Thanksgiving at the Beach

We flew to California for our yearly pilgrimage to Carpinteria. Thanksgiving at the beach (and Camping) with all our extended family is the best!  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed many warm days playing in the sand and surf. Leo loved playing with cousin Bridger, and all the other cousins that were there too.

Us with my parents, my sister Jen, Chad and Bridger.

Leo and Bridger help Grandpa to build a sand castle and moat.

We counted about 60 of us for Thanksgiving dinner this year!  I made the stuffing and my famous "Orange Gravy"...  as usual. And we actually succeeded in getting everyone together for a photo!



I realized a few months ago that this annual trip to the beach really is our "Family Reunion" so I put together some fun activities for us to do together. We helped all the kids make Indian vests from paper sacks (just like the ones we made in Grade school), we played "head bowling", and made a pirate treasure hunt for the kids...  It was a lot of fun. We will definitely be doing it again next year.

Another highlight of the week- the spectacular sunsets!  They were incredible!

Leo rode a bike (with training wheels) for the first time this week. It was a little slow going at first, but after 10 minutes he was riding like a pro.  (I think a new bike will be in his future) He loved it.