Thanksgiving 2010

We just got back from a great trip to New Hampshire and Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. We rented a car this year which made getting around a lot easier. We stayed with Gregor and Amy and their family from Sunday until Thursday. Nelson was sweet to give up his room so we could camp out in there. It was fun to be able to stay with their family and spend so much time playing with them. We played some games of course. Pit was a hit this year. Anything loud, fast, and aggressive is a hit with a family like ours.

We got in a few rounds of Pounce as well. My personal favorite. The Andover Makechnies were incredibly wonderful hosts. We had our fill of great conversation, delicious food, and tons of playtime for the little ones. Tate loved having so many cousins to play with. AND the Makechnies have a dog AND chickens. He was in heaven. The first thing he would say every morning was, "I see the chickens!" Followed closely by, "I see Paige(or Nelson or Brynn or Cope)!"

One morning we got up and I told him it was too cold to go see the chickens just then and he said, "Mom, I jus a little boy." I just stared at him. Okay that's true but wherever did you hear that, little man?

Tate spent some quality time with their dog Tennyson, Tenny for short. He was constantly following him around and when he found him on his dog bed by the fire he would lie down and snuggle him. We had to monitor the snuggling a bit as Tate is not as light as he used to be.

We went on a little day trip to Portsmouth with Seth and Vincent one day. It's a beautiful little city right by the ocean. Charming shops and restaurants, beautiful old buildings and streets. Good company and of course the boys got some "chowdah". It was a very fun day.

Tate found lots of rocks, sticks, and leaves so of course he was happy.

Tate met his Great Grandma Alice this trip. She came up from Florida for the holiday and helped Grandma Heather make Tate this train cake. He was so intrigued by a choo choo train that was covered in candy and made of cake. Does it get any better than that?

I envy my sister-in-law Amy's running routes in New Hampshire. While the hills are killer, especially for a Texas runner like myself (I'm used to flat, flat, flat), you couldn't find more beautiful scenery. Even at this time of the year when all the trees are looking a little sad, running along woods, streams, old bridges and train tracks...it was so peaceful. I just took one morning jog by myself and then we ran the Thanksgiving day Turkey Trot again this year. It was FREEZING that morning. Here is Seth doing a little dance and trying to warm up.

The route starts out with a huge hill and then the rest of the race is great. After we got up the hill, the cold wasn't as bad! It was nice to have a little exercise in the morning and feel much less guilt about what I was about to do to my body for the rest of the day!

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing as always. Arthur and Gregor always deliver absolutely delicious food. I always come home inspired to cook more and better.

The little cousins table.

Nelson. Tate's only boy cousin chillin' on his own.

Nelson is the best boy cousin a mom could ask for. He's kind and respectful and he also loves to be a boy. He's a great example for my little man. Nelson spent lots of time playing with Tate and trying to teach him boy things. One night they spent about a half hour wrestling each other and quoting Kung Fu Panda. "Ski-dush"

Tate slept very well that night.

And here are all the kiddos with Great Grandma Alice.

Next it was off to Boston to visit the Needham, MA Makechnies. We hit the perfect weekend to visit them and were able to see Hailey play a soccer game AND score a goal. (Tate even cheered her on, "Go Hailey!") And on Saturday we went to little Chloe's first performance of the Nutcracker with the Boston Ballet. She did great and I'm so glad we were able to go and support her. I have missed the Nutcracker. For several years growing up it was a big part of our Christmas routine. One or more of us were in the production so there were rehearsals and performances. It was great to see it again and listen to the beautiful music and wonder at the stunning dancers.

Arthur, Heather, Glenn, and Kim at the Boston Opera House.

We didn't spend much time down town in Boston this year but we drove through a bit. I love that city. It's big. It's old. It's kind of got this attitude of, "We don't really care about you. Do whatever you want, just don't bother us." I love it. It's gorgeous, it's got tons of fun cultural and historical things to explore. The one drawback is the cold. I'm even more of a wimp after living with out winters for a few years here in Texas. But still, every time we go I think, "I could totally live here."

The Needham Makechnies were wonderful to us as well. Tate slept in Hailey and Chloe's room and luckily didn't wake them up too much! The girls were such adoring cousins and were great to play with Tate and share their toys. We were even able to partake of what is apparently a weekly tradition at their house, home made pizza and movie night. A treat indeed!

We only stayed with them for 2 night but we stayed up into the wee hours to have great conversations about just about everything. I love those guys. Then it was time to head back to Texas. Tate, giving some love to Hailey:

And Chloe:

Our trip home was a bit of an adventure. We checked in the night before but by the time we got to the airport our flight had been cancelled and we were put on a flight leaving two hours later. So we waited for that one and then waited on the tarmac for over an hour for something to be fixed so we missed our connection in Detroit. We waited in the Detroit airport for 4+ hours and then finally got home at 10pm. This is how we all felt:

Amazing how we seem to come home from vacations more exhausted than we left. Totally worth it. Thanks for the good times East Coast Makechnies. We love you and miss you already!