Tita Chrissie came to visit us for the full week of Thanksgiving! We cooked a yummy traditional dinner together.
We spent Tuesday evening at Ashely & Patrick's house, although Ashley was unable to be there since she had a test and class. Our girls were very excited to go visit cousins Joseph and Kaitlyn again! Cousins Hannah and Lily were also visiting from Dallas.
The kids didn't have school on Wednesday and the weather was gorgeous (high 60s), so I took the training wheels off Gabi's bicycle and we headed to the Greenway. Christine and I took turns helping Gabi ride her bike.
After riding back and forth on the same stretch of the Greenway several times, Bella started acting silly.
Even Katarina took her riding toy to the Greenway!
At sunset, we rode down to the playground before it got too dark.
After our huge meal on Thanksgiving, we went for a walk along the Greenway again.
Michael brought his guitar along.
Ella and Jack and their grandfather accompanied us to the rock-climbing park.
Ella's grandfather dubbed Michael the block's minstrel.
The kids played hide-and-seek.
Then we walked down to the playground again, where ALL the kids played.
Gabi rode the scooter instead of her bike, as riding without training wheels is scary.
On Friday, we decorated the house for Christmas. The kids loved hanging ornaments on the tree!
Michael and Christine hung the outside lights.
We went ice skating downtown on Saturday morning. It was miserably cold (temperatures around freezing and windy) when we arrived - just as the rink opened, but the rink was in the sun, and we soon warmed up enough that we didn't even need our coats while skating.
Poor Kati couldn't go on the ice, so she could only watch. We adults took turns sitting with her, and eventually Bella joined the sideline crew. Gabi, on the other hand, didn't take a break the entire time we were there (almost two hours).
Gabi can ice skate all by herself!
After ice skating, we walked along 16th Street Mall to get lunch and then to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for dessert.
Before heading home, we stopped by the Christkindlmarket (German Christmas market), where Gabi and Bella danced on stage to Christmas carols.