Thanksgiving at altitude

 The children had off all week for Thanksgiving. We had a peaceful couple of days spent mostly at home, with a few outings to the library or around the neighborhood. In the evenings I'd send the children across the street to take Koopa for a run around the church garden. The glorious sky over the mountains lifts all our spirits.

On Wednesday, I made my yearly attempt at an apple pie.

On Thursday, to our joy, my dad arrived to spend the Holiday weekend with us! He had his first look at our home, our community, and the landscape surrounding Pueblo. You can guess our enjoyment of those days.

It was our first Thanksgiving dinner at home, for which we cooked and hosted the dinner. And thought it was small (attended only by the four of us, Grandpa Jim, and Eli, one of Jon's work colleagues) I think it was a rousing success! My pie joined an entire feast prepared by Jon: Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes (made with unpeeled red potatoes, the way I like it!), sliced and seasoned sweet potatoes, and fried brussels sprouts with bacon. Our guest brought rolls and vegetables and pumpkin bread, and along with the pie I made and the one we bought, we had more than enough feast to be getting along with. Poor Dad was pretty much done for after dinner, as he was both jet lagged and tired from travel.

But we woke the next day ready for a small adventure! and drove to Colorado Springs to have it.

The mountains above Springs loom larger and more impressive than in Pueblo

The kids finally got to see the Garden of the Gods! If you ever visit us and are interested, this free park is breathtaking. As usual, the sky was an unbroken clear blue.

the "kissing camels"

There are natural playgrounds of rock in places. The kids had a jolly time "getting stuck" between these rocks. They called for Tom Bomabadil to save them. 

From time to time, we stopped to watch climbers. The kids were very impressed at the younger adventurers:

 
 

By the time we settled in for the evening, we were all wiped again. But it was a good tiredness, a satisfying soreness, that a day spent in the late-autumn sun brings.

The kids got a nightly story from Grandpa Jim. Koopa took to him right away and usually curled up at his feet to hear the story, too.

More pictures and doings with Grandpa Jim to follow!