Home for a Holiday

Ever since Forest and I have been together, we've been close enough to our parents to congregate at their homes for holidays. This Thanksgiving was the first one spent at our new Colorado home rather than in Illinois. We were fortunate, however, to have a few family members to travel our way, so our week has been anything but lonely.

My parents drove out and spent a few days with us during their fall break from school. We were able to show them around a few places while they were here (provided they were relatively kid-friendly) like the Cathy Fromme nature trail nearby,
"old town" Fort Collins,
Lake Loveland,


and Devil's Backbone, where we managed to do a partial hike.

We moved a little faster once we coaxed Ramona to ride on Jii's back.

Of course, their main purpose for coming was not to see Colorado, but to see their granddaughters.
I hope the trip was worthwhile for them! We enjoyed their visit.

Dan and Christie live in Boulder, so we convinced them to spend Thanksgiving Day with us.
While we waited for the turkey's completion, there was time to snag some photos of the girls,

one respectable family photo,
time to play with the baby,
and of course time to watch football
and eat some pre-feast snacks.
My favorite snack was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies--the kind you make with the help of a box of cake mix. I think Ramona liked them, too.
The turkey came out later than planned, but also tastier than expected. Not bad for our first attempt at cooking a whole bird. Credit goes to Alton Brown for the recipe, and Forest for following it.

Besides bird, there was also pear-persimmon salad,
Parry's potato rolls,
mashed potatoes + gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, Teresa's cranberry salad (recreated by Dan and Christie),
apple pie,
and Christie's pecan pie.
Obviously, way too much food for our little crowd. But, it definitely felt like Thanksgiving.

Ramona put on the charm and stayed up well past her bedtime that evening. She talked Dan and Christie's ears off and declared them to be her best friends.
Overall it was very enjoyable hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner. The only downside? Between cooking and taking care of two tiny princesses, Forest didn't get his usual Thanksgiving afternoon nap in front of the football game. He had to put it off until 10:30pm during the highlights on Sportscenter. But here is the documentation: he did get his nap. Better late than never.

A Colorado Halloween

A week before Halloween: Unpacked enough supplies to do some pumpkin painting.
Ramona requested a scary pumpkin which of course acquired a pink face by completion. Pink is her color of choice these days. But she thoughtfully incorporated some other colors, as well.
Wednesday before Halloween: Seven-eight inches of snow. Apparently, in Colorado, this is normal.
As soon as Ramona saw the snow that morning, she insisted on playing in it.

And so, just two days after painting a pumpkin, we ended up building our first snowman of the season.
Friday before Halloween: Round one of trick-or-treating--around the cubicles at Forest's workplace for the "Halloween at Avago" event. Mika went as a caterpillar . . .

. . . and Ramona went as a monarch butterfly.

Saturday before Halloween: The weather was pleasant and most of the snow melted (also normal for Colorado, we hear), so we went on a family hike by the Horsetooth Reservoir in Horsetooth Mountain Park.
Ramona led the way and Mika slept soundly in the carrier. So far, they both seem to be champion hikers.
Halloween Day: Mika's very first Halloween

Ramona's first full-on neighborhood trick-or-treating route (we took her down two streets, as opposed to two houses, like last year)


She really got into a groove as we went along. (Knock, "Trick-or Treat!", "Thank you," "Let's go find some more treats!")
She could barely carry her bucket full of candy by the end, but wouldn't let anyone else hold it for her. Forest convinced her to come back inside by reminding her that she'd be able to do the best part: dump out all her loot on the floor.