Welcome to Connecticut! It is hard for us landlocked folks to be so far away from the ocean, so we relish every opportunity we get to see the waves and the salt water whenever we visit either coast. Reese was clearly happy to be down at the Surf Club on this day. And we were all excited to be up in New England.
Both Callie and Reese were especially looking forward to spending time with Zoey. The three of them did everything together and took turns soaking up the attention of any adult willing to give it. We were happy to see that they were just picking up where they left off after this past summer on the Cape.
Uncle Chris is a great guy for many reasons, but he is particularly wonderful with the little ones in the kitchen. He loves to have them help him with whatever he is cooking or baking and the girls were all over it. They spent quite a bit of time working on all the steps involved, from the dough rolling technique to the proper placement and spacing on the cookie sheet.
Education runs in the Balestracci family. Of course, here Brendan's lesson on cookie theft is more on the naughty side, it is still a very helpful skill to carry forward in life. And it should be said that both Brendan and his older brother are just as good with their younger cousins as their father is. We say it every time, but the girls are very lucky to have those two as their older cousins.
Since this trip we stayed with Nana Banana and Sport, Callie and Reese were able to get some alone time with the two of them. Nothing beats getting to have your grandparents all to yourselves for some good bonding, games, and other assorted activities.
This year, instead of doing a sibling dinner or breakfast, we spent Thanksgiving morning running the Turkey Trot down at Hammonasset. It's the annual 5 mile road race and it's a great opportunity to earn your turkey dinner even as you get to see all sorts of folks who are back in town for the holiday. We lucked out because it wasn't too cold. And with the unfortunate exception of a pulled calf muscle we all survived in one piece.
And while the parents were out running the kids got to hang out with their grandparents. They make a great looking crew, don't they.
And of course their grandparents are beside themselves with joy to have everyone around. They get to see Mike and Brendan quite a bit, but having the whole gang together is quite a treat.
The Colorado crew headed back home the day after Thanksgiving, but we still had a few days in town and headed to the Science Museum in Hartford. We had never been there before and it was a great place to spend a few hours checking things out and being silly. Reese and Sport loved trying to keep the beach ball up in the air.
John, on the other hand, had a great time in the space portion of the center and took advantage of all the good photo opportunities they made available. However, the family favorite was a lounging booth where we got to watch different educational space videos on a big screen. Very cool and very comfortable.
With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror it was time to turn our attention to Christmas, and the Skonieczny's knew just what we could do to get everyone in the spirit. In Mystic you can watch Santa arrive via tugboat and if you so desire can get your picture taken with him. This is not the Skonieczny's first rodeo, and while the kids walked around their grandparents held a pot in line that made sure they would not have to wait long at all.
Our girls were happy to take a picture with Ella, Ethan, and Eli, but were less enthused about taking a picture with this Santa. We chose not to fight this battle and just allowed the girls to take in the whole experience. Really, how often do you get to stand on a dock and watch Santa arrive via tugboat. It was definitely a very New England scene.
And on our last night in town we jumped at the chance to visit Mike at his place of employment, one of the best frozen yogurt joints on the Shoreline. Sarah pushed the boundaries and asked for this photo op behind the counter. However she compensated Mike well with a nice tip. It was a great way to end another fun Thanksgiving in Connecticut.
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