bright morning. 

Even Jack agrees that it was super bright. 

The pit smoking when uncovered. 

Word of advice:  don't try this at home unless you are experienced in this method of cooking.  Explosions could result.  You have been warned.