Where do I start? Thanksgiving holiday is family reunion time for my loved ones and our numbers just keep increasing every year. This year everyone was able to attend except Paige & Phil (expecting a baby in 3 weeks mol), Seth (visited his parents)and Daniel (had to work). GG'Daddy requested that we meet at the Fort D home this year and we did. At one time we had 32 people in the house and it was crowded to say the least.
Kyle & Todd accompanied me in the "wentel car" that I rented to accomodate all our luggage, car seats, heavy coats, etc. I got a lot of comments from the brothers-in- law about the "grandma car".....Mercury Marquis. It (the car) pretty much convinced me that I don't want one. Comfortable but not my style!
We arrived on Saturday afternoon, had a short visit with the GGs before bedtime. Attended church on Sunday and then went out to Aunt J's for the afternoon. Rode the Kubota back in the woods until dark. Kyle was fascinated with the deer tracks but we didn't find a deer. Got back to GG's, had dinner and a bath and Kyle told me "Pappi, I'm tired and want to go to bed".....what?!? That child has never told me he was ready for bed. Monday we went to Greenville with the GGs to Walmart and had lunch @ Cracker Barrel. Tuesday we went to Montgomery to see Aunt J @ her office. She was kind enough to take us to the flea market so that I could look for Fiestaware that I need. Wednesday we just hung out in Fort D as it was starting to get colder. Rode on the bug for a bit, pulled turnips, and picked up some pecans. Ashley & Kevin got to Fort D late in the afternoon.
Thursday was a busy day once the family started to arrive. Lunch was ready about 12:30 and there was such a feast. Everyone outdid themselves this year. BUT just about everything was gone by the time dinner was over that night. Callie's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year so we had a surprise party for her.I can't believe she is 11. The last of the family left about 9:30 and I went to bed and fell asleep immediately.
Friday we saw Ashley and Kevin off after lunch. They were meeting friends in Gainesville for the UF/FSU game. After naptime we took Callie and Gracie shopping in Montgomery to pick out some birthday duds. They found some cute stuff and we went over to the skating rink to watch the skaters and eat a snack before heading over to the zoo. We met the McCanns, TW & Ellen, Rick & Brooke 2, and the Busbys to take the train tour. What a great time we had. Kyle's favorite turned out to be the singing frogs. They were so cute, they jump up to the lily pads and sing Jingle Bells.
Saturday came all too quickly. We had to leave the GGs standing in the yard as we started our trip back to Florida. Stopped by Aunt J's on the way out of town to let the boys run around a few minutes. They were so good on the trip to Gainesville. Once we got to Gatorland we had dinner @ Steak & Shake and went to the hotel to have a bath and watch the remainder of the game.
We had breakfast on Sunday with Chris, Brent, Meagan & Chris, Steve and Casey and then I had to tell my little boys and their mom and dad goodbye. I miss those little guys after having them with me for a whole week. It's awfully quiet here in my "little house" and GG'mama says her house is just way too quiet.
I am thankful for my family and I hope we will always be as close as we are in 2007. I am thankful for my health and that of all my family. I am thankful that I have been blessed to still have my parents. I am thankful for my children and their children and that they allow me to share their lives in such a big way. God bless each and every one.
November 26, 2007
November 15, 2007
Almost Time for "Thanksgiving Christmas"
Every year we gather back in Fort D to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one day. This tradition started a lot of years ago when the Biagi kids were small. I missed seeing my family during the holiday season, but did not want to take our kids away from home and Santa @ Christmas, so we started visiting my home town every year for Thanksgiving. Slowly it evolved into everyone making it a priority to be "home" for this day. An impromptu family reunion.
Our family has grown with grands, their special significant others, and the great grands with which we are blessed. My Ed loved this time of celebration and had grown to love my family as his own. I think he looked more forward to this trip than any of the rest of us. Ed has been gone for almost 10 years. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it feels like a hundred years. But one thing I know as sure as I am writing this post is that he lives on in spirit and will be smiling down on all of us again this year with joy in his heart.
Paige and PG will not make the trip this year but for the most special reason of all. The newest little family member will be born sometime in December and again our family grows. As far as I know everyone else will be at at GG's house for Turkey Day.
If there is one thing I have learned in living all the years I have under my belt (and no I will not tell how many if you don't know.....) is that nothing is more important in this life than family.
Our family has grown with grands, their special significant others, and the great grands with which we are blessed. My Ed loved this time of celebration and had grown to love my family as his own. I think he looked more forward to this trip than any of the rest of us. Ed has been gone for almost 10 years. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it feels like a hundred years. But one thing I know as sure as I am writing this post is that he lives on in spirit and will be smiling down on all of us again this year with joy in his heart.
Paige and PG will not make the trip this year but for the most special reason of all. The newest little family member will be born sometime in December and again our family grows. As far as I know everyone else will be at at GG's house for Turkey Day.
If there is one thing I have learned in living all the years I have under my belt (and no I will not tell how many if you don't know.....) is that nothing is more important in this life than family.
November 13, 2007
Weekend @ Home
It is always nice to be able to spend time @ home (Quiet Water) and this past weekend was no exception. The weather was beautiful and there were no bugs. The driveway entrance is a mess right now but should be all finished by Thanksgiving. One more trip scheduled before the end of the year. The Tennessee folks start arriving the first week of January and will be in residence until the end of March.
Special treat for me was the final day of the Offshore Power Boat Race in KW. Didn't know until I got to KW on Sunday afternoon to do some shopping and saw the helicopters buzzing over the Hyatt. I was able to get a spot on the rail of one of the piers and got some good pictures. Would I ever like to take a ride in one of those boats just once! What a ride that would be.
It has been a wild Monday (on a Tuesday) today at work. Doncha know the rest of this week is going to be about the same. Any time I plan to on vacation for a few days it seems someone tells the gremlins and lots of overtime has to be done in order to take the scheduled vacation days. No matter I will be leaving early Saturday morning for Alabama with my two little guys in tow. I look forward to spending a few days with my family up there.
Special treat for me was the final day of the Offshore Power Boat Race in KW. Didn't know until I got to KW on Sunday afternoon to do some shopping and saw the helicopters buzzing over the Hyatt. I was able to get a spot on the rail of one of the piers and got some good pictures. Would I ever like to take a ride in one of those boats just once! What a ride that would be.
It has been a wild Monday (on a Tuesday) today at work. Doncha know the rest of this week is going to be about the same. Any time I plan to on vacation for a few days it seems someone tells the gremlins and lots of overtime has to be done in order to take the scheduled vacation days. No matter I will be leaving early Saturday morning for Alabama with my two little guys in tow. I look forward to spending a few days with my family up there.
November 5, 2007
First Weekend of November
The weekend was busy to say the least. Friday night Ashley and the boyz arrived @ about 10:00 pm and the fun began. After a few hello kisses and a snack we all got to bed so that we could be up early on Saturday for the Gator game in Gainesville.
We checked the weather forecast before we left which told us that the high in G'ville would be 73 degrees at game time. When we left Clearwater it was chilly outside so we thought the weather guessers were probably correct. Got the G'ville a couple of hours before game time (we never get there that close to kickoff so we ran into some traffic) and had some lunch at the Orange n Brew. Decided we should buy the little boys some new sweatshirts (for the chilly weather.....remember the forecast??) Then on to the stadium. We were in the sun for a good part of the afternoon so sweatshirts came off quickly. The Gators won and looked good doing it.
Grandpa Ed would have been proud of the little guys @ the game. Kyle used the "noculars" and followed the game play by play for the entire first half. Every time the Gators scored a touchdown he would high five us. Todd is a boy after Ed's heart (he who would never leave a game until the final whistle blew) When we suggested leaving at the beginning of the 4th quarter he told his mama "no, the game not over" I would say we have a couple of football fans on our hands.
Next day I got to spend time with the boys all day. Mama left early to get to FM for the JL Taste of the Town. We left around noon and got to the park, bought lots of tickets and spent most of them playing in the bounce house, on the slides and on ice cream cones. We found mama, daddy, Auntie Paige, and Uncle PG and visited just long enough to say hello then we were off and running. I didn't win the VW convertible .....Kyle had decided it was "cute" and wanted to ride in it... so we left and went home for dinner, bath, stories and bedtime for the boys. Pappi sat in the Queen Chair and put her feet up! Stopped by Paige & Phil's on the way out to say hi and bye.
My trip back to Clearwater was a challenge as there was another bad accident that closed I-75 North. Apparently pretty bad as I found out this morning that the road was still closed and would be until further notice. This is the second time this has happened when I am on the way back. All I have to say is that I am very fortunate that someone is looking out for me and that I was not traveling at the time either of these accidents happened. The detours add more time to the trip but at least when I get back on the interstate I can count myself lucky that I am still on my way home and was not involved in the mishaps.
All in all it was a great weekend. I decided this morning that I definitely must get back to gym. I have to work hard to stay in good enough shape to keep up with my little grands and with another on the way I need to work on that stamina.
We checked the weather forecast before we left which told us that the high in G'ville would be 73 degrees at game time. When we left Clearwater it was chilly outside so we thought the weather guessers were probably correct. Got the G'ville a couple of hours before game time (we never get there that close to kickoff so we ran into some traffic) and had some lunch at the Orange n Brew. Decided we should buy the little boys some new sweatshirts (for the chilly weather.....remember the forecast??) Then on to the stadium. We were in the sun for a good part of the afternoon so sweatshirts came off quickly. The Gators won and looked good doing it.
Grandpa Ed would have been proud of the little guys @ the game. Kyle used the "noculars" and followed the game play by play for the entire first half. Every time the Gators scored a touchdown he would high five us. Todd is a boy after Ed's heart (he who would never leave a game until the final whistle blew) When we suggested leaving at the beginning of the 4th quarter he told his mama "no, the game not over" I would say we have a couple of football fans on our hands.
Next day I got to spend time with the boys all day. Mama left early to get to FM for the JL Taste of the Town. We left around noon and got to the park, bought lots of tickets and spent most of them playing in the bounce house, on the slides and on ice cream cones. We found mama, daddy, Auntie Paige, and Uncle PG and visited just long enough to say hello then we were off and running. I didn't win the VW convertible .....Kyle had decided it was "cute" and wanted to ride in it... so we left and went home for dinner, bath, stories and bedtime for the boys. Pappi sat in the Queen Chair and put her feet up! Stopped by Paige & Phil's on the way out to say hi and bye.
My trip back to Clearwater was a challenge as there was another bad accident that closed I-75 North. Apparently pretty bad as I found out this morning that the road was still closed and would be until further notice. This is the second time this has happened when I am on the way back. All I have to say is that I am very fortunate that someone is looking out for me and that I was not traveling at the time either of these accidents happened. The detours add more time to the trip but at least when I get back on the interstate I can count myself lucky that I am still on my way home and was not involved in the mishaps.
All in all it was a great weekend. I decided this morning that I definitely must get back to gym. I have to work hard to stay in good enough shape to keep up with my little grands and with another on the way I need to work on that stamina.
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