Maeve's Thanksgiving in Connecticut

We flew to Connecticut to visit family and friends during Thanksgiving break a couple of weekends ago. This was the first time in several years that all of Brian's brothers (seven, including him), plus wives and children, were together. Brian is one of four brothers who live in the West, so it's unusual for everyone to be in the same place at the same time. We were having so much fun that we didn't manage to take any pictures on Thanksgiving itself. Brian ran in the annual Thanksgiving Day 5-Mile Race that morning, as he usually does when he visits his family at this time of year. No pictures from that either, but we did join the family photo shoot on Saturday morning, the day of new cousin Will's Baptism. Brian's brother Paul and his wife, Marie—Will's parents—arranged for a photographer to take some shots of the various family combinations, so we're all expecting a CD of photos from the pro. In the meantime, here are a few amateur shots.

Brian and Maeve, ready to toss the football someday:



Tracey and Maeve, who was having second thoughts about the photo shoot at the time:



Maeve with all of her cousins, including baby Will:



Maeve opening a birthday gift a couple of days early, styling in her squirrel sweater:



That's right—it was a multiple-event visit. We fit Thanksgiving, a Christening with a big reception, and one of several first birthday celebrations for Maeve all into a few days. Maeve held up pretty well, but the air travel did take a toll on her normally sunny disposition at times.

Here's young Will at the Baptism with Godfather Pat, and Marie and Paul, the proud parents:



One of my favorite little episodes from the visit was a brief trek with my brother Bill between the Baptism and the reception to pick up an ice cream cake, a rental car, and some bags of ice. Here's Bill with the ice, produced by a company that we thought had the weirdest name for an ice maker we'd ever seen. (In case you can't read the label clearly, it's Southern Connecticut Ice and Oil, LLC):



As if air travel weren't enough, we trucked poor Maeve from Connecticut to New Jersey for a day and a half to visit our friends Jerry and Medea. We had a fine time, and their hospitality also made for a convenient travel transition, since our return flight departed from Newark airport, just a 20-minute drive. Here's Jerry with Maeve:



There'll be more in the next post about Maeve's return home and her birthday celebrations and gifts, but that's it from the East Coast.