after we returned from our family ski trip to utah last march i announced at dinner i wanted each person in the family to write up a list of ten thankfuls they had about the trip that we could send to the family who opened their home to us. all three children groaned saying that was too hard. my knee-jerk response was to say that was non-sense given the amazing week we just experienced and that i could easily produce a list of fifty thankfuls right now, on the spot. my kids surprised me not by relenting and saying they'd do it but by calling my bluff and saying they didn't think i could name fifty things i was thankful for about our recent trip. this is not something i had pre-prepared but every now and again we parents get tapped to get the hit when it matters and on this day i sent the ball sailing, rattling off, quite easily i might add, exactly fifty things i was thankful for about our trip. and it seemed this over-delivery was what was needed to get all of my kids to produce a list of ten. which they did. and then marty, creatively thought to send them not all stuffed into one envelope but as five distinct sendings on five different days. each person's ten:

bella's utah thankfuls

1. I'm thankful you didn't send us out to live on the streets as soon as you met my brothers.
2. I'm thankful that you were kind, welcoming, and generous while we were staying with you.
3. I'm thankful that you let us play with your dog, watch shows/movies on your TV, and play on your trampoline and basketball hoop.
4. I'm thankful that you invited us to the AMAZING Chitty Chitty Bang Bang musical. It was stupendous!!!
5. I'm thankful that you recommended Deer Valley.
6. I'm thankful that Michael let me get the large ice cream cone.
7. I'm thankful that you exposed us to the Family Home Evening, which we've now begun ourselves.
8. I'm thankful that Josh let us sleep in his bedroom, mostly because if not I probably would have had to sleep with my snoring father and blanket-stealing mother.
9. I'm thankful that I was able to celbrate Evan's birthday with him.
10. I'm thankful that you offered to let us stay at your house while we learned to ski.

alex's utah thankfuls

1. We came and stayed with you
2. We saw chitty chitty bang bang
3. Michael moved the trampoline
4. Josh let us sleep in his room
5. For Sadie
6. For Lucky Charms
7. popcorn
8. "Skiing is my life"
9. Jake the ski instructor
10. Trampoline and basketball game

anthony's utah thankfuls

1. Apple Jacks
2. Railing for the top bunk
3. Josh let us sleep in his room
4. Letting us stay with you so we could ski
5. TV
6. Trampoline and basketball hoop
7. Popcorn
8. Toilet
9. Big Swirlie ice cream cone
10. Showers

marty's utah thankfuls

1. the big, red couch
2. the Mexican, chicken soup
3. your permission to invade your house
4. the treat of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (I've never been a part of something so fantastic)
5. your enjoyment of my children
6. the caramel popcorn
7. the bedroom for Troy and me
8. the use of your washer and dryer
9. the invitation to join your Monday meeting

troy's utah thankfuls

1. i'm thankful to still know keri.
2. i'm thankful keri married such a neat and impressive guy.
3. i'm thankful joshua is a giving young man that sacrificed his room for the week.
4. i'm thankful for the view out the vance's kitchen window.
5. i'm thankful the vance family made my decade-long dream of skiing with my kids possible.
6. i'm thankful we got to participate in family home evening.
7. i'm thankful i got to see another show (chitty-chitty) at the hale theater (even though it lacked the effervescent keri vance!).
8. i'm thankful my children took to skiing.
9. i'm thankful no one, besides me, got seriously injured.
10. i'm thankful for net-free trampolines

Not half bad for a seven day adventure. If only every week could be that rich. But then, maybe every week is.