Thanksgiving weekend

Rebecca, Matt, Madeline, Lillian, Emily, Doug and Benjamin all came down to DC for Thanksgiving weekend and stayed at hotel Amber. It was cozy but we had a great time. I wasn't very good at getting pictures of the whole group, or the important things like all of us sitting down for dinner, but here are a few fun moments from our time together.

Does four years make it a tradition?

As we have done for the past 4 years, we participated in a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. It was FREEZING and some of the younger participants didn't enjoy the trot as much as those of us who were running to keep warm. It was a good way to assuage a little guilt due to Thanksgiving over indulgence.

Purple turkey eaters

Madeline and Lillian with my friend Genvieve, the daughter of Eric and Alisha who joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. It was great to have friends and family together to give thanks and enjoy a good meal.

This is what we're here for

Food. Isn't that the real reason for celebrating Thanksgiving? Yes, expressing gratitude is important but so is the big meal, right? Our turkey turned out pretty well and so did everything else. Everyone pitched in to make lots of delicious food that left our bellies very very full.

Dinner in the fort with Cleopatra

Emily is an awesome fort maker. She turned my living room into a special place where Cleopatra the Egyptian princess came for dinner. Her lovely little sister was there too.

Up to something

The day after Thanksgiving was a good time to burn off some energy we "gained" from all the eating the day before. We visited a huge park with all kinds of play structures. I hung out with Lillian quite a bit that day and she kept me guessing. I love her mischievousness. Doesn't this face say "If I could run faster than you, I'd definitely get into some serious trouble"?

Bindi

How do you say "India is beautiful" in Hindi? I'm not exactly sure but Madeline knows. Really, she does. Ask her and she'll tell you.

Cute addition to our gang

This was Benjamin's first Thanksgiving and it was fun to have him. Especially since I could eat his cheeks all day. He's adorable and his parents are pretty great too.

Street Performer

On Saturday we went to the Museum of American History where we saw lots of fun things, including the ruby slippers from the Wizard of OZ, the original flag that inspired the song "The Star Spangled Banner", Kermit the Frog, a cool illustration exhibit and plenty of lines. We walked around the National Mall for a bit after visiting the museum and spent some time in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden which, during the winter, has an ice skating rink. On our way back to the car we saw a musician playing music on the street. Madeline decided to add her bit to the performance.

Now it's time for Christmas

On Saturday we started the Christmas season with some treat making. Madeline led the gang in dipping pretzel rods in chocolate and sprinkles. Truthfully, there aren't too many things more delicious than the salty-sweet taste of chocolate and pretzels. Yum.

A photographer in the making

Madeline took this picture of me. Not too bad, huh. I'm pretty sure she'll be a famous photographer some day.