Giving Thanks

We were so happy to have a house-full of family for Thanksgiving.  Our nephew Matt came in from Utah, his dad came in from Pennsylvania.  Mom Mom and Carol flew in.  Rosie, Brian, and baby Aidan flew in from Maryland.  So with the four of us, it made 11 at the table.  Sleeping arrangements got a little hysterical as people bounced around slightly to figure out how to sleep, but it was nice.

Everyone was in for at least five days just hanging or going exploring.

Elizabeth loved having Aidan around…

On Thanksgiving Day we tried to do a photo shoot, but Eliz thought it was too funny to have her tongue out in 99% of the pictures.

Here is Aidan, the cool dude with his Jeff hat, sweater, and of course a beer in hand.  Just like Eliz, he is starting young.  (Just kidding, of course!!)

Unlike Elizabeth, this boy slept.  A lot.  But, he too, might have to go through a thumb-sucking intervention in a couple of years.

On Saturday, Andy and I took Bob and Matt up to Brainard Lake.  We had hoped to drive up to a trail head further in from where we started with Nick to get right to the beautiful glacial lakes.  But what we discovered was a closed gate even before the entrance gate and booth.  The National Forest doesn’t plow after September 1st.  So we had to hike the two miles down the road just to get to Brainard Lake.  The wind was blowing and we all quickly realized we weren’t really dressed properly – this happens when it is warm at the house, and a whole ‘nother climate in the mountains.

But it was peaceful, and beautiful, with mountain views and the occasional lake sighting.  It was a great opportunity to catch up.

We made it to Brainard Lake…

And then turned around.  Next visit we’ll get them down the trails.

It was nice to have a rare opportunity to have family in town to help us with our Christmas Tree.  We bought it and put it up and let Mom Mom, Elizabeth, Aunt Carol, and Matt help us decorate.

The LED lights on the tree threw interesting disco ball patterns on the ceiling and wall.  I liked seeing this outside on the trees in the snow, not sure if I loved it inside the house though.

Either way, this was one of our best trees.  A great shape, softness, and fullness…but the most important thing to remember about this Noble Fir that we got from Costco was that it lasted!  While other trees were drying out by Christmas, this one was so soft even after we returned from Christmas vacation (and not being watered for a week) that we were able to light it after our return and keep it up til January 8th!  It was nice to enjoy the tree in early January.  I think we finally found a place to get our trees in the future.

More pictures on November’s WebAlbum.