Thanksgiving!

O.K. So I'm late. Thanksgiving was over a month ago, but in all the whirlwind of getting ready for Christmas, blogging was on the bottom of the list. Warning! Many pictures follow! But hey, we packed a lot into our short week of vacation!

Our destination: South Lake Tahoe. On the drive down, we stopped in Tulelake, CA to pick up Harvey's parents so they could join us for the holiday. Not too far out of Alturas, CA, (Ravendale, actually) we drove past this oddity:

We stopped and turned around to confirm what we'd seen. After some internet research, I've found out that this is called the "Shoe Tree". I don't have a clue what the history is behind it, but it was amazing. Countless pairs of shoes filled its branches! Tennis shoes, baby shoes, men's shoes, etc. After the holiday, when we drove past again, Harvey and Chloe got out to try their hand at "replacing" some of the fallen shoes. It was harder than it looked!

Drew & Jillian and the girls drove down as well, but a different route than us. Come to find out, Charlotte DOES NOT travel well anymore. She basically screamed the entire trip south. All in their car were quite frazzled when they arrived at our rented vacation home. Except for Charlotte. She toodled around as if nothing had happened! Later in the evening I looked at Drew and commented how cute she was. His reply: "Ummm, yeah. But I haven't forgiven her yet." Can't blame him!

She is awful cute, though! And Chloe was glad to see her Bumpa!

It was a good time to:

Catch up on good times, and have some quiet reading time.

Eat! (Appetizers one night.) And sleep . . . zzzzzz

Ryan taught Jillian some break dancing moves . . .

. . . while some of the family watched on in awe .

Kate skyped us--she's pregnant! And Neal and Chloe researched Elmo.

Some attempts were made for a granddaughter photo shoot.

We went ice skating:

"Walkers"to get our skate legs! And couples skating by Drew & Jillian.

Neal adds his style to the mix, and Jillian brings on MJ.

Ryan's arabesque, and a friendly game of ice hockey.

More family together-time. Katie & Jared, Kyra, Tyler & Bodie, and . . . we missed you!


Snow the day after Thanksgiving! And Lake Tahoe with whitecaps.

And because of the snow, sledding! A few favorite clips:

Ryan's Smooooth Run

And Chloe's Wipeout!

Neal's Superman Run

Ryan Biffed It!

Just trying to warm up a little! And Chloe's ready for Christmas.

Diamond Peak, Oregon on the drive home.

What a great time. Bring on Christmas, we're ready for more family time!