Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we made the trip out to Billings, Montana!

The whole crew was there to pick us up from the airport

And right away William began enjoying all the cousins who were around

They were kind enough to introduce him to the Wii

Aunt Julia read everyone a bedtime storyand everyone went to bed with mischievous dreams . . .

Then the fun began . . .

We tried to get everyone looking at the camera (and smiling) at the same time, I'm not sure we succeeded, but the moms sure got a kick out of the photo shoot

William absolutely LOVED Devin and Susan's dog Roger. He was really patient with all the kids running around doing crazy things. William liked to try and touch his paws.

This was Lucy "tickling" William's feet.

And finally, Thanksgiving Dinner! William enjoyed every bite. It was sure an enjoyable day. All of Jordon's brothers and sisters (except for Linnaea) were able to make it, which makes the holiday oh so much more crazy and fun.

My brother-in-law took a picture of the salad I made for the dinner. It looks three times as yummy in this picture as it did in real life. Obviously, he is a talented photographer. Check out his site: http://despaindailyphoto.blogspot.com/

While the women slaved away in the kitchen (okay, mostly Susan) AND watched the children, the men folk went and played in the Turkey bowl. Having all the brothers there meant that the Despains tore it up and won. Go team.

William took a day or two to warm up to anyone taller than 2 feet, with the exception of my nephew Dmitri, who is 15 (and taller than 2 ft). He LOVED hanging out with Dmitri. Dmitri was really good with him and took good care of him. They were buddies while we were there. Too bad we don't live closer, he would totally be our babysitter .. . . :)
Reading a bedtime story to Aunt Wendy

The next day we all went shootin'!

Grandma Despain was kind enough to stay behind with William. I was a little paranoid about being around guns, and we were glad he wasn't with us afterwards because it was super COLD while we were there. Thanks Grandma!

Everyone got a lesson about black powder rifle guns. I believe that Grandpa Despain made the one we all shot.

This is me, shooting a gun (Duane's gun, not the black powder). The last time I shot a gun I was 16 and on the Stake Trek. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I also learned a lot (well, a little, but a lot for me) about guns which made them less scary. I have some new opinions about gun laws, but we'll save that for another post.

This was Lucy just shooting the cap, no bullet. Her face was too cute.

The day after that we went shopping and I took advantage of the fact that there is no sales tax in Montana to add to my wardrobe clothes that actually fit. Yeah! This is a cute picture of Jordon and William watching their ESPN highlights. Have I mentioned he watches ESPN better than baby Einstein?

Since William doesn't have any cousins on my side of the family, one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving was watching him interact with his cousins. I particularly enjoyed his interactions with Malyka, who is only 3 months younger than him. They had a lot of fun chasing each other around the stairs and taking a bath together. Malyka is a fairly calm girl, except in the tub, she went wild! William, who loves baths, was a little unsure of the situation at first, but decided it was fun in the end.

Sunday, we spent the day at Duane and Rebecca's. We forgot our camera, but we enjoyed good food and good company. Monday we helped with some Christmas decorations and just enjoyed hanging out. Tuesday we headed home.

Susan was a great host and we sure enjoyed our trip. Thanks again!