Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you have plenty to be thankful for and that you are surrounded by loves ones today!
Hopefully you have received your newsletter, whether by U.S. Mail or e-mail. We really need to clarify something: we have not even begun to sell Camp yet! Yes, we are going to take steps during 2016 but we in no way believe it will be sold right away! Settle down, people! The process can take years; that’s why we are starting now.
We’ve been busy since returning to Iowa. I’ve been teaching way too much! It sure gets in the way of fun, fun, fun! Gruper has been trapping raccoons again and even got a fox! I hope fur prices are better than last year; he worked hard for his pocket change. I always come home a week or so before Gruper and have plenty of trapping to do on my own! Even though our house is empty of food, mice realize they have a place to hang out during the summer. We live just far enough out that there are a bunch o’ mice apparently needing shelter! During a power outage we got two for the price of one:
Our weekends have been pretty busy. Right after returning home we helped our matriarch Pat celebrate a landmark birthday for about a solid week!
The culminating event was a lovely sit-down dinner at Steventons in LeClaire. It was an incredible affair handpicked by Pat! We dressed up:
Of course, we will be spending today with her and the rest of “our” family!
I’ve been spending time with the greats as much as time allows! Halloween was fun! I attended Boo at the Zoo with four of the babies!
Alysha was Draculara
Mya was Scooby Doo (she LOVES puppies)!
Emma was a polar bear:
and Gavin was Superman (seen here loving his Grandma Rebecca)!
Mackayla was a good devil. I didn’t get a pic but I sure did one day at the park. Here she is with her cousin Gavin:
That leaves Jack…clear out on Whidbey Island, WA. Oh, yes, that’s where we left off with our last blog entry! We were on a ferry heading to Whidbey Island after visiting Seattle and Tacoma! We found Navy nephew Jake and his son Jack out there!
Navy mom Jessica is currently on a ship but will be home in time for Christmas! The guys are holding their own but miss her very much! Both of them were Ghostbusters for Halloween. Here’s Jack without his jumpsuit (complete with name tag and embellishments):
The guys kept us entertained for a couple of days. The weather was absolutely perfect! We visited the beach ’cause you know I’m all about that:
Speaking of beaches, we will spend Christmas and New Year’s on Marco Island, Florida! Kraig and Jenny will join us again to help ring in the New year (does two years constitute a tradition?)!
Speaking of Jenny, she joined Sal and me in Madison last weekend for a glass blowing class (how cool is that???)! Sal and I braved a snowstorm to get there. We probably should have cancelled but chose to chalk it up to experience for future reference. Our creations are still in Madison but I took a couple of pics:
Well, it’s time to get ready for the Turkey Trot! Sal and I have 5 miles to walk before we can enjoy our meals guilt-free! We walk a lot, especially since it’s been so beautiful out!
Enjoy your day! Be thankful for what you have, be kind to others and bring joy whenever and wherever you can! This grouse is thankful he’s not a turkey (mind you, there were hunters all over the place when I took this pic!):
