Happy Thanksgiving!

NaBloPoMo Day 27
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am completely stuffed after lunch this afternoon and snacking this evening. I totally cheated on my diet today and loved every minute of it.

My brother, Randy and his family came into town last night from Tennessee and will be staying until tomorrow. It has really been great seeing them! It has been too long.

We went out to Andrew's parent's house today for the day. It was really nice that both families (my parents, my brother and his family, us and Andrew's family) could all celebrate Thanksgiving together. It really eliminates the problems of "house hopping" for the holidays.

This afternoon, we went for a hike...I was not sure I was going to make it up the hill, but I did! I just took it very slowly. Of course, coming back down was much easier.

Tonight, we came back to the hotel room to watch the UT/A&M game because my nephew is a big UT fan. I will be amazed if I make it through the last quarter without falling asleep. We will see.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Magnolia, Texas! We have been visiting my sister and brother-in-law since last Friday. We have had a nice visit. Andrew has had a hard time with the weather, though. He says that it is not really Thanksgiving if it is T-shirt weather! :)
We had a wonderful lunch today, as usual! It is always nice to be able to be with family for the holidays. We typically alternate where we spend the holidays. This year, Thanksgiving is with my family and Christmas is with Andrew's family. This has worked pretty well for us.
We are flying back home tomorrow afternoon. I will have to spend the weekend catching up on the house since the cats have had it to themselves for a week.
Well, I will try to post pictures from today later.

The Great Kevindini!

We went to Salem on Saturday for Andrew's cousin's wedding shower. (Of course, we forgot our present on the kitchen table!) Much of the family got there early so we could visit for a while. Uncle Kevin stole the show as he became "The Great Kevindini!" (A name supplied by me after the fact.) Our nephew, Gavin, and a cousin, A.J. sat mesmerised as Uncle Kevin made their bouncy balls disappear and reapear in various places. Their faces lit up more each time the ball reappeared either in their ear, or in the trash can, or out of one of their shirts. All of the adults present also sat silent and transfixed as The Great Kevindini performed his magic! It was so much fun to watch their excitement! I wish we had had our video camera with us, but was glad that we were at least able to take pictures.

The Big Tree

Chris and Julie came up to visit this past weekend. Chris came up for a class on Friday/Saturday, so Julie came up to hang out for a while. Friday night, Andrew, Julie, and I had a "Grind" theme going. First, we went to W.G. Grinders for dinner (Julie had never been) Next, we decided to go find a place to get something hot to drink since it was so cold. We ended up at a very cool coffee house nearby (behind Rockbridge HS) that I had recently heard about called It's a Grind. We sat there in the comfortable chairs by the fire for a little while. Then we decided to go to see "The Big Tree" as Julie had never been there. The Big Tree has become somewhat of a family tradition for Drew and I. We try to take everyone that comes to see us to see it if we have the time. What is so special about a tree? Well, it is supposed to be the largest Bur Oak in Missouri. So what? It is also quite an optical illusion. It is situated out in a big field past McBaine (south of Columbia). There is a bluff behind it, but it is still about 1/4 mile from the bluff. When you first catch a glimpse of the tree, you are probably 1/4 mile from it across the field. It really does not look like much because there is no frame of reference. BUT, as you get closer, within the last 200 yards, it absolutely explodes in size. Looking at a vehicle sitting under it is pretty telling. Also, looking at the lower limbs, you would think they were the trunks of big trees themselves. The drip line is probably about 60 ft. in diameter! No kidding! Julie was appropriately impressed. The sun was setting while we were there and it made a beautiful sight. We left when another caravan (2 vans actually) pulled up to see the tree. Of course they wanted to get pictures too, so Drew got out of the Jeep and offered to take pictures of the entire group for them. Julie and I laughed as he stood out there freezing while they all tried to get arranged and decide which cameras needed to be used for pictures. When Chris got home from class, he had the same reaction to the idea of driving 15 minutes to see a tree as so many others...

What is so great about a big tree?

But, when he saw the pictures, he stopped making fun of us. Saturday, Julie and I just hung out at the house and visited while Chris went back to class and Andrew went to work. We had a great time. Although we had the intention of watching a "chick flick" without the guys, we ended up making our own as we talked and cried and laughed...all aspects of a good chick flick. It is amazing how much alike Andrew and Chris are as we discovered...or rediscovered rather.
Photo Disclaimer: I apologize for the quality of the pictures...they were taken with my cell phone camera.