Thanksgiving Day

I just realized that I didn't post anything about my wonderful Thanksgiving and it was wonderful. We were invited to my son and dil's new house. I think we were all anxious to celebrate in new surroundings and to see how they have decorated for the holidays. They have a beautiful staircase that they garlanded up and the mantel had stockings hanging along with a beautifully decorated tree. All of my immediate family was there - that always makes it special. We picked up Mom and brought her wheelchair to make it a little easier and our daughter, sil and lil Peanut came too (in a seperate car).

The turkey was done differently this year, they marinaded it in a brine overnight and then my dil put lots of herbs and stuff under the skin. It was DELICIOUSLY MOIST!! Gotta get that recipe in case I do the turkey next year. She also did her traditional 'White Castle' stuffing (if you haven't tried this yet you need to). I did the sides - potatoes (I forgot sweet potatoes :(), broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots and a relish tray. My daughter did the desserts - pumpkin pie and this wonderful chocolate mousse in little chocolate cups with chocolate leaves. I think we all agreed it was a wonderful mix where no one was overworked. Oh yeah, my dil also made a favorite appetizer of cream cheese covered with shrimp sauce and crab meat served with crackers.

We had a wonderful time visiting and exploring new things they have done - the nursery - as well as hear all about their recent cruise. It was wonderfully (there's that word again lol) relaxing. Peanut loves exploring Uncle and Aunties house and playing with the dog (the cats were locked up for GG) - she especially loves the dog's water dish lol. After dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood to make room for dessert. It was fun seeing all the ourdoor decorations. We're learning how independent Peanut is - she wants to walk on her own and in her own direction lol. She was really good for the whole visit - no meltdowns at all. After our walk we sat down for dessert and then I remembered that we hadn't taken any pictures to remember the day, so around the tree we went. I love the new mix of our family as it grows - we are wonderfully BLESSED and THANKFUL!!

Who Said The Economy Was Bad?

You’d never believe it if you were traveling in the state of Michigan this weekend. The roads were thick with traffic. Between the hunting traffic (it’s small game and bow season) and people looking for some Michigan ‘color’ there were lots of cars.

We went to Mackinaw Island this weekend with our daughter, sil and peanut. It is so much more fun with a little one around. We got an early start on Friday and it took us about 5 hours of driving to get to a campground. We pulled into Mill Creek Campground around 10:00 p.m. and the kids got there around 12:30. Exhausting! Saturday we got a slow start since we were up late (at least late for us) the night before.

SIL is used to taking the Shepler Ferry across so that’s what we did. I always end up taking a photo on the boat when everyone is still fresh.


Once on the island we rented bikes and a ‘burley carrier’ for peanut. The rental place said she didn’t need a helmet, but the kids had already bought one for her so we thought we’d give it a try.

She kept it on for about 2 seconds. She was ready for a nap anyway and that’s how she spent most of our trip around the island. Personally, I love the bike ride around the island. It is an easy ride and this late in the season it wasn’t too crowded. We were just getting back into town when it started sprinkling. We almost made it, but we didn’t get too wet. The kids were behind us and they had a little bike mishap with the chain coming off so they got a little wetter fixing that.

Once we returned in the bikes we went to the old time photo place and the kids got a family photo. Peanut looked so cute, but they wouldn’t let me take any pictures since it is a studio. After that we had lunch and did the usual touristy stuff including buying lots of their famous fudge. At the Lilac Tree store they had this little cutout for a photo op.

On the boat ride back we were all a little tired. The rest of the evening was filled with dinner and a campfire. Nice evening.

Peanut was happy and playing outside the next day. Don’t you love her ‘surprised’ face? She gives you that look often. I just love it!

Thought I’d add a picture of the Fall Color. I don’t think it’s peaked yet, maybe next weekend. It was beautiful, and we just wanted to keep traveling, but home again it was for us. Color should be even better for our trip next weekend. I’ll let you know.