Thanksgiving Part 2: Virginia

An early departure on Tuesday put us in VA by early afternoon.

The boys declined to take naps so by late afternoon/early evening they were fit to be tied-especially Ian. Oh, my! Let's just say that the continuous crying and screaming for 2 hours did not make a good impression on his relatives who haven't seen him in ages. I was having flashbacks to his infancy!

On the other hand it made them super ready for bed and they went down a little early without a fuss. This meant that we got to go on our double date with Clara and Dave earlier than planned.
What a fun evening! We went to Mac & Bob's for dinner, a Salem institution and already established tradition for Chris and I. They have the most humongous, yummy calzones! Then it was on to play games. I was introduced to Ticket to Ride. Dave beat me by a hair...well by almost a hundred points. However, since he was the expert and I the novice I didn't feel to bad:)

Wednesday was fun too because I got to hang out with my bestest friend from high school, Mary. We kept in touch for years after I moved from KY but eventually we did lose touch. Super genius that she is (really she is!), she found me through the Church a few years ago. I didn't even know that you could do that! Anyway, since then we have gotten to see each other just a few times but the internet does make it easier to stay in touch and up on each other's doings.

Still, nothing really beats the face to face. Thanks to Mary, Josh and her girls, who were willing to stop off on their trip to see family, we got to visit for a couple of hours. The only sad part was not getting a picture of us together. (Ok, you know I really miss not getting a picture to capture the occasion-I don't really miss being in it!)

Wednesday was also the start of our turkey preparations. Chris and I volunteered to do the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing this year. Chris really ended up doing the turkey himself and it was amazing! We got compliments along the lines of "This is the best turkey and gravy I have ever had!"

I have just two words: Alton Brown.

From the Food Network. Chris and I just happened to catch his special how to make the best turkey show. We were riveted and decided to try it his way. Oooooooh, buddy. Let me tell you! It was worth any extra effort (although really it wasn't much!). I think it came down to the brining and the cooking method (short time at really high temp, a couple hours at lower temp and then some residual cooking out of the oven as it rests.)

Thanksgiving morning was a little hectic with both of us trying to get things ready for dinner but the boys did pretty well and like I said, the food was amazing!! And again, I didn't get a picture of the spread or the people. Pregnancy brain strikes again!

Pies and more family came later and it that was great too! Of course I have no picture of this either! What I did manage to get pictures of, thankfully, was Grandma getting her birthday present. Someone (Stephanie?) or someones came up with the brilliant idea of Celebrating the the 75 Days of Grandma leading up to her, you guessed it, 75th birthday in February.

It was so fun to see her face! We told her it was for her birthday. Her response: "You don't think I'm going to make to February?"
Now she gets to open a envelope everyday until her birthday.

It was somewhere in here when Clara finally broke the ice that Ian had so guarded all the time since leaving home. He broke down and sang and played with her.

And while Dave wasn't able to win over Ian this trip, he was not without his successes.
The cutest of which was Lizzy. Naturally, I didn't get a picture of any of that either.
Friday was met with goodbyes as Clara and Dave, Jacob, Aimee and boys all left for home.

Noah decided to liven up the day with some diarrhea. This gave us some real pause. I just didn't think that a 3 year old, diarrhea and a 10+ hour car trip would mix well. So in the end we opted to stay a couple more days and hope it was all cleared up by Monday-like the holiday traffic would hopefully be.

This meant that we got to see the Christmas tree put up and decorated. (Nope, no picture of the finished product.) But how about this one?

It all worked out and we made it home Monday evening after about 11 hours. It was a long day but distance makes the heart grow fonder and it was heavenly to be home in our place! And, thanks to Ian and Cristina stopping in on their way home, our house didn't even smell too much like the cat! Oh, simple pleasures:)