Wherein We Give Thanks

Thanksgiving weekend at Grandma's and Grandpa's house was lots of fun. This year we were joined by Damon's brother Jotham and his family.  After the Turkey Trot it was time to join Joanna in the kitchen to get our feast ready. Thankfully, she's got an enormous kitchen with plenty of room for lots of food and lots of cooks.

Aunt Dana worked with Maggie and Cassie to help build a veggie turkey tray that Grandma spotted in a magazine.

Voila! Isn't it cute?  And it was tasty way to munch while we waited for the rest of dinner.

Here's Joanna posing with the beautiful feast before we started to dig in. I made the stuffing and green Jell-o (a.k.a. Pond Scum). Damon made the rolls. They were so buttery and yummy. The turkey was great. Joanna also made a new sweet potato recipe that had cooked pears in it. It might sound strange, but it was SO GOOD. Everything was delicious, of course.

The kiddie table. (It's pretty hard to get a serious picture out of Cassie. It makes us all laugh.)

Gunnar had a drumstick! As I recall, he made a pretty decent dent in it. (The photo makes it look as long as his arm, but it wasn't quite that big.)

And, here's baby Kara, joining the grown-ups at their table. Last year Jotham and Dana didn't come for Thanksgiving because this little one was just a week old. Now she's eating dinner with us!

We are so thankful to be living closer to family now. It has been one of the true highlights of our time in California thus far. Holiday time, especially, has been that much more special because we get to share it with family now.

Pismo Beach Turkey Trot

We went to Damon's parents' in Shell Beach for Thanksgiving. On Thursday morning we rallied the kids, including our niece Cassie, to run on the beach in the second annual Turkey Trot on Pismo Beach.

The information on the website was not totally clear and we showed up way too early. After waiting around for 15-30 minutes, we finally heard an announcement that said the start of the run was still a good 30 minutes away!

We weren't the only ones who were expecting an earlier start, and so a good many families (i.e. people with children who were losing patience) just decided to go for it anyway. All of the distance markers were already in place, so we took off.  That's me below, on the right. Gunnar (in green) and Holly (in yellow) are to my left. This was after the half-mile turnaround point, so we were already heading back to the pier.

Since I'd just been getting into running over the previous year or so, I was keen to actually run the whole mile without stopping--and to encourage my kids to do the same. Cassie, however, was not so keen. Damon stayed back with her (and the camera).

She got going...eventually...and in spurts. Here's a shot where she raced ahead of Uncle Damon:

Holly, Gunnar, and I clocked in at a respectable 14 minutes. I think that's a pretty good mile time for a 3-year-old! Holly ran almost the whole way. Maggie and Adah finished a few minutes ahead of us. Maggie ran barefoot. I was proud of all the kids for giving it a shot.

Here's the kid crew at the finish line. 

Damon decided to stay on and do the 10k course with the crowd and then strolled back to the house. I took the kiddos home for de-sanding and getting ready for the feast. This was a fun way to start our Thanksgiving morning and to focus on physical activity and being healthy---before chowing down.

I'm Still Here

I've had a bit of trouble with Blogger, Picasa, and uploading photos, which has really slowed down my blogging, as you can see. It seems that blogs are becoming a bit passe, what with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. I definitely see that among my friends and family. Notice the sidebar and how many people haven't updated their blogs in the last 6 months, or even year.

Still, I like blogging. I like the way it makes my chronicle my family's life. I used to scrapbook. I wish I still did. However, like many a young mother I know, I fruitlessly long for a room with a locking door where I can spread out my crafts to work in peace, or leave for later when it's not peaceful. So, for now...and maybe forever more, I don't scrapbook. I blog.

At least, here's me trying.