Family Resemblance?

Hi Guys! Are you sick of seeing everyone's family seated around the dinner table? If so, shoot down to the bottom for knitting content. I've had the flu for a couple of days so it's taken me awhile to put together a coherent post of our trip to California.

If you'd like to share in our little family vacation, this is what we were up to:

We had a great time at Disneyland. I hadn't been since I was 10, and the kids and Dave had never been. That's me laughing uncontrollably in the teacups, I just couldn't stop laughing! It was a daytrip that I planned for us and Grandma, since my brother and sister were working and (supposedly) couldn't take additional time off during the week, but they caught the Disney fever and ended up taking Monday off to go with us! A good time was had by all.Then we got to go visit Aunt Allison at her place of work. She works for talented hat designer Louise Green, and we got to tour the whole showroom and factory. It was chock full of vintage trims, fabrics, yarn, and all sorts of interesting things that made me keep gasping. And the kids all behaved like ladies and gentlemen! Whew. That same day, the kids got their first view of the ocean.
Hey, what's that black and white thing there on the ground?
Here's the obligatory family portrait. That's my mom, my bro, me and my sister. Sophie showed up, as she usually does when the camera is involved.

The other kids were around somewhere, probably playing with the dogs.

Here's the entire crew that showed up for the meal. 13 people. I love Thanksgiving. Family, food, and giving thanks. Beautiful.

Ok, there is one small person who isn't in the shot above. Sophie was (thankfully) napping during the meal.

Five years ago, the last time we were in California for Thanksgiving, I spent the entire meal rocking an overwhelmed 1yo Molly in the back bedroom, missing entirely the adult conversation. So when Sophie showed signed of fussiness this year, I took her into a back bedroom and laid down with her. A 20 minute nap for me (which inevitably happens) and a 2 hour nap for her! Yay!

No worries, she showed up later, clad in a Hawaiian luau get-up hand crafted by Aunt Allison, and gave us a good show.

And that's what I did on my Thanksgiving vacation.

Oh yeah, there was one more thing. A big suprise thing. Something so big and fun it deserves it's own special post. Expect a big quilty post from me in the next few days.

Now, I've got to get my rear in gear and get the yarn finished for the shop update next week, figure out what to do with a bunch of 8 year old boys for a Bionicle theme party this Saturday (building their own bionicles, opening presents, eating a volcano cake, and running around yelling with their bionicles? Does that work? Do I need a game or a craft?) And then I'll be able to think about Christmas.

If you are thinking Christmas, and you have a special new one in your life, don't forget about my Baby Santa Hat pattern I published last year. You can get the free pattern here.

You have plenty of time to knit it, and revel in the baby cuteness. Enjoy!