Thanksgiving 2015

We had a great time on Anna Maria Island on the gulf coast of Florida with the Hosaka and Stone families. We rented a house with a pool and hot tub that was just two blocks from the beach. It was so fun to see Oren with his cousins Kaisuke and Rioaki. Kaisuke who turns five this week was patient with Oren and gave him lots of hugs and always brought him his favorite stuffed animals. Rio, a carb-loving two year old, learned to swim on his own while Kai made the entire pool into a whirlpool itself by jumping, splashing, and swimming. Oren floated along like a sea otter, content as usual to be in water. With Baba and Jiji in from Japan we went out for some great meals including fresh fish right on the docks. We also stayed in for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner which included our now family classic oyster stuffing (with Washington state oysters) and Ryan baked 2 pies and cooked up a 15 pound turkey!

It felt strange to have Thanksgiving in Florida where I'm pretty sure if the Pilgrims had landed there first on the beautiful beaches and 80 degree fall days, nothing would have been accomplished. Luckily doing nothing was pretty much our goal and the kids and adults had an awesome and memorable time. A big thank you to Miwako, Mark, Baba, and Jiji for making it possible!