Thanksgiving This Year

Our daughter and her family flew home for Thanksgiving again this year. Travel is more challenging with three children. 

 

Normally we would meet them at Detroit airport with a borrowed van, help collect their luggage then all pile into the van for the drive to London. This time they had to manage on their own renting a vehicle big enough for a family of five with three little ones in car seats. It is a logistical nightmare. We were impressed with how well they managed.

They arrived on Thanksgiving Saturday around 10 p.m. a little later than planned as the border crossing was busier than expected. We didn't take pictures. It was late and the kids were tired. After a quick bath and story, they were happy to snuggle down to sleep in their lovely new tent.

This year we delayed closing our pool hoping our grandchildren would be able to use it when they visited. Thankfully we awoke to warm sunny weather perfect for swimming on both Sunday and Monday. It was fun unwinding in the pool before everybody arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. 

We loved swimming so late in the season with our grandchildren. 

Instead of swimming, our newest grandson enjoyed cozy cuddles.

This year we hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. My husband cooked both a turkey and spiral cut ham outside on his new Kamado ceramic smoker and grill. I prepared mashed potatoes, baked vegetables, cream corn and stuffing inside. My Mom brought pies (pumpkin and lemon meringue) and butter buns. My mother-in-law made salad. It was a fantastic feast with enough leftovers to last all week.

Our newest grandson slept through most of the festivities ... so sweet.

We managed to squeeze everybody around two tables in the dining room.

I love how our grandson was mesmerized by the flickering lights.

Our grandson was also entertained by ceiling fans and smiling faces too.

Thanksgiving Monday, we spent the morning swimming before heading to my brother-in-law's cottage near Bayfield. They call it "Lasting Memories Cottage" aptly named as so many happy memories are being made there.

 

 

It was a perfect day for a walk on the beach ... collecting stones.

Stones gathered from the beach were used to construct an Inuksuk back at the cottage. I think our son did a good job with a little help.

With tired kids, we left for home before the sun had set. Our sister-in-law sent us this photo ... a perfect end to a special Thanksgiving This Year.

This year, my husband and I both worked while our grandchildren were here. He was too busy to take time off and I have used all but three days of my vacation. I am saving those days for when they visit at Christmas and New Years. It wasn't a problem as they had planned activities with our parents every day.

In the mornings before work, our grandson would play and chat with me while I relaxed with a green tea latte in the living room. I learned to step carefully as Lego "disappeared" on that carpet. Our granddaughter woke up early enough only once to join in on the fun.

I managed to get a few snapshots showing how they spent their week while we were at work. They kept busy with lunches out, parks, visits to great grandparents' houses plus a trip to Stratford ... so many things.

My Mom (aka GG) joined the kids for story time one night ... so much fun.

In Stratford, they visited an "old" family friend Zibby and Gus where they posed for a group shot. I heard they enjoyed fresh baked treats.

Thursday night, they visited our niece and her husband to meet Pippin their kitten and play Wii.

Cuddles with the baby ... never get enough.

On Friday, we got off work a little early. My husband made good use of his Kamado smoker and grill making pizza for dinner ... very tasty treat.

Our grandchildren enjoyed another swim before dinner.

Our niece and her husband joined us for 'games' night Friday. Actually I sat and chatted while the 'kids' played Pictionary ... lots of laughs.

Saturday was a warm day, but rainy. Instead of going to Kustermans Berry Farm as planned, we went to Adventures on Wonderland - an indoor play area. Although it was crazy busy and noisy, our grandchildren loved it.

Our grandson loved these shakers. I could keep him entertained for ages.

On Sunday, my husband put his Kamado smoker and grill to work one more time preparing beef brisket for dinner. It was a relatively warm day so I went for one last swim with our grandchildren before finally closing the pool for the winter. 

As he often did, our littlest grandson slept through our 'good-bye" dinner. Our son had to drive home later that night while our daughter and her family started packing and preparing to fly home the next day. 

We enjoyed our week with the little ones and look forward to seeing them again at Christmas. They have not been home for Christmas since forever. I can't even remember when. This year they will be joining us for two weeks. I am super excited and already feeling more interested in decorating for the holidays. Only 60 more days ... yes I'm counting.

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Cleaning for Company

Yesterday we celebrated our April family birthdays with dinner and cake. As I wrote last year, this is one of our favourite ways to commemorate birthdays. In case you missed it, you can read about last year's birthday party here.

To make dinner parties special, I like to spend extra time cleaning the house. It's not about 'showing off' how clean our house can be, it's about making the house feel more welcoming for the party. 

I personally love a clean house, but can go ages without cleaning when busy with crochet projects. Since there are just so many hours in a day, I have to prioritize. I figure, it's more efficient to clean before company so it's nice for the evening plus feels great all week.

With this in mind, I started right after my morning coffee and crochet session yesterday. I made a shopping list for my husband to get him out of the way and got busy shaking mats, vacuuming, dusting and mopping. 

I realized early on that my initial plan to clean, walk the dog, bike and complete food prep was going to have to be scaled back if I wanted to be ready for the party on time. My husband wanted to try out his new cross bike, so I suggested he ride while I carried on cleaning. Having him out of the house makes cleaning easier plus I figured it would help tire him out so I could keep up the next day when I knew I could fit in a ride.

In case you're wondering how my husband got off so easy, let me tell you, he didn't. He did all the shopping, prepped the winter wheels from the Santa Fe for storage, cleaned the garage floor, got his Z4 out of storage and cleaned the TT. Actually, I suggested he wash the TT, partly because it needed cleaning and partly because I wanted to keep him out of the house until I finished getting ready for the party. 

So you see, he was busy too. For dinner, he managed the barbecue and did a great job keeping drinks topped up. 

As always, our family birthday dinner was tons of fun.  The menu included chicken drumsticks cooked on the barbecue, small roasted potatoes (boiled then finished with butter in foil also on the barbecue), baby bok choy sauteed with onions and roasted broccoli with garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Everybody said it was delicious.

For dessert, we had a yummy "Gourmet" Banana Cake from Metro in Byron.

My Mum-In-Law (April 8th) and Dad (April 10th) shared blowing-out-the-candles duties on their cake. We all sang Happy Birthday.

Blue candles were out in one go. I think our poodle interfered with the red ones.

 We all laughed as the candles stayed lit after at least two attempts.

Three tries and still one candle burned brightly ... too funny. One more try did the trick.

My husband's cousin Graham and his wife Erika joined us for dessert. It was so good to see them and catch up. 

We have been lazy about inviting people over and socializing for the last few years. I think we need to change that. We have such a good time when we get together and share food, drinks and laughs with our family and friends. Besides, I seem to need a good reason to clean more often.

Cleaning for Company is the best reason to clean as far as I'm concerned. What do you think? Do you enjoy cleaning just because or do you need a good reason too?

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