why is sean so amazed?

He's watching Nate and Ben launch a rocket.

When we arrived in V-town on Tuesday afternoon, Nate was "loading" the rockets for launching later that day. When grandpa, g-ma, Breezy and Noah came over, we headed out to a field near the Kalama's to launch the rockets.

Sean and Ryan waiting for the launch.

Chasing the rocket after the launch.

Rocket Retrieval!

We had a fun afternoon!

what happens when all the nieces and nephews are together?

We try to take the "perfect" picture.

It's a bit a tricky trying to photograph all thirteen. Here you can see the older ones trying to console the younger ones.

We had a great Thanksgiving together!

what else did we do during our trip back east?

We ran from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the steps of the U. S. Capitol.

I got the idea from my mom. When she was visiting me (during the 90's when I lived in DC) she had the idea that the presidential race should be just that- a race- from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the steps of the U. S. Capitol.... Not a bad idea.

what did we do for ben's birthday?

We went skiing! Mount Hood Meadows opened yesterday, so Ben left work early and we headed to the slopes.

The weather was perfect.

As Ben would say, "The mountain was out."

After skiing, I made Ben an amazing dinner (I'll post about it later) followed by a homemade chocolate cake!
Happy Birthday, Doll!

how was our visit to meet our new nephew?

Great!
Steven Arthur Ford is the newest nephew in our family. He was born on our anniversary and this past week we flew to DC to meet him. He is a great baby and very handsome. He sleeps, eats and cries a bit when you change his diaper. Ben and I held him a lot, were able to feed and burp him and took him for a walk around his neighborhood. We had a wonderful time hanging out with Abby and Jason and seeing their new house, too. I'll post more about our trip in the next couple of days. We had a GREAT time!