Thanksgiving in Mariposa — Super Duper Long Blog!!

About two weeks before the official Thanksgiving holiday, we drove (that's right, I said drove!) down to Mariposa (near Yosemite) for an early celebration, combined with a Christmas gift exchange among the little ones. We left on a Tuesday night and got as far as Grant's Pass, Oregon, to stay at my grandpa's house (it's a 4-hour drive). That cut our trip on Wednesday down to just 8 hours, which of course took longer with the little monster. We made it in 10. It was a pretty uneventful trip. Ethan was fussy toward the end, but did much better than we'd anticipated!

The morning after we arrived was "Christmas"! Ethan loved his book from Aunt Leslie, and didn't want anything to do with opening more presents! He obviously takes after his mommy when it comes to books! ;)

The cousins enjoyed opening their gifts!

When Ethan saw his gift from Aunt Carrie, he started to come around to the idea of more presents...

Mommy liked his Christmas jammies from Grandma and Grandpa!

 Everyone enjoying their gifts...

Everyone in their Christmas pjs!

 The next day, we went to Yosemite.

Ethan and William rode together and shared toys and snacks! Who knew a simple water bottle would be the biggest hit?!

We saw Half Dome and El Capitan...

 Then Bridal Veil Falls.

We had a picnic, and ended with a tour of the museum.

The kids enjoyed playing at the house...

And we had Thanksgiving dinner!