Thanksgiving used to be a whole family gathering. Lots of people, lots of cooking, lots of food, LOTS of noise. Then our dang kids grew up, got married, got in-laws, moved away, had their own kids, and have schedules that aren't centered around Nannette and my needs and wants. It's so unfair.
This year, we decided it was time to drive out to Missouri and spend the holiday with Kyle, Laura, Pendaryn, Tyr, and Willow. 3 years ago they moved to to Chillicothe Missouri so that Laura could teach middle school in Hamilton. We've really missed them, but just like when we moved away from Arizona, the worst thing is being hours away from family, and sometimes the best thing is being hours away from family. I know they've grown allot since moving and it makes the visits that much sweeter when we get back together.
Our grandson Beckham lives with us right now, so he was coming with us. Then our oldest daughter Koren said she had to work most of the week, so we decided to bring her youngest son Gideon Fox with us as well. So we'll take 2 of Koren's kids with us on the 10+ hour drive from Colorado Springs to Missouri.
I'm an early morning person, but most of my family isn't. So on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I set my alarm clock for 4:00am.
I wasn't actually trying to leave at 4, but I know how long it can take to actually get a family up and loaded. So I took 15 minutes to wake up. I had packed 90% of the car the night before so I only needed to pack the last few things. I started our Toyota Highlander warming up then set about waking the family. Gideon and Beckham just got up and walked to the car in their pajamas. Nan actually got up and ate some breakfast. Her blood sugar had dropped into the 50s overnight so she really needed something.
All together we were on the road by 5:00am which is pretty good.
I usually feel good for the first few hours of an early morning drive. The traffic is very light so I can keep the headlights on high beams and I keep the speed right at the speed limit in case there are deer or other wildlife on the road. We picked up the freeway in Limon and really started the higher speed journey just as the sun was coming up.
We got about 3 hours in when I stated the get the yawns. I always get them a few hours into a drive and have learned to just take a few minute nap to let my brain reset. So the next McDonalds we saw, I stopped. Nan took them in while I lay the seat back and got 20 minutes of rest. I don't think I ever actually fall asleep, but my mind wanders enough that I seldom remember the time. I just kind of naturally open my eyes after a while and feel allot better.
They were still eating when I went in so I ate the Sausage McMuffin and eggs sandwich Nan had bought me, visited the facilities and we all piled back in the car. But just as I was about the leave, Fox asked "do we have any game for me to play?" In fact, I had brought the Nintendo switch, so I dug it out along with a headset (so we didn't have to listen to 8 hours of Mario tunes) and gave it to him.
The drive was about like every other drive. We stopped for gas 2 hours later, then drove through Chic;fil'a for lunch and another gas stop in Topeca. We arrived at our Hotel at about 5:30. With the time zone change that means it was an 11 1/2 hour drive including stops. Not too bad.
We checked in to the Fairfield Inn and unloaded our stuff, then headed to Kyle and Larua's. They hadn't eaten yet so I ordered and picked up Pizza hut (Pepperoni and Hawaiian). The kids were all excited to see each other and played so much it was hard to make them stop and eat, but finally everyone got fed.
We all piled in cars again and headed back to our hotel to change and go swimming. The pool was indoors and heated, but it was still a touch chilly, We played and swam for nearly an hour. We made Fox get out of the pool a few times because his lips would turn blue. He has a heart defect that reduces his circulation and makes him prone to that but we watched him close.
This was a pretty good first day to the trip.
Day 2
It rained most of Wednesday which put a damper on our plans. Originally we were going to do yardwork but that was out. We didn't even leave the hotel till well after 10. So we did a little house cleaning and playing with grandkids.
Lunch was McDonalds, then some grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving dinner and more playtime.
Nannette has been struggling with some health issues that leave her exhausted so she took a long afternoon nap while I did some work. Then Fox wanted to swim so went with him.
Around dinner time we went to a new Mexican restaurant in town. We all liked it.
Day 3 - ThanksgivingWe all
Another slow starting day. I got up around 7 and went to grab the hotel breakfast but all they had was fruit and a granola bar in a bag. I thought about grabbing McD's or something but no one seemed to care.
The hotel itself only has 2 or 3 rooms rented out so I made myself comfortable in the dining area and watched videos on my laptop while Nan, Beckham and Fox slept until almost 11:00.
Finally they woke up and we headed to Kyle and Laura's. I had ordered a honey backed ham and tukey breast, so there was no serious cooking. Just mostly heating food. It was simple but very yummy. The kids sat around a small table and talked while the adults sat around the big table and told the kids to quit goofing off and eat. Pretty typical. Ham, Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, and rolls.
We sat around talking for an hour or so then I took Nan back to the hotel for a nap. Fox stayed to play with cousins.
At 3:30 we got in the car and headed for the movie theatre. I'd booked us tickets for Mulan 2. We took up most of a row with just us. Plenty of popcorn, soda, and left over haloween candy to eat while we watched. We all enjoyed the movie, even with a 2 year old throwing the occasional fit, and other little boys who need to use the bathroom.
After the movie we took Beckham and Fox to the park to drive through the Chillicothe Christmas lights. It's a really nice show for a small town and being free. We were all very impressed. It's only about 1/4 mile winding through the park, then turn around and back out but around 50 exhibits.
We went back to Kyle and Laura's for more ham, turkey, potatoes and stuffing. Plus some left over pizza. No one was left hungry. We left Fox to stay the night with his cousins.
Day 4
I was up early again and had the standard belgian waffles, eggs, sausage, and orange juice at the hotel breakfast. I took bagel sandwiches back to the room for Nan and Beckham but I don't think they liked them.
At 10:00 I left to get Laura. Her phone has been failing so we headed to the ATT store to see about an upgrade. We stood in line for 45 minutes but the single guy serving customers only got through 1 so I decided to leave and just do the upgrade online. I took Laura home then headed to the hotel.
The ATT webiste said it would be 5 days to get a new phone delivered, but that a new phone would be ready in 2 hours at the nearby ATT store so I placed the order and headed over there. By this time there were 3 people servicing customers and I had the phone and was out in only 15 minutes.
We got back to Kyle's house and started raking up leaves. I brought our leaf blower and got quite a stack built up pretty quick. Kyle started trimming a big hedge they have running down the side of the house and Beckham helped me stack the leaves into Kyle's mulching bin. We filled it several times and tramped them down but left with still allot of leaves stacked up around the bin. Hopefully the current leaves will decay and leave room for them to fit the rest of the leaves.
I also worked on Kyle's back door. 2 years ago I switched out his ancient locks for a modern lock and deadbolt set, but since then, the door and jam have weathered and settled a bit so that there's a good gap letting cold air in around the door.
He has good weather stripping so it just needed the bolt latch to be tuned a bit. I brought my work bag with us so I had everything I needed. I removed the screws for the strike plate, and chisseled out a slightly deeper set for the plate. Then I whittled down a couple golf Ts, added some wood glue, and pounded the Ts into the old screw holds then cut them off. Finally I set the strike plate and drove the screws into the jam in the new position. The resulted in having to push the door fairly hard to allow the deadbolt to latch. This in turned mashed the door into the weather stripping and stopped all of the cold air coming in.
I also had to tweak the strike plat for the door knob. There was now such a big gap that the tongue wouldn't even latch. I took 4 more golf Ts loosed the screws on the plate and wedged the T's it, then tightened the screws again. Not the best fix, but it brough the plate out enough that closing the door would latch again. Probably need to actually marry some wood onto the jam to fill in the gap but I don't have the time or materials to do that much so this will have to do.
BY now it was lunch time so we went to Taco Bell. I'm sure we raised the overall noise level by several decibels.
After lunch we went to the hotel and swam for an hour again. The 3 little boys especially love playing together, but even Willow had a great time swimming with Nanna and her dad. I wish they had a hot tub or that the water was just a bit warmer. It leaves everyone pretty shilled when we get done. But this time I'd figured out the kitchen area and made hot chocolates for everyone after they got dressed. It was a big hit.
Nan took another nap and I went over to Kyle's to watch kids while he and Laura took some time for themselves to go shop. I watched Big Hero 6 with Tyr, Willow slept, and the boys went downstairs to watch shows and play.
Out final dinner together was to a restaurant they'd never tried before called Shooters. It was pretty good. Not as good as the mexican place but everyone seemed to enjoy it except for Willow who was very grump after being woken up from her nap.
We said our final goodbyes and got lots of hugs and kisses. We'll be heading out first thing in the morning for home. The forecast calls for light snow so hopefully it won't be too bad.
