Thanksgiving 2013, the kids and I drove up to Prineville, Oregon, to visit my brother Marcel, sister-in-law Anne, and nieces Louisiane and Lily Rose.

We spent about 5 days with them, and although Stephen and Avian were out of school, they had a LOT of independent study work to do (which turns out to NOT be independent work at all).

The girls were very into ballet and teaching each other moves from the Nutcracker.

Stephen and Avian were also very into fighting over Lily Rose’s attention.

We went to Smith Rock for an afternoon, and hiked until sunset.

Marcel took us out into the woods to build a fire and show us how smokejumpers cook elk meat.

The kids were initially disgusted (as was Anne and I) with the pieces of meat thrown straight into the ashes, but the kids had fun roasting their pieces on sticks instead,

…and everyone loved the finished product.

We also had to roast the obligatory marshmellow

And had a very nice hike on a nearby trail.

That night, we went to visit one of their friend’s farm, and got to visit with the animals as the sun set over the fields.

We got to visit LouLou’s school, and Marcel taught Stephen the art of hypnotizing chickens.

On Thanksgiving, we went to Bend for a hike along the Deschuttes River in a park downtown.

We spent Thanksgiving afternoon at Marcel and Anne’s friends’ house in LA Pine, before getting on the road for a long night of driving.