Thankful - for everything

I've missed posting, and hearing from you guys! The lull was due to being in (rural) Ohio. We went to my mom's parent's for Thanksgiving, and to celebrate both of their 80th birthdays and 59th Anniversary! That's a lot of celebrating (and a lot of good food)! I love that Thanksgiving is about people and being together, and smoked turkey, and being thankful for what you have, and not so much about "things". All of my mom's siblings and their families and THEIR families made it for the weekend, with the exception of one of my mom's sisters who had the flu. We rented a hall where we could be together during the day. It was a special time and especially good to see my Grandma again. She hasn't been doing as well the last couple of months but I thought she looked exceptionally well last weekend! Love you, Grandma! A couple of the pics were taken with my phone due to my camera battery dying and me having neglected to grab the spare battery and charger.

Grandpa and Maia

The food was amazing!!

My Aunt Joy, Madi and Maia. Oh, the fun of a marble roller!

 Daniel, Kris, Madi and Maia 

 Grandma was just enthralled and amazed at how Madi could navigate the cell phone and pull up Old MacDonald on you-tube, take pictures, play games, etc. Madi sat and showed her things for hours.

 Dawnita, Abbie and Megan

 Connor was thrilled to play ping-pong!

 My cousin, Tonia, and I

Madi found a new friend in her second cousin, Brinna 

 All 45 of us! The Bylers & Co made up more than half with 24!

 We had to stop while they let the cows out to pasture! 

Jenn and I stayed at our cousins place which is 20 minutes away from my Grandparents, in "the sticks". We were armed with a Google Maps print-out, a cell phone with internet, a not-so-bright pair of headlights, a good sense of humor and determination not to have to stop and ask for directions or call for help. Apparently, everyone in Ohio knows every. single. road. as many of the roads don't have signs out by the intersection. The small, white sign, which is about 5 in x 7 in, is placed about 50 ft away from the intersection, down the road in question. We had to turn onto every. single. road. and shine the headlights onto the sign before we could even see what the road number was, as the signs weren't visible in the dark just driving past, and if it wasn't correct, turn around and keep going. We succeeded, though, albeit half an hour longer than it should have taken us!

Just before we left for home, I stopped to fill up my aunt's car that I had borrowed while we were there. The only gas station for quite a few miles was this rinky dink place that was closed, except for the credit card machine at the pump. Each pump was a different grade of gas so you had to drive to the correct pump. The credit card machine was in the middle of the service island and serviced all 3 pumps. It directed me to swipe my card, which I did. It then instructed me to enter the odometer reading. Odometer reading?? This was somewhat puzzling as I wondered what that info had to do with purchasing gas...!! Jenn gave me the reading and we were laughing so hard that Dad got out to see what the joke was. After I entered the odometer reading, it prompted me to enter the "job number". We were all laughing so hard by that point and Dad said, "Just put in 55", which I did! It accepted the number and the pump roared to life, vibrating like a rocket about to launch! Wow. Talk about a blast from the past - and a lot further back than MY past!

Today: We are getting over the nasty bug that followed us home, and took several of us down with it yesterday. Triple arm pump! How I hate to be sick, but it WAS fun watching movies in bed with Abbie! She now knows the quote, "What would you do with two?" "The same as you do with one!" :D Awesome movie.

How is it possible that this is the LAST DAY of NOVEMBER already? And that it was in the 60's today and I ran an errand in flip-flops?? I love a warm fall, but it doesn't give much hope for a white Christmas! Please, December, be kind to us and overlook the fact that November forgot to turn off the heat! Please!