We somehow talked our family into converging on our house for Thanksgiving this year.  That leaves us with a lot of driving to do for the next set of holidays, but meant that this year we could focus on hospitality.

Seth and his family took the long, boring drive from Denver to St. Louis.  My parents came from Dallas.  I've been on both drives, and they're not much fun - but the destination was worth it in both cases.

Everyone arrived on Wednesday, which left us a couple of days to enjoy our family.  We pretty much hung out around the house.  Between basic lolling, lots of eating, Thanksgiving Olympics and creek activities, we kept pretty 'busy'.

Liliana thoroughly enjoyed having many of her favorite people in one place.  She was excited to have her grandparents here, and was thrilled when Seth and Aunt Jennifer arrived.  She frequently offered to 'stare out the front window to be sure nobody was here yet'.

"AUNT JENNIFER IS HERE!" Liliana belted it out so loud that they heard it outside...

Here are far too many pics.  We all lamented the fact that Jonas and Lucas were unavailable this year.

Ryan focused my green laser pointer on this dandelion that Liliana had picked.  This picture doesn't do it justice - it looked like fiber-optic fakery!

"HEY! WAIT UP!"

It's called Dry Branch Creek, and it usually has some good pools of water...

It's a rainwater detention pond drain, not a sewer...

This is my 'X-Files' pic.  "Don't go to the light, Ma!"

Liliana is soooo pleased with her waterproof boots.

Dad did some serious coaching with James on rock skipping.

I know it looks random, but there's something neat about it.

The beginning of a tradition: Buxton Thanksgiving Olympics.

The 'Popcorn Bucket on Your Shoe Relay'.

The first victims contestants in the 'Cheese Puff Toss Onto Hats Loaded with Shaving Cream' event.

Seth and James were victorious, with something like a million cheese puffs on Seth's head.

Painful to watch, the 'Move the Cookie from Your Forehead to Your Mouth' event was difficult - but yours truly persevered and emerged as the sole victor.

This marks the beginning of the surreal but artistic journey into the realm of Liliana's photographic endeavors.

It starts out well enough - looks almost genuine, doesn't it?

The subject is well-framed; the perspective is from about thirty-six inches...

...then it starts to look a bit... uh, avant-garde?

Why does this make me feel a bit queasy?

Here is where we begin our descent into the toddler mind...

Does this remind anyone else of 'Memento'?

This is actually pretty good work.  We claim copyright! 

Katie: "She took a picture of the ceiling fan."
Jason: "Gee... I've always wanted a picture of the ceiling fan."
Lilie: (stopping in the middle of tickling Daddy) "Well.. today's your day!"

Obviously, she didn't take this lovely picture...

...but now we're back on Lilie's hand at the camera.

Ryan was finished at this point....

Emma was such a good dog!

I think a good time was had by all.  We were sad to see our family leave, but so glad for the visit.  We're looking forward to next year!