Season of Thanksgiving

When the Parays come for a visit, everyone gets so distracted by their excitement that little gets done, besides cleaning.  Somehow the boys did manage some school work on Monday but Tuesday was a bust.  

To occupy the time before they arrived, Chris made a great dent into building the retention walls for the back yard (in a light rain mind you). The boys helped some but preferred to keep asking if we should leave to pick them up.  They arrived later than we hoped (they were trying to get on standby for an earlier flight), but they were safe and sound and that's all that mattered. I had shopped via text message with Mae as they waited in Atlanta, so we had all the groceries waiting when they arrived. This meant we had nothing better to do than talk and catch up, which is all we wanted to do anyway.  FaceTime is a great way to keep in touch, but it can't compare with face-to-face for us.

Wednesday was another rainy day.  Mae and I went for a walk and did some bargain shopping, while Chris stayed home with the kids.  Chris was not working for a change, well at least not for pay.  He did replace the bath exhaust fan.  The kids did their own thing, playing games of all sorts. When they come for a visit, It is like favorite cousins coming together again.

We had special plans for the afternoon.  First, we had the traditional trek to Corbett's Burgers and Soda Bar for lunch.  Then we came back to the house and got all gussied up for the Winter Children's Concert at the NC Symphony.  Since our neighbor's had been kind enough to loan us a car, we all were able to join in the fun.  The Symphony was nice and Amber (her first visit) sat rather well once the program began.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we did what most people do on Thanksgiving - cook and eat while the children play and eat.  I had made two pumpkin pies earlier in the morning so they had time to chill.  Then two loaves of pumpkin bread before starting on the main meal.  We got a 16lb brined turkey this year and it was super juicy.  With it I made a whole bag of potatoes mashed, green beans, special mac & cheese and stuffing. The turkey wasn't the only thing stuffed by the end of the day.

Unfortunately,  the kids (esp. Lance & Matt) are growing so fast that there wasn't enough food to provide leftovers for more than one meal on Friday. We have to try for a 20lb turkey next year!

To prepare for the leftover meal, Mae and I took off again, this time to hike Hemlock Bluffs and of course partake in more conversation.  While we were gone, the kids "helped" Chris move the bridge over the creek about the half the distance to its future home. It was no small feat but an activity messily enjoyed by all. They scared up what we think is a MudPuppy and one large Crayfish! It's great having our own little ecosystem to enjoy.

After our afternoon meal, Mae and I decided it was time for our Black Friday shopping, so we headed over to the computer. Going out on Black Friday is crazy, so we let our fingers do the walking on the internet.  We were quite pleased with some the deals we managed to get by the click of a mouse.  So we celebrated and finally made the time to watch "Pride and Prejudice" together.

After the sun set and the kids came in from frolicking outside we sat down to do some art projects: Japanese block prints and masks.  While making the masks out of egg crates, Lance earned a new nickname "Egg Boy".  Mae said when Lance hits the big leagues she's going to yell "Egg Boy Ignite" loudly from the stands.

It was hard to go to bed Friday night because the Parays would be leaving the house the next morning at 5am for their return flight, which meant once we went to sleep only Chris would see them again this visit.  But time flies quickly and it will only be a few months until we are together again.  I am so thankful for that and the relationship between our families that has grown over the years to be more than friendship. We are family.