Thanksgiving

Due to some unforeseen circumstances (mainly Kevin's mom getting the flu), we spent Thanksgiving Day with my family for the first time since we've been married (usually it's Thanksgiving with the Marks and Easter with the Gardners). We bumped up our trip over to my brother's in Pasco, WA a day earlier and were able to enjoy a scrumptious Thanksgiving feast, spend the night (thank goodness their house has five bedrooms because there are a lot of us now!), play games, watch movies, and play our traditional football game out in the street (yes, the "pregnant lady" played too! =).

My brother has been living in Pasco for over two years now, but this is the first time Kevin and I have made it over there to visit. (For those who are geographically-challenged, Pasco is part of the Tri-Cities located over the mountains in Eastern Washington, where the Columbia and Snake Rivers intersect, about 4 1/2 hours from here. =) So, it was fun to see his home and get a glimpse of the area. I must admit, I wasn't too impressed - big, barren hills covered only in sagebrush, brown everywhere (they get very little rain), and no trees - how sad. But I suppose I will have to try to visit in the spring or summer sometime to give it a fair chance.

One of my favorite things about the visit was watching Abby interact with her cousin Solomon. He is 2 1/2 years old and is her closest first cousin in age. Abby's pending visit had been built up in excitement, and at first Solomon was more than a little disappointed that she was much more of baby than he obviously expected. =) But soon, they both came around and by the end of the visit they were actually playing together with some of Solomon's toys. That was really the first time I'd seen Abby play "with" another child her age rather than just play "next" to them.

Aunt Holly had gotten the booster seat out in case we wanted to use it instead of the high chair. We opted for the high chair, but Abby soon found the booster seat out on the floor in the living room and claimed it as her own for the rest of the visit. She had so much fun just sitting her Abby-sized chair - it was so cute!

A highlight of the trip for Abby was my brother's big dog Bruce (a Great Dane!) and Aunt Holly's several kitties. She also enjoyed getting to sleep in Hannah's room which was decorated in a princess theme, with lots of pinks, purples and frills. We definitely have a girly-girl on our hands! All in all, we had a nice visit with my brother's family and Abby was a terrific traveler once again.