Showing posts with label My Dad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Dad. Show all posts

Thursday, December 05, 2013

A Month of Gratitude: Day 28

Day 28: Thanksgiving Together

I'm so thankful that we were able to make it home to see my brother Dave and his family. They live in Arizona and don't come back to Michigan all the time, but when they do, we try to get home so we can see them. This year, they were able to come home for the month of November and we were able to spend Thanksgiving together.


We had a wonderful dinner and spent some great time before dinner talking and laughing and the kids had fun playing together. My mom wanted some pictures of all the grandkids and her kids so we did our best (Gus was not cooperating due to being exhausted from waking at 4:45 for the Turkey Trot).


Here are some of my favorite pictures from our Thanksgiving together.
 I got to meet my newest niece, Zoey (my twin's baby)

 My niece Aine is the best... she loves babies and was loving her time with Hugh

 Hugh talking to Uncle Dave

 My niece Lily also loves babies and was really excited to feed Hugh

 Right before dinner, Gus passed out

 Some of us ate here, and the rest ate in the dining room

 Oh, Uncle Steve

 Hugh was not sure if he wanted to eat dinner or just watch everyone else

 My mom, Mary Breeding (family friend), my dad, and Francine (family friend)

 Hugh kept poking Charlie in the eyes, so she went and got her goggles so he couldn't poke her ;-)

 She's 2.5 and Hugh weighs more and is almost the same height as her


 My nephew Benton playing with Charlie and Hugh

 Hugh hanging out with Mary (Mary was my Grandma Ghrist's best friend and neighbor for YEARS and still lives on the street behind where my grand parents used to live)


It was getting late, so we woke Gus and then took some family pictures.
 All nine of the grandkids (and a screaming Gus)

 My twin brother Scott and his family

 My brother Dave and his family

 My family

 Me with Hugh and my SIL Heather and our niece Lily

 Sibling picture

 Trying to recreate this picture:
(If we had the picture to look at, we could have nailed it)

The spouses


It was such a wonderful Thanksgiving. Probably the best one that I've had in many many years. There's something so special about being around family and celebrating a holiday surrounded by your siblings. 

It's in these moments that I cannot understand what it would be like to be an only child. I'm sure only children think it's great to not have siblings, as you can't miss what you've never had, but I can't imagine not having my brothers in my life.

Not only do I have two brothers, but they have families and I love spending time with all of them together. I love watching Gus and Hugh with their cousins, and watching each of my brothers children playing together. It's one of the greatest joys I've ever known.

I can only imagine how much this Thanksgiving meant to my parents. To have all three of their kids home with their families to celebrate a holiday together... something that hasn't happened in YEARS... truly awesome.

I told Steve as we were leaving that I think I might want to go back home next Thanksgiving. I hated the cold, but I really loved the warmth that being around family provided.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Disney Recap: Thursday, November 15th, 2012

DAY THREE

Thursday was a fun day because it was the official start to our vacation. It was also the middle of our vacation and looking back, I think from Thursday on, blinked by.

We got up and headed to Blizzard Beach for some fun in the sun, but there was no sun! It was FREEZING!!! Thankfully, all the water in Walt Disney World pools is heated, so it wasn't too bad. It was overcast, but it didn't stop Gus from having a great time in the water.

Gus and I watched a Pluto cartoon while Steve went to the clothing shop and got himself a pair of swim trunks



It's like overnight, Christmas had arrived at our hotel!


The gingerbread house!

We headed to the car and decided that Gus and I would stay at the entrance while Steve got the car. Gus was NOT happy about Daddy leaving us.
Cinderella's Coach... didn't impress him


When Steve showed up, we headed to Blizzard Beach. We had free waterpark tickets with our two day park tickets (thanks to the Summit being held at WDW), so because Typhoon Lagoon was being repaired and closed, we had no other choice but to head to Blizzard Beach. It was fun though, and Gus had a great time!
The entrance... and the park was EMPTY!!



We headed to Tikes Peak... the kiddy area






Weeeee!!!

He LOVED the water slide and did great going by himself (it was kids only)

Then he decided to go down the innertube slide! He loved it too!




Taking the tube up the walk to Daddy

Going down the racing slide with Daddy



We all went into the wave pool and had fun!


So awesome!!

After playing for a while we got out and decided to grab some lunch


:-)


Where we enjoyed lunch


Headed back to the car!


We stopped at the local gas station and grabbed a gallon of milk to have in our room. It was a smart buy!
 
The entrance was even decorated for Christmas!


We got back to the room and Gus took a nap while Steve headed off to meet up with some work people and finalize some things. He was only gone two hours, and it was just the perfect time because Gus was napping while Steve was gone!
Watching the Chipmunk movie before taking a nap



We had dinner reservations at Whispering Canyon, which is located inside the Wilderness Lodge. I am SO glad that we went there for dinner! Not only was it really enjoyable and delicious, but we got to see the Wilderness Lodge. It's built as a replica of the Yellowstone Lodge and it's GORGEOUS!! I would love to stay there at some point!!!




Decked out for Christmas and just beautiful!

The lobby

Building with Lincoln Logs while waiting for our table




My original glass is on the right... I guess I asked for a refill one time too many!!


Our dinner was so delicious!!! We had BBQ! It was a giant skillet with sausage, fish, chicken, brisket, and pork and then we had the most delicious baked beans, some roasted veggies, some corn on the cob and some potatoes. We also got dessert with dinner. It was fabulous!!

After dinner, we walked around the hotel a bit and checked it out... I think my dad would absolutely LOVE this place! It definitely reminded me of Yellowstone National Park and made me think of my dad the whole time we were there!

There's a geyser inside!!





The GIANT fireplace


We headed back to the Grand Floridian and we stopped inside the main lobby once again. I took more pictures...
Just look at that gorgeous tree!




We were all pretty tired and crashed. We were super excited for our Friday- going to the Magic Kingdom!!!