Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday because of the focus on food. What could be better for a girl who loves to be in the kitchen and loves the comfort food of Thanksgiving day?
On Saturday afternoon, November 21st, our good friend Sue took us to the Reno airport and helped us unload and check the hundreds of pounds of kids and gear that we needed for our trip to Seattle to meet up with Dave and Sarah (AKA Teddy and Nan) and Chris, Emily and their kids for the Thanksgiving holiday. We ended up checking two suitcases and two full size car seats and carrying on three backpacks, our coats and a stroller for Sam. The flight was on a smaller turbo-prop plane and was rather uneventful for the two hours in the air. We arrived on time in Seattle and were met by Dave and Chris at the airport. Our plan was to spend two nights in Bellevue at Chris and Emily's then drive three hours to the coast west of Tacoma to spend the remainder of the week in a rental house in Moclips, WA.
We arrived after the boys' normal bedtime and ended up letting them play way too long before trying to get them settled for the night. Ben was to sleep in Camille's room and Sam was in Harry's crib with us in a guest bed in the same room. The boys went down without a fuss but Sam ended up being pretty restless all night which in turn meant Brian and I got very little sleep. Luckily, we didn't have anything planned for Sunday until the late afternoon so we could lounge around the house and let the boys play. Ben and Sam loved playing with their cousins and their cousins' toys. And when two babysitters arrived to watch the FIVE kids while the adults went into the city, there was no fuss.
Our evening out was to Qwest Field in Seattle for the Major League Soccer Championship game between Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy (team of soccer hunk David Beckham). We took the bus into the city to avoid parking issues and wandered through booths of sponsors outside the stadium where we also heard a couple of songs by Third Eye Blind. Another huge bonus was that after having rain fall all night Saturday, and all day Sunday it broke for the evening.
I can honestly say that the only soccer I had watched previously was played by kids and was rather boring to watch at times. And I can honestly say that after going to one of
the big games of the year for professional soccer, I am hooked! The intensity of the crowd was amazing and the game was a nail-biter going down to overtime and penalty kicks!
It was also nice to come home to sleeping kids, though apparently Ben made the sitters really earn their pay by not falling asleep until thirty minutes prior to us getting home.
The next morning, Monday, we packed suitcases, boxes, and food and set out on the three-hour drive to the coast. We were literally packed like sardines in the mini van that Brian's parents rented. The boys napped most of the way and again we traveled in rain. It was getting dark by the time we reached the house but it was a welcome sight for cramped legs and hungry tummies.
The boys immediately picked their room, a bunk room off the living room, and began playing while I started on black bean burgers for dinner. After dinner the Bellevue Browders arrived.
Despite the rain, we spent lots of time taking walks and going to the beach. We seemed to be decked out in raincoats and boots for at least a couple of hours every day. The kids loved exploring the beach and playing together in the bunk room. A few minor disagreements occurred but overall the kids got along incredibly well despite the age range of 7 1/2 to 19 months. All the kids loved reading the new books Nan brought for them especially, "Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice."
We decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday instead of Thursday so we could enjoy the leftovers before returning to Seattle on Friday. The food was wonderful. Sam loved Aunt Emily's pumpkin pie.
Whether it was the cold, rainy weather or a bug picked up at school or traveling, it seemed that the kids were all starting to show signs of colds during the week. By Thursday morning Ben was vomiting and generally uncomfortable, luckily by the end of the day he seemed more like himself but worn out. By 3:00 A.M. on Friday I was the one vomiting and spent nearly 18 hours in hell, including the the three-hour drive inland. I can't remember the last time I felt so crummy and was little to no help when it came to packing and cleaning the house before we departed. In eighteen hours I wasn't even able to keep water down.
We spent Friday night at a hotel in Renton with Dave and Sarah so we could make our 7:50 A.M. flight. They were wonderful with the boys in my compromised state and I wish I could say we all got a great night's sleep but we didn't. Everyone was either coughing or restless and by the time we needed to get up and head toward the airport we were all exhausted. Luckily, I was able to drink some water during the night and keep it down so I considered myself to be on the mend.
We had no problems with security at the airport or flight delays and the boys were very well-behaved on the plane. We got into Reno and Sue picked us up and brought us home. We found out later that nearly everyone in the family ended up being sick in some way. Holidays are always lots of work - travel, kids, etc. but throw in sickness and it's a whole new ball game. Hopefully Christmas will be less eventful.
I'll post photos once I get them on the computer.
