Friday, November 27

Thanksgiving Weekend

During the past few months we have been updating a few rooms inside our house.  We've done some remodeling in the bathrooms, started the hallway a few years ago and finally got that done in September.  Plus some of the walls in the "Christmas room".  We wanted some accent walls with some color in them so we just finished painted the remaining walls a teal like color.  They turned out really well.  It took me two days.  Afterwards, mom rented one of those Rug Doctors and the cleaner that went with it and we went over a few of our carpets just to improve them a little.  They really need to be ripped up and replaced but we do not have the money at the moment so we have to do cheaper projects until we do.

Erika and Malachi swooped in from Reno around 7:30ish on Wednesday night.  Mom made a Thanksgiving dinner for everyone to enjoy.  Doug and Jenn made it down from Seattle around 10 and Ben came over after work was done.   I was so tired from getting up early, going to work and then finishing up the house and food.  I was out for the count.  Ben and I went to the store to get some stuff for Friday's Thanksgiving at the fire station with his mom and sister.  He does not get to celebrate Thanksgiving on the day of this year.  He was pretty bummed.  When we got home from the store we spent some time watching How I Met Your Mother, we are starting at the beginning and working our way through the series in order.  Then he had to go home to go to work the next day.

On Thanksgiving, I was so excited to sleep in.  I woke up and actually got out of bed around 10.  Doug and Jen were already up and Erika and Malachi came over shortly after to hang out before going to Kevin and Karla's house.  We got all of the food we were going to bring finished and packed up, people took showers, clean clothes on, grabbed the presents and headed on over (we were also celebrating fall birthdays).  Doug and Jen and Erika and Malachi all drove separate.  My car had mom and dad inside.  We had to go pick grandma up on the way.

We got there just after one, unpacked the car and brought everything in.  We visited for a while as Karla got everything done and put on the tables.  We said grace, piled food onto our plates and sat down and had some really interesting conversations, just as we always do.  We gave Grammie a hard time because she is always the last one done eating because of all of the visiting she did.  It was always funny.


Some of us had some dessert if you had some room, others went and relaxed and did more visiting.  We had our mini birthday party and I got a couple of Seahawk hats, a half zippy jacket, a picture frame and some scrapbook paper.  We did some more visiting and then everyone started falling asleep, that was our cue to start getting our stuff ready to go home.  I packed the car up, gathered everyone and we headed towards home.  We dropped off grandma and then took dad home.  We unloaded our bags and leftovers and put the chickens and ducks away.

I asked mom if she wanted to head to Walmart just to see all the crazy people and so we didn't sit at home in the cold being bored.  She said sure.  We headed to Yelm and we were disappointed.  It was more organized this year and there really weren't that many people being douchebags.  We walked around looking at some of the deals that were being offered this year.  We found a few movies, some bathroom things and some cat food and Cheerios.  Then we left and went home.  Doug and Jen showed up about 20 minutes later and we asked what they found and we visited for a bit.  I went into my room and turned on the heater.  It's been 25-30 degrees outside the past few days and it gets cold in there without the space heater.  I watched Season 10 of Bones, talked to Ben for a bit and then went to bed.  It was a long day.

Friday, we deemed family day.  Mom made a tater tot casserole and we had fruit along side of it.  We chatted and tried to decide what we wanted to do with our day.  Originally, mom wanted to go to the beach for the day but everyone poo pooed the idea because it was cold and no one really wanted to get up early to go.  The idea of going and seeing a movie was thrown around but no one really wanted to see the movies being suggested.  I mentioned going bowling as a family.  Everyone seemed to like that idea.  We went with it.

 
Erika and Malachi went with dad over to grandma's house to look at archery stuff while everyone else got ready to go bowling.  Around noonish we all left in separate cars.  I had to go to the store really quickly along the way to pick up some stuff for dinner at the fire station with Ben, his mom and sister later on.  We all met at the Westside Lanes and I was a little late.  Doug had bowled my first frame for me.


Beer was ordered and we all made fun of how bad we all were at bowling.  Mom hadn't bowled in almost 20 years and it showed.  Everyone had a unique style of bowling and Jenn's was the weirdest.  She's right-handed and steps with her right foot.  We tried to tell her that when you do that you take away all of your power and at that point you're just using your arm strength.  It seemed to work for her I guess.  We played three games and I lost every single one of them.  I did well in the first game.



Then mom wanted to go down to the Deschutes River to take a few pictures.  When we got there we were able to take a few until the security guard shooed everyone out of the park for closing time.  At that point we had convinced everyone to stay until Saturday morning so everyone could be in the photos, including Ben.



Then everyone was hungry and we drove back over to Westside and had dinner at Red Robin.  I had a drink and some fries to tie me over until dinner around 8ish.


We chatted, ate food and I took a few pictures.  By the time we were finished a paid I had to head to Littlerock.  From there I think mom and dad went home. and the others went to Target and then hung out at the hotel for a while.

I helped Ben and his mom finish the food.  He got a call while everything was cooking so we finished up the mashed potatoes, gravy and watched the ham.  When they got back, all of us and Parker, his shift partner all sat down and enjoyed our Thanksgiving.  It was nice. 





Afterwards we cleaned up a bit and took a few pictures of Ben and his family.  Unfortunately it was about that time and we all had to go home.  I told everyone good bye and headed home.  I took a shower and then Doug came in and bothered me for a half hour.  I talked to Ben one more time and then passed out.  I was tired.

Next Adventure:  Mount Rainier Winter Time Adventure

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