Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

This year, we packed up the family and headed to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving week. And by "family" I mean everything and everyone, including the dog. We were unable to find a place for Winston to stay so we decided it would be easiest to bring him along (we promptly ate our words once we started packing). When we arrived at SeaTac, we pulled up in front of a police officer who was actually a good friend and dorm mate in college. As we set out our 3 suitcases, travel kennel with dog, collapsible sleeping kennel, baby, car seat, stroller and 2 back packs the officer asked, "are you moving to Vegas??" And once we arrived in LV, we had to rent a minivan to haul us and all our stuff around. Sheesh!

We enjoyed two Thanksgiving dinners which seemingly fulfilled Michael's wildest dreams. On Wednesday, Michael christened grandpa Dale's enormous new grill with New York strip steaks and two whole rotisserie chickens. Perhaps unconventional for a turkey day but oh so delicious! Oma's friend's brought her 9 month old daughter over and they promptly taught Harrison how to climb stairs. I was a bit weary of this endeavor at first but little Mia could cruise up them like nobody's business and it didn't take Harrison too long to catch on, albeit hesitantly.

To wrap up the evening, we un-wrapped our Christmas gifts since we would be in Washington for the Christmas holiday. Grandpa and Oma got mom and dad a Flip video camera; not only can we record memories but now I will be able to post video to the blog! With walking just around the corner for Harrison, it came none too soon. Master Harrison was showered with gifts from his grandparents as well as his great-Aunt Sharon. As you can imagine, he was greatly intrigued with boxes and wrapping paper and hardly noticed the new clothes and toys. The toy he did seem to take some interest in were a set of maracas that play music, count to ten and name off colors with corresponding lights - all of which can also be played in Spanish or English. I now know without a doubt that amarillo means yellow.

Thursday we had more traditional Thanksgiving meal but just as delicious. PoPo made her best pumpkin cheesecake ever and Chyna made a tasty apple strudel. Grand Hart's son Burke and his wife Judy came over and we enjoyed chatting while watching Harrison play and Winston beg for food. We ended the evening with a new family tradition of a Christmas tree lighting and helping Harrison hang the first ornaments on the tree. Oma's nephew Ricky is an aspiring photographer so he took some faily portraits in the back year. Here are some favorites with another in our upcoming Christmas card. Enjoy!