Days with the Dorans

Every other year we alternate Thanksgivings and I'm glad this was a Drapal Thanksgiving because the Hewsons came in from Canada! It feels like forever since we have seen them because of Covid and I couldn't believe how big Torin Lee is! It was just the three of them and a pretty quick visit but I was so excited to see them! Of course the younger Drapals and Aunt Barb and Gary made it too! The food was SOOO good and I made Great-Nan's Sweet-Potato Balls ! We didn't do the Turkey Trot this year because of Covid but I still got a run in. The next day we did our turkey trot run and boy were we stuffed but we made it! I love the time with my two favorite runners! It was COLD! I think Canada brought their weather with them!

How weird to have only these pictures from Thanksgiving on my phone. Clearly someone else had it. The morning was a bit chaotic as Jeff chose to go disc golfing while we were running (and his stuff takes A LOT longer). He got one of the wrong ingredients for what I make even though I put CRUSHED pineapple in all-caps. Oh well~ he eventually got it and we got there. Hopefully next year no disc golf though- too crazy of a day. So having run and not eaten, when I got to the Drapals and had a nice relaxing glass of red, I felt it quite soon. Steph and I got on Amazon and started Christmas shopping and I think I got most everyone done! (BONUS!!) The food was amazing as always and we had fun playing games. The cousins (humans and pups) also had a great day. Thankful for everyone! **I must mention that the next day we headed north to Grandma's where we had a great time but I didn't take any pictures (and clearly no one else grabbed my phone to take pictures like they did her...

 After we got home from the race, we showered and were on the road to Grandma's! We Turkey Trotters sported our shirts and medals (tradition) and we had fun seeing the Doran cousins. The Gillespie boys weren't there but we were excited that JD, Mary and Abby were! We haven't seen JD in a while, so it was really good to see him and catch up for a bit. I had to laugh when I saw the boys all on the couch doing this! The good news is they weren't really like that the whole time! Dinner was super yummy as always, but I forgot to get any pictures of the yummy food. Needless to say it was all very delicious and I ate more than I should have (even WITH the run). After dinner, we cleaned up and Grandma had some games planned! She's always got fun games that we play whether they are board games or card games. This year it had a "Minute to Win It" type thing. The kids stacked cups and then later moved them down the table with balloons. That was toug...

After we FINALLY got home from the run, showered, and I made my sweet-potato-balls, we were finally on our way. Thankfully it was a Drapal year which meant we weren't far from home AND Marty was allowed to come! I was so tired! I was up at 4am (thinking about Blue) and then all the craziness in the D... I didn't have anything to eat so when I got to the Drapals I grabbed some cheese and wine and sat in the best seat in the house, sipped... and fell asleep! The cousins had fun. Z and TZ played a bit of football outside and they all made movies and things but I think no one had more fun than the pups! I love that Marty and Gordie get to join us too! I didn't really get any pictures but Danny did these cool time-lapsed videos... We had a great chill day and I think I took a record number of naps which clearly I needed! And I wasn't the only one... Even Papa got his cuddle in with the boys! Thanks for the wonderful food and fun!

 After our 5k and nice, long, hot showers, we were off to Saginaw to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Dorans. Joe and I were sporting our new Turkey Trot medals and shirts.  We can eat guilt free (kind of) because of our exercise, which is a good thing because Grandma is an amazing cook!! The food was delicious and the company divine! Unfortunately, Christie couldn't join us. She was on a cruise and Mary's finace' also wasn't able to join us. This year Grandma opted to sit at the kid table because she said Joe was older now so graduated to the big table! I think he was pleased with this and his sibs didn't mind at all because they got to sit with Grandma!  Sean was so cute and told us we needed to take turns to tell everyone what we are thankful for (a tradition but I was pleased he was the one who voiced wanting to start). He was thankful for the "whole wide world" and the rest of us also had much to be thankful for... mostly for those seated...

 This year was a "Drapal" year for Thanksgiving and in addition to my folks and my brother's family, my Aunt Barb and her husband Gary joined us too!  They have moved back home and it's great to be able to spend time with them. I only cook a few things, but my Nan's Sweet-Potato Balls are one of those things.  They turned out yummy but I missed my Nan.  It's hard to get her around now that she's 97 and even harder to spend a lot of time with her because she doesn't know who we are really.  I'm heartbroken for that and literally pray every morning on my early walks that she's fast asleep and remembering us in her dreams.  Of course we have much to be Thankful for as we do every year but more than anything, we have each other.  I do these projects at school that I started last year called Thoughtful Thursdays that really remind me of our many blessings! It was sweet because Timmy Ziggy actually said the prayer for us and he did a ...

Our plan was to go to Saginaw the Saturday before Thanksgiving to celebrate with the Dorans (since this is a "Drapal" year). Our plans changed because on Saturday we got hammered with 15 and a half inches of snow! So instead of going on Saturday, we headed out on Sunday. The kids (and dog) ran quite a bit and got good and tired.  Sean even slept in the car on the drive north which was nice. It was great to see Grandma and catch up (even though the boys and I had a nice visit with her a couple weeks ago).  Jim, Trish and the girls came too (JD was out of state on a mission trip).  It was great seeing them and sharing a WONDERFUL meal around the table. The kids were right next to us at their own table and I think they loved that very much!  It was fun eavesdropping on their silly conversations now and then.  I am thankful for kiddos that get along so well!  Joe also spent some time serenading all of us with his Trumpet abilities (kind of nic...