Thanksgiving!

The Thanksgiving Feast at Meg's preschool is always so funny to me--the kids are so excited and yet very few of them actually eat Thanksgiving food! The most popular dish was a big bowl of fruit (watermelon and strawberries) that a very savvy mom had cut into shapes with mini cookie cutters! How cute are these kiddos, though?

There's my Meggie! 

For the actual Thanksgiving Day, we hosted the Scribner side of the family--my mom and dad, sisters and the kids. We ate later in the day so everyone could spend the first part of the day with the other families or serving at the church. I liked having the whole day to prepare and relax, but next time we will try to eat earlier. It just seemed too weird. 

And now, bring on the holidays!

San Diego!

Brian has been working out of San Diego several days a week this year, so he takes a hotel room there about once a week. Meg and I spent several of these trips with him this summer, enjoying the pool, food, beaches, boardwalks, museums and weather in San Diego. While Brian worked. He always took us out to a nice dinner on the beach, so we girls played all day then received the star treatment at night. One night the hotel served s'mores on the roof deck amid bon-fires and a screening of Shrek. That was our favorite night!

In an effort to make room for more "stuff" on my computer, it does seem that I've removed some of our San Diego pictures. I may or may not find the effort to re-load them, so you'll have to trust me that they are cute. But of course--they are all pictures of Meg! I kept these around because a) Brian received that last picture of his girls for his office as a Father's Day gift and b) one or two of those up top may end up on my new photography website as part of my portfolio. Meg was having a seriously cute day and I was having a good shooting day, too. Sometimes those two don't line up, sometimes they do.

Or maybe it was just the magic of San Diego. 

Cousin Elyana's first birthday!

Rachel's baby girl turned one on August 7. We celebrated at the Giles house with a polka-dot-party.

 Meg enjoyed "helping" her cousin open the gifts and I think Elyana most loved her first cupcake!

We love this sweet little girl!

Getty Museum

After a few weeks in New York and a week in the mountains we decided to explore some of the cultural offerings of our own new city. So we headed off to the Getty, an amazing place which I am ashamed to admit I have never before seen. We especially loved the outdoor areas, where we spent most of our day. Meg enjoyed the children's room and the gift shop. There are so many amazing places to be explored here, Meg and I have promised to return. . . with a picnic lunch. A note for remembrance: Meg fell asleep in Brian's arms in the patio cafe while we drank coffee and looked out upon the best vistas LA has to offer. 

2nd Annual Family Trip to Gull Lake

Wow, I'm more than a little behind on the blog posts! To fully disclose, I plan to catch up and I will be back-dating!

We had a blast again in Gull Lake with the Scribner side of the family. We are accruing quite a little collection of children which makes everything that much more exciting! This year we were joined by Zoey, John and Karen's new baby girl. We stayed at the Interlaken Resort again because we needed a condo big enough for us all. Our family cabin was occupied by Cathy, Richard and 3 out of 4 of their boys, and Grandma Margaret also joined us, so this year we were quite a crowd!

Here are some trip highlights:

Picnic lunching creek-side at Rush Creek. The water was super cold this year (more than usual) so the kids played in the MUD, not the water:

 Meg and Emeri both got a turn to drive the fishing boat!

RIDING HORSES!

Emeri and August. Mountain children.

Our best attempt at a picture of grandma and pa and all the grandkids. Didn't really work out.

The three of us at Twin Lakes in Mammoth:

John, Karen and Zoey:

 Kristin, Rob, Emeri and August:

 Our bonfire, complete with Grandma Margaret, the Louisiana cousins and s'mores. Ymmmm.

Meg does the Hamptons!

This last week, we spent some time with our friends Lisa, Randy, Ella and Daniel in East Hampton. I'll come back and record everything, but for now, please enjoy Meg's "Hamptons Photo Gallery"!

Picking wild cosmos with Ella

Frolicking in the sunflower fields:

Going to Camp at the The Art Farm:

Feeding animals at Art Camp

Mixing with the locals:

Getting caught in the rain, again! We love East coast rain!

Living room dancing during the rainstorm (that little guy is Daniel and he is having fun, not crying!)

Lounging poolside:

Romping around on the beach in front of the Kennedy's place. Yawn. Just another day in the Hamptons (haha).

Going on a sunset cruise:

Back home in New York

We are back in New York for a visit! So much to say and record about the trip, but for now, I'm going to jam pictures up so our family and friends can see what we're doing.

Meg and Sienna in matching outfits that Holly brought home from Paris! The girls fell right into their old friendship and are stuck like glue to one another, of course:

One of the amazing summer rainstorms the likes of which the west coast never experiences. We miss these:

O dear, why is that sideways? I'm going to leave it there, it's an important photo! Meg had only a few requests and this was one--to see the "naked people statues" which are at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. Funny thing, isn't it? Hm.

Walking in Central Park :

Eating Ice Cream from the Mr. Frosty Truck:

Another sideways (I'll fix these when I get home!) Here is what Meg did when we arrived at Lincoln Center. She immediately started dancing on the fountain! Yes, we got in trouble. But look at that cuteness, so worth it!

Okay, more later. . . . wait one more:

It's been a while since I got a great shot of my baby. Look at how big she is, and gorgeous! Taken at Stone Barns, today. . .