The week of Thansgiving

This last week we went to California for the Poulson family Thanksgiving trip. Before the trip we quarantined ourselves for two weeks, during the trip we stayed away from anyone that was not in our group, and always wore masks when we were near people not in our group, and after the trip we plan on quarantining for an additional two weeks. With this minimum level of contact we didn't get sick at all during the trip (which is actually a first for our group, since usually someone gets sick during Thanksgiving), and we hope to prevent anyone from getting sick after the trip as well.

There were far fewer people out there than usual, but the weather and beach was still fun. We played in the sand, and boogie boarded. We dug a giant pit, and built sand castles, and raked zen gardens. This year the three oldest girls (Rea, Sara, and Ellie) got along incredibly well, and Timmy, Kendrick, and William also got along very well (They played Pokemon practically the whole time), and Gideon and Ælfric also enjoyed playing together a lot.

We played some board and card games, some video games, ate lots of food, and avoided travelling nearly the whole time (we did walk to the park one day). Getting through the week without any shopping was a little bit difficult, but with good planning it worked out well. Mike missed picking natal plums, but other than that it was pretty fun for all of us.

Baby Elizabeth slept pretty good during the trip. We didn't have to wake up with her many times at all, and she never woke us up during Mike's core sleep. Mike appreciated that since it was finals week for his master's program, and he had to get all of his school work done.

Here are the things that everyone listed as their favorites:

Mike - Elizabeth sleeping well, playing Bohnanza (the bean game), and no-one getting sick

Alison - Being on the beach and staying up late talking

Rea - Not having to stay in the house the whole time, playing with Ellie, and finding shells.

Sara - Playing with Ellie on the beach

Timmy - Playing with his pokemon friends

Gideon - Playing with Ælfric on the beach

Elizabeth - Eating infinite fruitsnacks, and having another baby around.

We were bad at taking pictures, so you will have to ask Chauncey for images of the trip if you want them. Needless to say, it was a fun time.

Also - there are a few copies of the standalone expansion to my card game - "The Second-most Perfect Moment" for sale right now at the buttonshy website, so if you are like most people (that is to say if you don't have a copy of it), you can buy them right now.
https://buttonshygames.com/search?type=product&q=perfect