Thanksgiving visits!!!

Hannah's first Thanksgiving was memorable for all of us, and marked her first visits with several of her relatives. The festivities kicked off on Wednesday evening, when Auntie Kristi, Uncle Peter, and soon-to-be-Aunt Caitlin arrived. This marked Peter and Caitlin's first visit with Hannah. To celebrate that occasion and their engagement, we popped open a bottle of champagne and enjoyed a relaxing evening together.

Thanksgiving day was kicked off with a short walk and preparing to head up to Ted and Heidi's for an Eck family dinner. Following our arrival, GP Ted took us up on his trails, which have become quite extensive and feature some spectacular views of the Connecticut River valley. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and filling, of course! Hannah very much enjoyed the attention that she received, especially from the Aunties (see picture).

We spent Thursday evening at the Masons' so that Hannah could meet Sarah's Aunt Diane and Uncle Carl, who were visiting Jim and Dayle. She also got to meet Elyse for the first time! We entertained ourselves by playing a game called BananaRama, which some referred to as Scrabble for the attention challenged. Caitlin displayed her talents as a Wordsmith in taking the win.

Due to the nonstop rain on Friday, we planned indoor activities for the day. We spent the afternoon watching The Blind Side and then had dinner at our favorite pub. Even the city slickers, who have access to all kinds of wonderful restaurants, seemed pleased with their meals.

Saturday morning, despite losing power a couple of different times due to high winds, Sarah pulled off a wonderful brunch (complete with sticky buns, sliced fresh fruit, and two egg platters, and Kristi's delicious pumpkin bread) when Ted and Heidi came down for a visit and a walk. That afternoon the six of us (Kristi, Peter, Caitlin, Sarah, Jonathan, and Hannah) walked our favorite loop to the spot where Putney and Kimball were captured by the Indians. Peter also had the chance to sample some of the famous local donuts. In the evening, we played a raucous game of Apples to Apples. Although Kristi started out slowly, she showed a real knack for making convincing connections, and she quickly jumped out to a commanding lead. It was sad to have to say goodbye to the aunts and uncle when they left early Sunday morning, but we have many great pictures and wonderful memories from the long holiday weekend. We are already looking forward to our next family gathering.

We closed out the weekend with a nice visit when two of our Colby friends (Bill and Anna) stopped by on their way back home after their Thanksgiving. This was Hannah's first visit with Bill and Anna, and Hannah seemed particularly content in the experienced and capable hands of the good doctor -- Dr. Anna. These two travel through these parts fairly often en route to their relatives' homes, so we hope to see more of them during future holiday breaks. That holds true for all of our family and friends -- please drop in whenever you're headed near our house!