This was the first Thanksgiving in four years that we didn't have to take part in two school lunches to celebrate the day. Unfortunately it was the first time that John wasn't able to make it. But Sarah and Reese had a great time eating and hanging out with Reese's friends.
Reese not only got the teacher that she wanted this year, but she also got to be in a class with numerous good friends. One of those girls is Katherine, who may be one of the cutest kids you will ever meet. Reese certainly is attracted to her goofiness and her love of soccer. We have a feeling they will have many good times together in the future.
As in years past, Sarah and the girls took the whole week of Thanksgiving to travel, and this year they headed out to California. This allowed some early family visits, including lunch with Grandpa Dan. It was good for Sarah to just get some time with Zac and her dad.
Callie and Reese got an opportunity to hang out with their official and unofficial cousins during the week. In fact they got a sleepover with Caroline and Nathan, who just moved to a farm in Lodi. Caroline and Nathan are cousins through Aunt Brandi, and they have become one more reason to get excited about traveling to California.
Thanks to GA and GU, the cousins get to see each other as part of a hosted cousins' adventure experience at their house. The highlight of this year's adventure was the golf cart drive to the neighborhood clubhouse for lunch. The girls can never get enough of the golf cart, though as these kids get bigger it's going to be harder and harder to transport them all this way.
We stayed with Grammy Gayle and her two new golden retrievers, Marty and Millie. Marty is Millie's mom, and they were a paired adoption that Grammy had just finalized the month before we got there.
We had a great time talking Marty and Millie for walks. Reese in particular could not get enough of the two dogs, and when she wasn't walking with them she was sitting next to them petting and rubbing them all over. She has a lot of love to give when it comes to dogs, that's for sure.
Just like two years ago, Mary Margaret made the trip north for Thanksgiving. Even better, this time she brought her husband Hal, so we had an even fuller house at Brandi and Zac's for the feast.
It's always a lot of fun to get this group of family together. This picture makes everyone look serene and calm, but the day was filled with a great deal of conversation, laughter, and eating.
It was quite a spread that we all shared at the table in Brandi and Zac's dining room. We appreciate the effort they put into making it one large gathering spot so that we can all be together for the day. We don't get to see all of these folks very often, so every opportunity like this is special.
All of the food was tasty, but the turkey in particular was some of the best we ever had. Uncle Zac smoked it and was deservedly proud of his effort. We had to share a picture of the chef and his work.
The day after Thanksgiving we headed into downtown Sacramento to meet up with Keith and his girlfriend Lexi. Grammy, Zac, and Brandi were also part of the crew as we headed to a downtown brewery before taking in a show.
We had some time to walk around the Golden One Center, and popped into a fancy hotel or two that had helpfully put up their Christmas decorations. It was almost as if they had set up photo backdrops just for us. We are always ready for a good family photo.
We couldn't pass up the chance to get a picture of Grammy Gayle with all of her grandchildren. Keith is still tall, but it's the younger ones that she has to be worried about now. Callie is creeping up on her and Reese may not be that far behind.
But the highlight of the day was the show put on by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We had never seen them before and Grammy Gayle had taken Keith when he was young. So when Keith heard they were going to be in town he suggested that it would be fun to go. Grammy Gayle jumped on the idea and generously treated us all to the performance. It was an experience of sight and sound, and a great way to kick off the holiday season,
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