A Mountain Thanksgiving

I shouldn't title this like it's anything new...we spend every Thanksgiving at my sister's home in the mountains (the only exceptions were right before Natalie and Konrad were born, since I was too far along in my pregnancies to travel that far from our hospital...and to be that far from any hospital).

Maybe it's because the kids are getting older (all three walked during portions of our hikes...we can see an end to carrying our kids!) or because we had no traffic problems on the way there or the way back or because no one got sick on this trip, or maybe because we were really ready for a relaxing holiday...whatever the reason, this Thanksgiving celebration was especially nice.

For this trip, we tried having all three kids on the same row in Tom's big van, and it worked out well.  In the past, we've put Lukas in the back row, but he ends up yelling to be heard by us in the front, and if we put a sibling with him, he isn't able to pick up toys or books that they drop.  I guess we're so used to our smaller minivan not being able to fit three carseats across that we never even thought to check that we can fit three across in Tom's van.

We brought Lukas' bike along, so he rode on a couple of our hikes.  Natalie and Konrad were in backpacks, or walking, or riding in the stroller that we store at my sister's home.  Here we are visiting the lake that we enjoyed swimming in last summer.  Lukas and Konrad were almost ready to jump in, but I dissuaded them.  Where was Natalie?  For some reason she decided to have a long nap in the stroller.  Maybe it was because she was especially warm, or maybe the altitude...she never naps in the morning anymore!

We actually got a family picture with everyone looking at the camera at the same time...which was quite a feat considering we were asking the kids to face the sun for the picture.

And then there were the "walking" shots for Natalie.  She enjoyed walking for about 400 yards, then decided she wanted to be carried...and wasn't happy about being carried in the backpack or the stroller...she wanted to be carried in our arms.  She's getting a little too heavy for that!

I didn't get any pictures of the actual meal...somehow I always forget that.  And Tom was the main photographer on this trip, so there are almost no pictures of him and quite a few pictures of me, for a change.

It was a wonderful celebration and holiday, and we thank Rose and Gary for their tremendous hospitality in hosting our noisy family every year!

Lukas checking out the new water feature (a little iced over) at the camp dining hall.

Lukas and Tom saw a herd of almost a dozen deer during one of their walks.

I don't think they were supposed to be playing with those trains (they run on a track that runs around near the ceiling) but somehow the trains didn't get damaged!

Just because Konrad is cute!

Wow!  Everyone is looking in the same direction!

There was a dusting of snow one night, but it was too icy to play with (to throw or make snowmen).

Everyone quiet to read a book!

Lukas is excited about helping Uncle Gary put up Christmas lights.

On the way home, still smiling.  Lukas is drawing, Konrad is eating an apple, and Natalie is reading a book.