I feel remiss for the gap in posting, but Mike and I were zipping around on airplanes this past week. We took off last Wednesday from Amsterdam and, going via Memphis, landed in Denver at 9:00pm that same day. We were collected by Mike's sister Geraldine and her husband Jim, and we drove straight to Mike's folk's, (Pat and Lou) house in Littleton. Even though it was late by that time, we needed to say hi and give and receive hugs before heading off to the hotel where we were staying (along with Jim and Gers). Normally, we would have stayed with Pat and Lou, but they were pretty full as it was since Pat's brother Dennis, his wife Linda, and their three grown sons, Devin, Kelly, and Keegan, were in the house, and my parents, brother and nephew were using the facilites there while staying in a tent trailer in the driveway! Equally full were Mike's other sisters and their families, as their children and Jim and Gers' kids were there, for a total of 8 in Meg and Mike's house, and 7 in Paula and Joe's!
Thanksgiving was a wonderful day, full of people (32 in total sitting down to dinner), food, and most of all, family. Mike and I were a little on the tired side, mostly because we hadn't slept all that well after landing on Wednesday night, but hung in there and enjoyed our selves to the fullest. When we got a little sleepy, we mustered a group for a walk around the neighbourhood in the fresh air.
On Friday, we did a little shopping at Aspen Grove, a nice little shopping centre around the corner from Pat and Lou's place and were pleased at the lack of day-after-Thanksgiving crowds. Most of the stores only had one or two other groups inside, and some had none at all. The Apple Computer store was another story, but not terrible all the same. I shudder to think about the mentality in people waiting all night for a superstore to open, then checking their humanity at the door and allowing a tragedy to happen, resulting in the death of the Walmart clerk in New York. Good Heavens.
Friday afternoon saw the clan reassemble at Meg and Mike's house to host a 40th Birthday bash for Mike (it was a day early since Jim and Gers and kids had to drive back to Sandpoint on Saturday). In addition to the Thanksgiving crowd, several others dropped by to spend some time with the families and so it was another festive gathering. After a great dinner of roasted pork, our host sat down at the piano and the singing began. I have always been a little in awe of my in-laws and their musicality, and this brought that back to me. I almost never sing along because I get so much pleasure from listening to the talent all around me. There were many holiday carols sung, as well as some show tunes, with a "special" performance by Pat and Dennis: a reprise of their childhood, when they performed "Surrey with a Fringe on Top". Terrific stuff! When the evening wound down, we opened the door to discover the snow falling fast and building up on the ground. The children, and some adults, charged out and started flinging it in every direction. Christopher, coming from Southern California, was absolutely thrilled, and was just running around with both arms in the air, what joy.
Saturday morning we awoke to a white world and clear skies that lasted long enough for us to snap a couple of nice pictures. We said good-bye to Gers and Jim, Chris, Mike, Beth, and Kate, and wished them a safe 17-hour drive back to Sandpoint (they were stopping for the night in Bozeman). Mike, Mom and I then took a trip to the Barnes and Noble bookstore nearby so that Mike and I could get some books we'd been wanting. Books are so spendy in the Netherlands that we try to wait and buy them when we're in the States, not only are they cheaper by about 1/2, but we also benefit from the exchange rate!
The rest of Saturday was pretty relaxed, the troops gathered at Pat and Lou's, so we didn't have to go anywhere and got the majority of our packing done. On this night, we slept on the floor at Mike's folks, since we had an early start and wanted to spend the time with them. Everyone enjoyed an all-American meal of hot dogs and hamburgers and some leftovers from the previous two days, and sat around enjoying one another's company. It was a really nice 4 days, full of the feeling that tv tries to express when it bottles up holiday emotions and sends them out. It's times like this that are why Mike and I have always said that Thanksgiving is our favourite holiday, there is not the commercialism attached to Christmas and it is soley about sharing a meal with family and giving thanks. We had that in spades and are very thankful.
We flew out Sunday morning and after a long time sitting, arrived home at 6:30am on Monday. Mike came home, showered and went off to teach all day. How he managed it, I have no idea, but then he slept a little more than I on the plane, so that probably helped. Now it's 2.5 weeks until he has another break, this time for 3 weeks, at Christmas - the holiday season is well under way! As I type this I'm pleased to look out the window and see snow falling. It's wet and won't last, but it has kept me company and revived the feeling we had last weekend in the snow with our families.
(A note on the photos, they are in reverse order since they seem to prefer uploading that way, so please realize the snow did not arrive first, but last!)
Mike's b-day cake: "Bungsu" means "Youngest" in Indonesian, where Mike spent 7 years with his three older sisters and parents. The Tonka truck on the cake is a nod to me, because for reasons unknown, my nickname has been 'Tonka' for as long as I can remember!
Thanksgiving was a wonderful day, full of people (32 in total sitting down to dinner), food, and most of all, family. Mike and I were a little on the tired side, mostly because we hadn't slept all that well after landing on Wednesday night, but hung in there and enjoyed our selves to the fullest. When we got a little sleepy, we mustered a group for a walk around the neighbourhood in the fresh air.
On Friday, we did a little shopping at Aspen Grove, a nice little shopping centre around the corner from Pat and Lou's place and were pleased at the lack of day-after-Thanksgiving crowds. Most of the stores only had one or two other groups inside, and some had none at all. The Apple Computer store was another story, but not terrible all the same. I shudder to think about the mentality in people waiting all night for a superstore to open, then checking their humanity at the door and allowing a tragedy to happen, resulting in the death of the Walmart clerk in New York. Good Heavens.
Friday afternoon saw the clan reassemble at Meg and Mike's house to host a 40th Birthday bash for Mike (it was a day early since Jim and Gers and kids had to drive back to Sandpoint on Saturday). In addition to the Thanksgiving crowd, several others dropped by to spend some time with the families and so it was another festive gathering. After a great dinner of roasted pork, our host sat down at the piano and the singing began. I have always been a little in awe of my in-laws and their musicality, and this brought that back to me. I almost never sing along because I get so much pleasure from listening to the talent all around me. There were many holiday carols sung, as well as some show tunes, with a "special" performance by Pat and Dennis: a reprise of their childhood, when they performed "Surrey with a Fringe on Top". Terrific stuff! When the evening wound down, we opened the door to discover the snow falling fast and building up on the ground. The children, and some adults, charged out and started flinging it in every direction. Christopher, coming from Southern California, was absolutely thrilled, and was just running around with both arms in the air, what joy.
Saturday morning we awoke to a white world and clear skies that lasted long enough for us to snap a couple of nice pictures. We said good-bye to Gers and Jim, Chris, Mike, Beth, and Kate, and wished them a safe 17-hour drive back to Sandpoint (they were stopping for the night in Bozeman). Mike, Mom and I then took a trip to the Barnes and Noble bookstore nearby so that Mike and I could get some books we'd been wanting. Books are so spendy in the Netherlands that we try to wait and buy them when we're in the States, not only are they cheaper by about 1/2, but we also benefit from the exchange rate!
The rest of Saturday was pretty relaxed, the troops gathered at Pat and Lou's, so we didn't have to go anywhere and got the majority of our packing done. On this night, we slept on the floor at Mike's folks, since we had an early start and wanted to spend the time with them. Everyone enjoyed an all-American meal of hot dogs and hamburgers and some leftovers from the previous two days, and sat around enjoying one another's company. It was a really nice 4 days, full of the feeling that tv tries to express when it bottles up holiday emotions and sends them out. It's times like this that are why Mike and I have always said that Thanksgiving is our favourite holiday, there is not the commercialism attached to Christmas and it is soley about sharing a meal with family and giving thanks. We had that in spades and are very thankful.
We flew out Sunday morning and after a long time sitting, arrived home at 6:30am on Monday. Mike came home, showered and went off to teach all day. How he managed it, I have no idea, but then he slept a little more than I on the plane, so that probably helped. Now it's 2.5 weeks until he has another break, this time for 3 weeks, at Christmas - the holiday season is well under way! As I type this I'm pleased to look out the window and see snow falling. It's wet and won't last, but it has kept me company and revived the feeling we had last weekend in the snow with our families.
(A note on the photos, they are in reverse order since they seem to prefer uploading that way, so please realize the snow did not arrive first, but last!)
Mike's b-day cake: "Bungsu" means "Youngest" in Indonesian, where Mike spent 7 years with his three older sisters and parents. The Tonka truck on the cake is a nod to me, because for reasons unknown, my nickname has been 'Tonka' for as long as I can remember!
Dennis and sister Pat enacting 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top' to general hilarity
Mike H plays the piano while Keegan, Sue, Joe, Paula, and Gers with Kristen's daughter play out the words
A black and white effect of a full colour day
Beautiful sun in the morning after a snow.
The Thanksgiving Feasting
More or less the entire group having dinner
Pegg family photo
Pre-dinner walk: Mike H., Monica with Dad's dog Gretel, Linda, Gers, Dennis, Meg
Mike mastering the oven.
2 comments:
Monica
It sounds like you had a great visit to the States. When we lived in Voorburg we made a couple of visits to TN. My friends would always ask for " Cornuts ", because we couldn't find them in Holland.
I am looking forward to your blog on Christmas in The Netherlands. It was my favorite time of year there. My sisters were very young and they throughly enjoyed Sinterklaas.
We lived on Rembrandtlaan in Voorburg. Just a few houses down from the intersection at Parkweg. I loved all of the neat little stores at that intersection.
I remember Ms. Nicastro. My favorites were Mr. Dewitt and Ms. Laskey and I loved that old school.
I am in the Alumni group and I have kept in touch with classmates over the years. It was a very special time.
Thanks for your blog and all the pictures.
Hi Patsy, I'll have to remember your information about where you lived in Voorburg and see if I can take a photo when I'm down that way one of these days. If you're in the Alumni group, then you should be receiving update emails from time to time (I know this because I was the administrator of the group when I worked at ASH), so you'll be aware that Mr. Dewitt passed away a few years ago. I didn't know him, but was continually amazed at the impact he had on students, many of who still write in to talk about his gifts as a teacher. If you had him then you will already know that and can count yourself lucky.
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