Just being busy. We decided to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family. First time that I can recall in all their years of marriage. Being with them required a road trip - inclusive of all that entails. After making all those arrangements, renting a big enough vehicle (we were taking our daughter and grandson, our son and daughter-in-law - and their dog) & loading up with road-trip-food, we then hit the asphalt.
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| His diet pepsi |
It's an 8-hour drive. The Husband is very patient about driving all those miles. What fun to be greeted with such excitement and love as we were! (The Husband filled up on "go-juice" for the journey home - he does love his diet pepsi - and yes, both of those are his and he did finish them off.)
Our trip there was filled with some "firsts" for me and some other not-so-often occurrences.
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| Some neighbors we greeted. |
I used a bow and arrow for the first time. Our grandson gave me a quick tutorial and left me to it. I shot 12 arrows and all but one hit the target (or at least the hay bales the target was mounted on). Pretty fun.
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| Ours is the smallest one. |
My first time ever (that I can recall) decorating gingerbread houses. We partnered up - 6 houses for 12 people. The Husband and I ended up with roof issues. One side of the roof eventually slid right off the house. We exceeded the weight limit. Pretty fun.
Our daughter and her husband are super generous. We always feel like royalty from our treatment when we visit. We ate and laughed and ate some more. No worries about ever going hungry. Thanksgiving was secondary to a birthday we celebrated.
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| Up the street from their house. |
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| Family Wii-ing |
We watched a movie on tv, went to a movie in the theater, splurged on a restaurant meal for all 12 of us (we needed to have a meal our daughter didn't have to prepare), went for walks, catnapped, played the Wii and utilized all our electronic devices. I never tired of the huge wide-open skies filled with beautiful clouds. That's the kind of sky I grew up with, and am reminded how much I love it each time I visit our daughter.
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| Nearby RR track we walked along - just missed the train. |
I jumped on the trampoline with a couple grandchilluns. Was challenged to do a cartwheel. Massive fail - cartwheels are much harder on a tramp surface than on the unyielding ground. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, although I was grateful only a couple family members were there to see me. 63-year-old grammas aren't a pretty sight when jumping on the tramp.
The Husband forgot his shaving mirror for the shower. I encouraged him to forget shaving. In all the 46 years I've known him I've never seen him with this much facial hair. Love, love, love to touch it with my hands. Kissing with the stubble? Not so much. He surely looks different.
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| Stunning weather on our return trip. |
We had good weather the whole trip. Coming home we drove through lots of slushy, snowy roads. Had a couple tense minutes. But we arrived safe and found all well here.
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| More gratitude was added. |
We took this little tree poster with us. Substituted the post-its for leaves as we jotted down things we are grateful for. We finished with the tree long before we were finished with the gratitude. The picture isn't even the end product.
I am so grateful today. For safe travels and good weather. For not a hint of frozen pipes in our unattended home. For neighbors who graciously pick up our mail and accept packages. For family that can enjoy some time together - rare though it is for us all to be together it was a delightful Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for hugs from children and grandchildren. For people who just step in and do what needs to be done. For sweet memories. And for love.
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