Happy Hippie, Healthy, Hardy Houghtons

I already mentioned that we were having a family reunion over Thanksgiving break. It was super fun, and I took lots of pictures, but Mom told me to slow down on the pictures (it takes forever for them to load on here), so I won't put all of them up.

The Reunion was in Santa Cruz, right next to the Boardwalk.

We had beautiful weather the whole time we were there!

From where we were staying, you could hear the sea lions all day and night.

Did I mention that the whole area was absolutely beautiful?

3 of the "Fabulous Four."

Marta even came to see us!

So, I was told that our family has taken pictures at this train place before, but we did it again this year!

This was the t-shirt design for the reunion.

Each family had a different kind of tie-dye.

This was ours.

Levi and I make great elves, don't you think?

We even went golfing (my first time)!

And of course, it was Thanksgiving, so much time was devoted to cooking delicious food.

We held a pie-making contest between all the boys and each participant got a chef's hat.

We spent some time at the beach and one cousin brought a 12-foot beach ball!

And everybody after all the fun, ready to head home!

Needless to say, we had loads of fun together and look forward to our next reunion in 2015!

-Tess

Giving Thanks

One of the best ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is with family around! So, this year, we are going to have a family reunion (on Dad's side) during Thanksgiving week. Now, we have lots to be thankful for, so I'm going to put some pictures of some things that we are especially thankful for (I know, that's kind of the same thing as I did in the last post, but most of those pictures were from the internet. This time they'll be from us!).

Mom and Dad. They've been married for 23 years as of yesterday!

Water Polo.

Sunsets.

What we were doing last Thanksgiving.

Families can be together forever!

Fresh CA Fruit!

Eggs. I can say that now that Luke is gone for a while.

 Bountiful Harvests (not our's, but we appreciate them anyhow).

You should see this sometime. It's amazing!

Family Goofballs!

Fresh Flowers (these actually are from our garden).

Our two missionaries!

Good- no,  GREAT- food.

Fun-to-take-pictures-with architecture.

Road Trips! 

Backpacking in the Mountians. 

If you go to an amusement park with me, you must ride the swings. It is not an option.

 Whenever we get a chance to do the hang-out-the-windows thing, we do it.

What can I say? We're water people.

 

 Smiles and Toothpaste and Teeth!

Even though it is rough at times, we love to learn!

Mmmmmm...

 Holding small children is wonderful. You know.

Opportunities to be creative don't come too often.

Oh, Disney. These are two of my favorite characters!

We have this amazing violin (and piano for Levi) teacher for many, many years. She's amazing.

Clean humor is very important to us.

 The Ocean! Natural beauty is everywhere, not only at home!

Taking naps on top of big rocks. (Warning: Sunburns happen fast on top of rocks...)

That's just an itty-bitty glimpse of the things we appreciate in this huge, beautiful world around us.

Remember to have an attitude of gratitude, this week especially.

- Tess