NOVEMBER!

We are already having a wonderful holiday season!


November has actually been balmy - up to 90 degrees at home on at least one day - but we've been trying to get a family photo for Christmas. See us here, frolicking in the surf at sunset, having a glorious time:

We spent a couple of happy weeks hanging out at home, and with friends here in town...

At the beginning of Thanksgiving week, we headed off to San Francisco to see Granny Ernestine and introduce Uncle Bobby and Auntie Cindy to Keenan. What fun!

Then we swung by Oakland to intercept Allan, Maribeth, Duncan and Beckett, who were visiting Allan's brother for Thanksgiving. We took the kids - Duncan, Beckett, their cousins Owen and Xoxo, and Vanessa and Keenan - to the park. I think it was like 45 degrees or something. Brrrrr! It felt like winter all of a sudden! Made MB and I talk a lot about winter in Vermont.

We got to see all seven Hoyt children together at Thanksgiving, at Auntie Susan and Uncle Jim's house. Susan cooked for 40 people and Jim worked every day, rounding on patients, between setting up tables and chairs and helping to host. Very impressive and soooo much fun!

Midwesterners came, Seattlites came despite the big snow storm, SoCal showed, NorCal was there, Anthony came in the middle of his law school exams, Susan's family came... Even cousin Sam and his girl friend Pam surprised us, crashing the party after insisting they couldn't make it, then announcing their engagement!


Auntie Judi's little baby Sam just completed his Masters in Engineering while working at Boeing, and Pam mentioned she just left her job at Boeing to accept a VP position with a different company. And they still find time to date.

Cousin Valerie couldn't join us because she is in Indonesia teaching English, and cousin Krista couldn't join us because she was celebrating Thanksgiving with her future in-laws - yes, she got engaged, too. The two oldest cousins - both 34 - got engaged in the same month. This Thanksgiving, mother-of-the-bride, Auntie Kathy got to go wedding dress shopping. Very welcome news for the family after the year we've had.

I've been putting some of Vanessa's outlandish quotes on Facebook. She had a glorious time with her cousins and doting aunts and uncles. But my favorite quote came when she was acquainting herself with her 5 year old cousin (once removed), Evan. I heard her say, "Oh, I can tell you are part of the Hoyt clan by your huge head." She used a very sweet tone of voice to make that observation. It was a bonding moment, I think.

Later, after the two cousins had been playing for a couple hours on Thanksgiving Day, I located them behind a closed door, Vanessa sitting on a big box, with Evan sitting by her, hanging on her every word. I asked, What are you doing? Vanessa said, "We are playing Wolves." Evan added that Vanessa was talking to the wolves, telling them what they could and couldn't do, so they would know the rules. I think howling was part of it. They instructed me to leave, which I happily did, delighted to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving without chasing our little rascal.

See us all here, mano y mano for a photograph.

After Thanksgiving, we got to celebrate three family birthdays. Uncle Mike, Cousin Kasra, and Cousin David were all born on November 30th. Uncle Mike turned 50! We went to the Cliff House in San Francisco for a late lunch, then downtown to Ghiradelli's for hot fudge sundaes.

As a group, we are loud and cause a ruckus. We've been known to be yelled at by officials and even kicked out of places. Luckily, we were sequestered to a back corner of the Cliff House where no one minded us, and we spread ourselves out at Ghiradelli's. Vanessa got some oohs and ahhs for her long, black city coat, and Keenan was such a hit the staff kept giving him free chocolate treats. Too funny.

We swung by Fresno on the way home, to visit Keenan's birth family, Nicole, Zoey, Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Doc. We also met Debbie's mom. Nicole came back with us for a couple days before heading off to L.A.. We were happy to see each other again!

Nicole left on Tuesday, then Grandma Patty arrived on Wednesday for two weeks, to usher in December WOO HOO, Grandma!

In other news, Vanessa and Keenan's Uncle Wally, who has been ailing for over a year now, went home from the hospital on hospice right before Thanksgiving. He passed away this week. Uncle Wally was a minister and had a quadruple bypass 20 years ago. He surely had a second chance at life. He and Aunt Betty, Granny Ernestine's sister, have been quite a team. We are thankful we have gotten to spend time with them both since we moved to California and had Vanessa and Keenan.

Also, Vanessa had some medical drama this month. I took her to the pediatrician's for a rash that she had for 2 months. She also happened to have so much pain in her right leg that she couldn't bear weight on it when she got up in the morning. I've been calling the pain in the back of her right knee "growing pains" for about a year now. Any way, the pediatrician said, No, not growing pains, and ordered an x-ray of her knee to rule out cancer. Yes, cancer. DON'T WORRY, after more testing and imaging it looks like it's a leg length discrepancy. Let me assure you all, though, there has been a little extra amount of Vanessa Appreciation this month, wondering if she might be seriously ailing. Thank you God, for Vanessa. Thank you so much for all of our family and all of our health.