Thanksgiving Recap

I guess I forgot to put up any details about my Thanksgiving trip to Missouri. It was a great week. My entire family was there and we created some great memories for a few days. My parents, my brothers and their families, and even my dad's sister were there.

I picked up my daughters not long after school on Tuesday that week. We went through KC and on to Kingdom City. We stopped there to meet my girlfriend and have a bit of ice cream. We got to my folks before 10pm and soon got the kids off to bed.

Wednesday was a nice quiet day for me and the girls to spend with my parents and aunt. We had raisin bran muffins for breakfast, which are my favorite. The middle brother got into town about 5pm with his wife and 4 kids. We had some dinner and then went to a Thanksgiving church service. My daughters sang a special with my niece and my brother accompanied them on the piano. It was great seeing all the girls sing together. They sounded great. The 4 oldest grandkids stayed with my parents and the rest of us went and stayed where my mom works. It was like having my own hotel room with my brother, his wife, and the two youngest boys next door.

Thursday morning we all went to my parents and my youngest brother and his wife joined us. It was a nice warm day so we went out and played some catch in the backyard with my oldest daughter. It was great tossing a baseball around with my brothers and Brittany. I haven't done that for a long time. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and ham. We played Farkle and other games.

My girls and I then headed off to see my girlfriend and spend Thanksgiving evening with her. She had some ham made and had some key lime pie for us. It was great to just spend the time with her. She even bought a Yahtzee game and we played that with her. Yea, I'm pretty crazy about her.

Friday was another one of those days to sleep in a bit. I took the girls and my aunt in for some shopping to the outlet malls. We looked around a bit for some Christmas ideas. My niece was given some money to do some shopping and bought a beautiful dress to wear. We got back in time to get ready for family photos. My parents had scheduled a professional photo session for the entire family. We also had a sitting for the kids. Both pictures turned out great and I can't wait to get the prints I ordered. We had another nice meal when we returned home. There is little like mom's cooking to make a holiday or any day.

We had said our goodbyes to my youngest brother and his wife on Friday evening and Saturday was the day to say goodbye to my other brother and his family. The kids had so much fun together and they only get to do it about once a year.

I left that afternoon to go see my girlfriend while my girls spent the evening with their grandparents and my aunt. The helped bake a cake and did some other fun things like watching a movie that evening that was finishing when I arrived. I had a great time that evening just spending some quiet time with my girlfriend. She even had another piece of pie for me. I got home in time to get my girls tucked in.

Sunday morning we all got up early for church. It was great to see some old friends while there. We had another nice dinner when we got home and left shortly after.

While at my folks on Sunday, we found out that my ex-brother-in-law had a mild heart attack that morning. Instead of taking my girls back to their mom's house, we took off for Des Moines. It was nice to have a shorter trip home, but would have been better under other circumstances. Turns out he was ok after surgery, though. I got home in time to spend a couple of hours relaxing and spent a part of the evening on the phone with my woman. It was great to be home with so many wonderful memories that had been made the previous week.

There is truly a lot to be thankful for.