The Lee Family: Santa Fe for Thanksgiving

We headed to Santa Fe for Thanksgiving on Tuesday afternoon, after some rainy weather cleared out of Dallas. Around noon, we picked up sandwiches from Pot Belly's and then loaded up and got started on what ended up being a 3.5 hour flight due to some head winds. Olivia and I napped as did Sofia and I woke up about 15 minutes before we landed, which is perfect. Just as we left, CK gave Sofia the JK Rawling's book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and by the time we landed in Santa Fe she was almost completely done with it! We got into our rental car and headed to Aunt and Uncle's new place, which they are calling their "hacienda." We were able to see it on our last day in Santa Fe over our July 4th visit, but it was empty and they have done a lot of work on the inside and backyard since then. It's located north of the Plaza and feels very rural even though it's still an easy walk to the Plaza. Their backyard backs up to a natural arroyo and there is a gate leading directly out to it, which Aunt Shirley knew the girls would love to explore.

We arrived and were shocked at how cozy and beautiful the hacienda is! The backyard is a complete transformation from when they bought it just 5 months ago and it all feels like they have been there for years already! It's perfect! After we brought our bags inside, putting CK and my bags into our very own guest room just outside of the main house and the girls' bags in their room, inside the house, we decided to explore the arroyo. It had rained the day before, so the ground was still wet and sandy and the girls loved it! They found a lot of great rocks to collect and their jacket pockets were soon filled with new treasures.

After our exploration efforts, we headed to our favorite Mexican food in Santa Fe - Maria's for dinner. Sofia and Olivia brought their T. Rex dinosaurs - Fear is Sofia's and Pounce is Olivia's and they are good friends. Once we arrived at Maria's, CK got the girls Shirley Temples and they sat in the entryway, coloring the new coloring books Aunt Shirl gave them and drinking their drinks while their dinosaurs watched them. Sofia also finished her "Fantastic Beasts" books and loved it. We enjoyed dinner and catching up with Aunt and Uncle, including a lot of talk about all the work done on the hacienda! Once we returned, the girls went to bed in their new guest room and we visited for a bit longer before heading off to bed ourselves.

On Wednesday morning we made breakfast tacos with eggs, bacon and cheese and the girls played in their pjs with the dinosaur figures and the memory game next to the fireplace. The fire felt great, since it was in the mid-30s at 7:30am! Olivia and I tried to challenge Sofia in the memory game, but she beat us every time and Olivia kept getting frustrated and quit playing. After eating and getting dressed, Aunt Shirley and I headed out to run errands to prepare for Thanksgiving. It's great to have the whole day before Thanksgiving to help get ready and run errands. We first visited Bed, Bath and Beyond and then stopped in World Market, which was a new store for Aunt Shirl and she loved it. I knew she would find great stuff there and she bought a beautiful table runner, napkins and new plates, since they expect 12 people and only have six plates. From there, we stopped in Whole Foods to get the finishing touches for the big meal. By then we were starving and CK texted me to ask about lunch since they girls were also starving. He'd fed them pretzels and apples but they were still starving. We offered to pick up lunch at Bumble Bee, one of my very favorite places in Santa Fe. I keep hoping that they will open one in Texas! It's basically fresh Mexican fast food that is delicious!

We returned to the hacienda and ate our Bumble Bee's food, which was as delicious as ever. After lunch, I took the girls on a hike through the arroyos and neighborhoods to the Cross of the Martyr that overlooks the city. When we started off, the girls were too warm so they decided to leave their jackets and gloves behind. By the time we made it to the Cross, it was close to sunset and getting chilly. Sofia had her hat with her and almost never complains about being cold, so she was fine. She never even wore her hat, since she used it to keep her T. Rex, "Fear" warm since "she isn't used to the cold." By the time we started back toward the hacienda, Olivia was freezing. I gave her my jacket which hung down nearly to the ground, but she was comfortable. I ended up jogging a little just to stay warm and the sun was fading fast. We made it back just as the sun set, which was perfect timing. I actually thought we had one more ridge to cross but was thankful when I saw the hacienda sooner than expected. I was getting chilly and the temperature was dropping was!

While we were on our hike, Uncle Steve worked on his delicious pumpkin tart, which he made last year. Instead of the traditional pumpkin filling, it calls for garam marsala, which really adds to the flavor but doesn't overtake the pumpkin. Plus, he makes his own pie crust from scratch which is amazing. My Grandma baked pies every day and sold them in a little store they ran when Uncle Steve was young, so he's had a lot of experience working with dough and pies. I swear his pie crust is the best I've ever had anywhere! He had the girls help him make "leaf" cut-outs for the top and they loved it, of course. After, the girls went back to playing with their dinosaur figures by the fireplace while we went out in the back and sat under the heaters and enjoyed drinks and snacks. It was surprisingly warm sitting under the heaters with our jackets on. It was already down into the 30s and chilly away from the heat. After awhile, we ordered pizza from Il Vilcino and Uncle Steve and I picked it up and returned to a great salad made by Aunt Shirl. The pizza and salad really hit the spot! After, we put the girls to bed and went to sleep ourselves.

With Papa - ready to head to Santa Fe!