Thanksgiving in New Haven

Last year, we decided to go to Alabama to have Thanksgiving with the Paulsons. We had a good time, so we decided to repeat last year's success and have it with them again, except this time they would visit us!

Granted, the drive from New Jersey to Connecticut is less harrowing than the drive from Michigan to the very very bottom of Alabama. But it's no cakewalk either, so we were glad they were brave enough to make the trek!

Here are some highlights.

• Not driving on I-95 the day before Thanksgiving. Or any road anywhere near I-95. They eventually made it though!
• Not setting the house on fire after leaving the range fan on probably a little longer than we should have. (I don't think it was anywhere near fire stage, but it was smelling a little funny.)
• Seeing cousins play and dance together.



Actually I think they were watching Tarzan right then. I wasn't the best at taking pictures, to be honest.

• Playing Codenames, even if it went really badly.
• Not peeling the potatoes, even though I was afraid everyone would judge us for leaving the peels in the mashed potatoes.
• Using uneaten bread crusts to make stuffing. Turns out picky kids help you save money! (And the germs got cooked away, of course.)
• Making a pretty good pumpkin pie. Not that pumpkin pie is that good to start with, but at least it wasn't gross.
• Getting so much quality time from little 1-year-olds who never ever ever wanted to nap the day of Thanksgiving. Either of them.
• Being reintroduced to real hairdos and foundation by my beautiful sister. I think she inherited a few genes there that I didn't.
• Eating Thanksgiving food!!!
• Meeting lots of people from different countries. 
• Eating turkey cooked by a really good cook. 
• Not telling people that the Paulsons were actually siblings of the Palssons (since that would have been lying), but a few people assuming that anyway even without knowing their last name.
• Thoroughly enjoying my first plate of Thanksgiving food.
• Somewhat enjoying what I could eat of my second helping.
• Enjoying the two slivers of pie I managed to barely fit in.
• Having room in my tummy an hour later to enjoy pie at a different pie party.
• Singing songs from the Reader's Digest Christmas songbook, including the never-before-sung "The Boy Who Santa Claus Forgot." Talk about a tear jerker.
• Singing with opera singers. (And Matthew.)
  
• Watching Derek read a cookbook the night after Thanksgiving. Howwwww did anything sound good???

  

  
  

• Walking around the prettier parts of New Haven to get to the art museum.

  

  Here's the Yale it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail when I come I want to wail YAAAAAAAAALE! #bluesclues

• Not breaking a stroller on the teeny tiny elevator at the museum.
• Being outnumbered by security guards at the museum.
• Being followed around by grumpy security guards at the museum from room to room.
• Appreciating that security guards are the same everywhere across the world and cannot handle any part of a toddler touching the ground other than the toddler's shoes. (No sitting on the ground, for example.)

  

  For example, right after this picture, K. happened to sit down for two seconds, and the security guard was immediately motioning for her to stand up again. Because . . . slivers. On her pants. I guess.

• Seeing art at the museum. Actually I think I was so preoccupied with the security guards I don't even remember much art beyond the armless Greek statue women. Ha! (Wait. There was Monet and Degas too.)
• Not being in the museum anymore so we could eat.

  

  
  

• Eating tacos.
• Playing.

  

  
  

• Eating Kevin's birthday cheesecake because somehow nobody felt like they got enough pie the day before. (Everyone was too full to eat much pie, but still.) We broke one of our cardinal rules and shared it with the Paulsons. Derek got the most interesting bites.

  

  Say what you want about the photography skills, it tasted really good.

• Dominating Dominion.

 

He wanted to watch us play, but I think it got a little boring.

• 
  

  

  not too shabby

• Only having to listen to snippets of Gilmore Girls.
• Making the top 3 favorite people list for my niece K., which meant that I got to hold her sometimes. (Yay!)

  

  
  

• Eating New Haven pizza for lunch on Saturday because you only live once, especially when you're eating a lot of pies and cheesecakes and tacos and pizzas.
• Eating apples to balance the junk food out.

  

  
  

• Almost seeing Michigan beat Ohio State after the Paulsons left.

The Ohio State and Michigan robots.

Overall, it was a fun, laid back weekend with family and we are so grateful we got to see them!