Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This past week was very fun (and tiring) for us. We went to California to visit my parents for the holiday. Just as importantly, we also inventoried and improved the guesthouse that the kids and I will be living in while Matt is deployed next year. Here are a few of the things Matt (and Pop) did to help make our stay more comfortable:
* Installed a new gas heater (it looks like a fireplace... And it looks fabulous)
* Installed a screen door (to help ventilate the house during those horrendously hot summer months)
* Replaced the screens on most of the windows
* Set up the kids' bunk bed
* Brought down my grandfather's daybed and trundle for my use in the living room (it will double as our couch)
* Removed the full sized bed that was being stored there for a family friend so the kids and I would have more room
* Helped me clean the space and organize the house a bit
I fully admit that they did a fabulous job on the entire project! The only things left for me to do when I return next March is to replace one of the steps that have rotted out (so the kids and I don't slip and fall) and clean and organize just a tad more. Dad said he will face the fireplace surround (which didn't get completed while we were home due to a time constraint). Matt helped Pop install the heater, which was Pop's domain, but otherwise completed many of the projects on his own.

Thansgiving day was wonderful, although M was sick for the first few days we were down there (as usual; he seems to get sick every time we go there, poor guy). The only ones missing were my brother and his family and my grandmother. Otherwise it, too, was fabulous. My mom had most of the food prepared before we arrived, which left much of the time open for me to help clean, organize and inventory the guest house (a blessing, for sure). The guestlist comprised of Grandpa, Nonno and his girlfriend, Barbara, Mom and Pop, my sister, her fiance and their 3 children along with her sister-in-law, and me, Matt and our 2 kiddos. Dinner included (as my niece and nephew say) my mom's "World Famous Noodles" (homemade egg noodles), turkey and ham that my dad b-b-q'ed, olives (that my dad grew, cooked and marinated himself... Oh they are yummy) and an assortment of other goodies for condiments, mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade rolls, and an amazing green bean dish that was laced with sliced almonds. There was too much food placed on the table along with desert for me to remember each and every dish. Needless to say... Our Thanksgiving was spectacular and was especially nice since it will be Matt's last before he returns from his deployment in 2010.

We drove home on Saturday morning. We enjoyed a farewell breakfast at our local restaraunt at 8:30 and were headed north by 9:30. It was a later start than we had hoped for, but it was worth the extra time spent there. Our drive was quiet and took only 13 hours and included all our gas, food, and bathroom stops. I didn't drive much (just 3 or 4 hours at the most) and ended up falling asleep around 8:00. I did wake up again around 9:00 but was way too groggy to help Matt drive those last 2 1/2 hours. I did talk to him every once in a while, though! lol!!!

This morning found me up around 5:30 with M following me down an hour later. Poor Matt woke up just after C did around 7:30-8:00. I didn't have anything in the house for breakfast, so off to McD's Matt went.

After breakfast we sent the kids upstairs to play and watch TV so Matt and I could get our house reorganized and prepared for our Christmas decorations. We even had enough time to pull the Christmas stuff out and set most of it up. We'll finish things up tomorrow and will get pictures posted!!! Can't wait to show everything off, cuz it looks great (even if I do say so myself). We actually had our neighbors all out at one time or another just to see our progress throughout the day... It was fun!

Hope you all had as wonderful a week as we had... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!