no better place

How easily I get behind in the blogging world.  It makes me realize how full our lives are yet here I am, trying like hell to freeze water in a warm river.

:: Last year, Hazel was due on Thanksgiving day.  She came a few days early, but this year we celebrated her first birthday on the day of thanks, as we will every six years or so for the rest of her life.

:: For the harvest feast, we traveled north to share it with our Montana kin.  Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's house includes: homegrown Indian corn, hand-ground into cornmeal the night before, baked into cornbread, dried into crumbs, made into stuffing, shoved inside a Hutterite turkey and baked for four hours.  Yes, we had a delicious, locally-grown harvest feast--made almost entirely by the hands of my sis.  

The kids ate first and I asked them each to say what they were thankful for.  Juniper said she was thankful for Owen.  Owen said he was thankful for Hazel.  Then Juniper said no, she was thankful for Hazel, then Sam said Hazel and they all started arguing until we pointed out that everyone could be thankful for Hazel.  In the end, we were all thankful for family.  Especially, of course, for Hazel Iris.  

 

I was in charge of the pumpkin pie, of which I had grand plans of baking individual birthday-cupcake-pumpkin-pies.  Normally, I make a mean, flaky pie crust but I doubled the batch and well...my crust was rock-hard.  We told the kids it was a bowl to hold the filling and whipped cream--they were none the wiser.  Hazel was exhausted by the time we sang to her and was far more interested in playing with whipped cream than eating anything.  Who could blame her?  

:: We spent a long, leisurely weekend up north.  There was a little elk hunting, a little fishing, a little playing in the kid's gym, we lunched with old friends on the way up, dined with new friends while there, and--my personal favorite--brunch at the hot springs followed by a snow-sprinkled soak.  Ah, one of my favorite places to take photos.  Nary a winter goes by without a trip to these springs.  (Proof?  Click here, here and here.)    

:: On the drive home, I finished Hazel Iris' birthday sweater.  (What do non-knitters do in the car, anyway?)       

:: Happy Birthday sweet girl (oooh, I've got a letter coming for you).  

My oh my.  There is no better place to be than with family.