Grandchildren on the Go!

Early Monday evening the phone rang and a little voice said, "May I please speak to Papa?" I responded, "Hi Chloe, how are you?" She responded, "Grandma, I NEED to talk to Papa," so I handed the phone to him and picked up an extension.(No time for Grandma at this point. :) ) She had called to tell him all the details of an owl she had just spotted. It was an interesting conversation....if you are really into birds, like Papa is. The next subject was about the feast that their pre-school was having the following day and by now Claire was on the phone extension at their house. They were bursting with information about all the things they had done to prepare the feast including cutting vegetables for the 'Pilgrim stew' and making decorations. Claire in her precious dramatic way said, "There is so much to do tomorrow that I will be exhausted when it is over". We had been invited to come and told them we were very excited too. It was a real treat for us. The class sang several songs and entertained us very well. The class name is the Busy Beavers and apparently this is their mascot.

The children filed into the room in their costumes including headbands and name necklaces. Chloe's Indian name was Skipping Skunk and Claire's Indian name was Sleepy Buffalo.

Chris came along with his Mommy and Daddy and got to taste the yummy Pilgrim stew.

Following the feast, Claire and Chloe got to come home with us for a couple of nights to give Mike and Paula a little less action at their house while they prepared to host Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. On Wednesday, the girls and I did some baking. They were really excited and after watching a video of their favorite cook, Paula Deen, giving instructions, we made one of her recipes called Carmel Apple Cheesecake Bars. It had so much butter in it, along with cream cheese and sugar, that I felt like I had gained five pounds just being in the room. It was pretty tasty, but you could only eat a tiny, tiny, piece, it was so rich. In the afternoon we made a Better Homes and Gardens award winning recipe of a Banana Pound cake. I'm not sure how it won an award, because neither the girls nor I liked it at all, and Papa ate a small piece, and then cut it in half and put it in the freezer. You know the story, freeze it for a few months and then throw it away, at least that's how it usually works for us.

 

We got up early Thanksgiving morning, did just a little more cooking, and got dressed to head to Claire and Chloe's house. They were so thrilled to find both Uncle John (Paula's brother) and Richard, their cousin, and Uncle Jon already at their house. Uncle John, Claire, and Richard took some time to read a book or two.

The sad news when we arrived was that Christopher had gotten suddenly ill. Poor little guy, he spent much of the day either on Papa's lap or sleeping. Can't say that Papa minded at all, he was very content to hold and comfort his sweet little grandson.

Meanwhile, Claire and Chloe found plenty of time to dance in the driveway prior to the rest of the cousins, aunts and uncles arriving.

We all had a wonderful time, ate way too much of the delicious dinner, and enjoyed the company of family. Thank you to Mike and Paula for hosting such a great day. Some of the group took a walk at dusk, prior to trying the desserts. As I say so often, we are blessed beyond measure, and our Thanksgiving holiday, once again, proved that clearly.