We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving! It was the first time in a long time that we really took a vacation, and it was incredible. We flew to California last Monday and took a whole week off. We stayed the first couple of nights (Monday and Tuesday) and the last night (Sunday) with Gabe, Karen, Miya and Siena in Marin, and spent Thanksgiving (Wednesday through Sunday) with Chris, Lauren, their brand-new baby, Allison, and the whole Ross family! It was the first time my Dad and Jon-Michael had met Kiana (and Allison), and was the first time in two years that my whole Ross family had been together. I was so happy it worked out!
Aidan was thrilled to finally get to fly on an airplane himself (rather than waiting behind while Daddy and Mommy flew places), and both kids were great on the plane. The kids both loved hanging out with cousins Gabe, Karen, Miya and Siena, and it was great for us to see them, too! Miya and Aidan put on a play together with Alex, where Alex kidnapped a fairy (Miya), and Aidan (Batman) saved her. (!) Aidan and Kiana had a blast playing in their backyard (foreign to us!), especially having Daddy race them around in circles on a wagon ride. Everyone had fun doing dance parties - with Kiana and Siena especially thrilled to dance repeatedly on the coffee table! Alex and I played Rumicub - which is becoming a (treasured) holiday tradition. It was wonderful!
On Wednesday we drove over to Chris & Lauren's house, where we met Chris, Lauren, Allison, Pop-pop (Grandpa) and Nana (Grandma). It was very exciting! Allison was born 11/1/11, so was only 3 weeks old! We were very grateful to Chris and Lauren for letting us visit so early. We stayed on base, at an *amazing* base house hotel (bigger than our own apartment!), but spent most of the time visiting at Chris and Lauren's. Frances and Jon-Michael flew in late Wednesday night, and all of us got to be together on Thursday, before Frances had to leave Friday, Grandma on Saturday, and Jon-Michael and Pop-pop on Sunday.
It was wonderful. Everyone chipped in and we cooked a delicious and mostly Lauren-friendly (dairy-free) series of Thanksgiving meals. We had a 22lb turkey and gravy, Alex and I picked up a (Lauren's favorite) 9lb honey-baked ham and Hawaiian sweet rolls, and we also made twice baked potatoes, mom's famous stuffed mushrooms (cooked in margarine and wine and stuffed with goat cheese, diced mushroom stalks and goat cheese - divine!), salad, and tons of desserts - goat cheese cheese cake, berry pie, apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin-coconut mochi... it was all amazing! I especially loved Jon-Michael's pecan pie (he used honey! yum!) and Lauren's cheese cake. YUMMMMM.
Aidan and Kiana had fun at a nearby playground, (Kiana was obsessed with Nana talking to her through an extended pipe!), and Aidan learned some wrestling moves with Daddy and Alex. Both kids warmed up pretty quickly to everyone, and Kiana especially was completely smitten with Allison! She wanted to sit next to hear and rub her tummy and point out her little eyes and nose and mouth, and she kept running around saying "bebe bebe!" (baby!). Aidan also helped the guys make a batch of beer with Uncle Chris's beer-making tools!
We drove back to Gabe and Karen's house on Sunday, and then took a red-eye back to New York on Monday night, getting in Tuesday morning. Getting over jet-lag here has been tough, and I think I am going to avoid red-eyes in the future with kids unless I can't get around it. Despite that, it was totally worth it, and I am thrilled that it all worked out! Here's hoping that it doesn't take two more years to do something like that again. We're planning on visiting Hawaii probably next spring/summer, so we're working in that direction. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and are getting ready for a wonderful holiday season!
