I can't get enough family, it's true. And living so far from Portland, we pack our days and nights with lots of family time.
Look at me!! I am super cute and fun.
Tuesday we spent the afternoon with Ollie (after a morning of getting our tires replaced). What a lot of fun! His new thing is puddle jumping, which he demonstrated over at the school playground across the street. He's into balls and golf clubs, though not necessarily together. And he is great at throwing checkers and sort of great at picking them up and putting them back in the bag. Evidently, I am the scroogy tia that gives out six at a time - much easier to throw and pick up six than twenty. We also got to drop in on Cole and Drew before bedtime. Turns out Cole didn't need any help figuring out that Tom makes a great human jungle gym or wrestling partner.
Cole likes playing with the checkers, too, but he enjoys sorting the black and red ones. He is also good at sharing with Ollie.
Wednesday our plans for Voodoo Donuts was foiled by a long line of people waiting in the rain - no thanks! We did find a really super place with lots of vegetarian fare instead - my luck. Then it was off to pick up the three Ms from school. I enjoyed getting to hang out with them and Amy and her mom for a little spell. The two little boys were doing their own thing, but Monica and Maddie came back with me to swap cars and pick Ollie up from daycare. It was a little surreal driving down the "vez" with Tom and three kids in the back seat. The girls were delighted to play with Ollie in the back, but in truth, Monica just wanted to play with Tom as soon as we were out of the car. We enjoyed an afternoon of play and then dinner with the Greenlees.
Little Drew grew so much in the two months since we'd seen him. I was lucky enough to get some smiles out of him after dinner on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was a full day - lots of eating and cooking. There was a really nice mass in the morning, and then onto preparing for dinner. I enjoyed taking a b-ball break with Miki and Marty and Ollie in the afternoon. It had been a long time since I had played hoops in that old gym across the street, but it was a lot of fun - maybe because I started off on a scoring record. I also got to impress Ollie with my hula-hooping skills. Gratefully, no sprained ankles or pulled muscles or asthma attacks - I knew to quit while ahead. It was time for the finishing touches anyway. Dinnertime brought a full house with lots of family, though not all could be there. We were sad for some sick little kids who couldn't make it and Grammy who stayed home to watch them. But it was just really nice to enjoy the conversations and visit with everyone.
Thomas carved the turkey Dad barbecued.
Uncle Ken happily and carefully deep-fried a turkey - no fires at our house.
Maddie, Monica, Michelle, and Mary invited me to play Apples to Apples with them. What a fun and silly game!
The men hanging out at Cap'n Jack's. Might Ollie be picking out a nightcap?
We had such a great time Thursday that we slept in nice and late on Friday. The rain came down in buckets, but Tom and I slipped out to wander around town for a while. Marty and Ollie came over in the afternoon as a prelude to our family dinner. Certainly the climax of a great week already was sitting around the table - Mom and Dad, Auggie and Michelle, Tom and I, Miki and Marty and Ollie, and Nick and Jen and Cole and Drew. Those moments are pretty rare and absolutely treasured. It was a special dinner - Tom made an elk roast that was thoroughly enjoyed by the meat-eaters. Dinner was followed by much merriment playing "Loaded Questions" and "Buzzwords". I am still warmed by the sound of laughter and teasing as we played - one big happy family!
