Thanksgiving 2014

Ever since I can remember (and a few years before that) I have been eating Thanksgiving dinner at my Oma's house in Carson.  But when you get married, many things have to be compromised and how to spend the holidays and what cherished traditions to share are just a few of them.

First of all, we are so incredibly fortunate to have so much family within driving distance to choose from to spend these special moments with, so there will be no not too much complaining from us! Not having to deal with plane travel during this time of year is great, and packing the kids in the car and driving a few hours is part of the memories I have when I was kid driving to Grandmas house with the car loaded with food and gifts.  Listening to Christmas music, anticipating the gifts spending time with family, and fighting off mild car nausea are all part of my childhood holiday memories!
Anyway, that being said, this year it was the Klingensmiths turn to be tortured with us and our kids graced with our presence up in their family cabin in Lake Arrowhead.

We packed up the car and braced ourselves for the 65 degree weather in the mountains (brrr!) and drove 2.5 hours to spend two nights with 10 other members of the Klingensmiths and my mom.
Dinner was delicious and some of the highlights for me were the brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes with onions and the PIE of course! Grady ate everything, Harper ate almost nothing and Avery ate quite well. All enjoyed the moist turkey so much that we ate it for several days after (ha!)

Aunt Julie gave all the "kids" silly straw glasses! A total hit.

Since the weather was so warm, we took lots of walks down into the village to play at the park and feed the ducks.

And we did an easy hike loop that was beautiful! We collected acorns and pinecones and enjoyed the scenery and fresh air.

The last day it was just our little Fiesta of Five and we had pizza, watched a movie and cleaned up to drive back home.

We had such a great Thanksgiving this year up in Arrowhead! Our kids are so lucky to have places they can visit any time they want. The memories they are creating together with our family are so special! 

And now...time for CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!