Time to be thankful..

Thanksgiving as a festival always eludes me. The whole Indians-Pilgrims-Turkey-Corn thingy doesn't strike a chord. 

Since getting married though it has been a means to celebrate Sangeetha and my birthday at nice locations as this holiday falls between our two birthdays. 

People tell me "this is a time to say thanks and be thankful for the good things in your life". If there is one thing to be thankful for in this life, it is family!

For the last 16 years we have mostly spent this long weekend with the cousins family at parks, theme or national..

This year was no different. We went to Yosemite Falls for two days. Got to see some wondeful sights, get way more exercise than we bargained for and had some fun times playing board games in a cozy cabin!

The pictures are promising so far..

San turns 29 again today! I am thankful to her parents for their first creation, who gave me a second chance in life and has made a better person out of me than I would have thought possible.

Here's to San, second chances and family!

Pumpkinography 2014

This year we did do the pumpkin carving with the cousins.. somehow all the travel made me miss out on a lot of posts. One can always catch up!

This years creations..

This one was Jr.'s. She wanted her own pumpkin to carve this year. 

This one was the little one's. She did the large pieces and I had to come in to do the delicate pieces. 

The lineup from this year.. the kids are all growing up and taking over the carving business!

Previous Pumpinographies are here..

This whole thing started with a lot of reluctance..  but now it has become a "tradition" that we all look forward to! 

Repeat it!

No, not a post on Rajni.. 

Just an attempt to recreate an old photo with the kids..

Our home is the one place where I have lived the longest in one address. Eight plus years with same mailing address is a record for me. We would be in and out of rental places as kids and by the time my parents built their own home, I started traveling!

Good thing is that nothing has changed in the house over time. Status quo is welcomed here.. 

but the kids are a lot bigger now and they remind us that there is no "quo" here!

The other three kids were telling the little one "can you look innocent like in that old picture, please ?!"

Instead of innocence, she pulled some attitude.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching them getting into the "repeat it" act.