Wow. It's over. Thanksgiving Break is actually over. We had anticipated this weekend for quite awhile, and it's over. It was good, but not as good as expected. It was fun, but we're all exhausted and ready to get back into our routine.
We took off on Wednesday for Illinois after Rob got off work at 2pm. For once, we actually left at the time I wanted to leave! Usually it takes a half-hour longer, but this time we were on the road by 2:30pm. Just as we were leaving Watertown, it started to snow, then quickly turned into rain. And the rain, rain, rain came down, down down...thankfully not in rushing, rising rivlets. It was tolerable and we didn't have to pull off the road once. It did take us an hour longer because we crawled around Rockford on I-90/I-39. I'm guessing it was extra traffic/two small accidents that caused the back-up. Then we crawled over the bridge near Ottawa since only one lane was open. We were very ready to stop at my parents' home for supper that night!
The kids had fun playing with my folks that evening and the next morning. We took off after breakfast (turkey bacon--ha-ha!) and went over to Rob's side in Normal. Yes, my husband is from Normal. Make all the jokes you want. We made mashed potatoes, Rob made gravy and carved the turkey breast, and brought the grandkids for entertainment. We ate over at his grandparent's home with 10 adults and the two boys in attendance. We had a wonderful time, but didn't get to visit as long as we would have liked to with everyone. That just seems to happen with large family gatherings.
We did have a wonderful time visiting with Rob's brother, Andy. The kids just love their Uncle Andy, who always comes over when we visit. He wags them around and wrestles and in general roughs them up pretty good when he comes over. He's going to be a full-fledged Daddy in the next two weeks (the sooner, the better, Melissa??) so he needs the practice. Rob and I both enjoy sitting and talking with Andy. Again, I'd just like to say that it is so nice to be nearer to family and to SEE people, not just talk over the phone!!
Oh, one funny thing we saw on Thursday: We went to Meijer's to find a toy for MJ (didn't get it) and on the way back, we looked over at Best Buy and saw a line of about 30-50 people (with tents and sleeping bags) already lined up for the opening on Friday morning. We laughed about it, declaring them crazy, then found out that Rob's other brother (Dan) and his wife had actually waited outside a Circuit City like that! I suppose we might have been crazy enough to do that in our pre-kid years, too. Enjoy that computer Dan...you earned it!!
Rob and I packed up and took off on Friday morning, without the kids. They were invited to stay for another day to spend more time with their grandparents and to get to see Uncle Dan and Aunt Kim. We had a nice drive home, stopping for lunch at a Cracker Barrel. You just can't beat good, southern cooking at low prices (right, Mom?) Rob and I had huge lists to accomplish, but didn't get much done simply because we didn't know where to start! He did get two papers completed and I got some Tupperware stuff taken care of along with a bit of housework, but it just didn't seem like we had enough time. I'm also getting over a headcold, so that didn't help my drive to work at all!
The kids had a great time with their grandparents. They went to the Make-A-Mess Fun Center on Friday. It has a ball pit (gasp!), slides, an inflatible obstacle course, fishing game, dress up, sand area, painting, you name it! They had a blast, but I think Matthew has talked more about Uncle Dan's puppy, Charlie. Little boys and puppies just belong together. (As for me, keep the dog and give me a bird anyday.) The kiddos came home Saturday afternoon and were rather tired, but very happy. They pleaded with Grandma to stay, and as Grandma and Grandpa were pulling out of the drive, Matthew said in a sad voice, "Good-bye, Grandma. I love you!"
We let them rip around the house for a few hours, then we all bundled up tight and walked the few blocks to Main Street to watch the "Parade of Lights." Matthew is now a seasoned parade-goer, so it took no prompting to get him to run out in the street to collect candy, stuffed animals, glow sticks, and coffee packets. They had fun, but eventually Benjamin wanted to run out, too. We didn't let him, but Rob did hold him for a bit. It was very fun, but very cold, so we went home to have chili for supper and warm up.
It was a good weekend overall, so I guess we really can't complain. I think I just had too many high hopes about my childless day....the list was too long to complete! Oh well....why do today what you can put off until tomorrow, right???
Happy Belated Thanksgiving from the Litwillers!!
3 comments:
Sounds like you had a fuller weekend than we did. We just lazed around my sis-in-law's place and ate at two Indian restaurants. Well, I mean besides the big Thanksgiving dinner with the 25 people--other than that the visit was pretty low key, fun and relaxing.
Sounds like a fun-filled time! That make-a-mess place sounds wonderful...especially if someone else takes the kids, LOL!
Yay for grandparents!!! I thought a house full of people and a baby was going to be stressful but it ended up being a house full of babysitters - wohoo!!! How's the tupperware coming?
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