fun at the Hotel pool!

After the Thanksgiving feast we head back to the hotel and try to burn off extra pie calories in the heated pool. After a whole day of being friendly to relatives and politely sitting still in small homes full of big people, our boys are fairly bursting with stifled energy. There were several years where we had to forbid the kids to even ASK what time we could go, because as soon as they put a fork down, we heard a million times:
"Can we go swimming now!?"

We invite anyone who wants to, to join us. Well-- not strangers under bridges or anything-- but anyone in the FAMILY and I am sure the Comfort Suites management doesn't mind at all that our family of five has 7 guests in the pool. Hardly any other hotel patrons are usually there and the few that are? We are warm and friendly to! but a few Nerf throws gone sour and 4 or 5 cannonballs later and they are suddenly tired and off to their quiet rooms...

Uncle John can always be counted on to join us and the boys are jumping on him and climbing him like a tree. They have wrestled like this since Uncle John was a strapping teenager and they were goofy toddlers and all four seem fine with the arrangement but I have to look away, for fear Uncle John is now going to get terribly hurt!

Although it was nice to see Josiah getting a fair share of punishment for a change! In their wrestling fun Sam and Caleb are all over him, trying to bring him down and he just laughs and pushes them off. Then Uncle John joins in the game and suddenly the mighty Josiah is knocked off his pedestal! Soon all three boys gather into a team and turn their attack on Uncle!

Last time, Caleb was terrified of this game (I think its called Throw the Boy) but not this year-there isn't much that scares Caleb, anymore!

We have been going to Portland for Thanksgiving since the boys were just toddlers. It was a long drive from Yakima, so we stayed one night at a local hotel. This was such a rarity that the kids STILL think it is a major treat. (And really, why spend thousands on a vacation when they are so easily satisfied with a continental breakfast and indoor pool for only $79 a night?!)

Now Portland is "just up the road" but it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without...

Going swimming!

left to right-Uncle John, Caleb, Josiah, Sam, Uncle Brian, Cody.

It's so nice to jump from cold pool to hot tub, back and forth. John and I used to split the shift-one of us in the pool, one of us in the tub the whole night--trading back and forth to warm up--making sure our preschoolers didn't drown, despite the life jackets and water wings I always brought. (That "deep end" freaked me out!)

I spent the whole evening trying to get little Josiah to trust me taking him into the "deep" 4 foot water and encouraging him to not be nervous, his floaties would work!!

and trying to keep unafraid little Sammy from jumping in every 2 seconds and to OH! stop running on the slippery concrete, John-watch him!?

and checking Caleb's swim diaper, and making sure his ear tubes didn't get wet and boys stop splashing him it just makes him scream!...

Now John and I don't have to even get in.

Our gangly boys are jumping in the deep end and swimming like fish and throwing Nerf footballs at each others faces. The stark contrast of our toddlers "just a few Thanksgivings ago at this same pool" and our boys now...it blew us away.

Caleb. (About to lose his shorts off the two peas he has for a bum!)

What a good Dad! Brian giving both kids a ride and risking a serious drowning....

Josiah gives Cody a ride so Brian could give Caitlin a swim lesson or two. Cody's teeth were chattering and his lips blue but every time Brian tried to get him out he would panic and shout "No! No!" He loves that water!

Caleb wanted a picture of his feet, as he loves to practice standing on his head. It's about 3 seconds he can keep them up so I did the best I could for him!

For years, every time we drove past a hotel (any town, anywhere) that said "Comfort Suites" the boys would get SO excited, thinking it was "OUR Thanksgiving hotel!!"

It's one of our favorite parts of the holiday!