a lovely thanksgiving, retro style

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. Jason, Molly and Hayden were there. And also my Grandma. And my Aunt Brenda (Craig spent the day at the church, painting).
The dinner was delicious.

But the best part of the day was enjoying some memories of days gone past. We went totally retro. From the dishes from my parents' wedding to the Magic Eye book to the ugly vintage Christmas sweater to the antique video game, Pong.
We had quite the walk down memory lane.

So in case the newspaper clipping of Jeremy, circa 1979, wasn't retro enough for you, please enjoy a few pictures of our "Retro" Thanksgiving Day.

Scott and Erika were there for awhile. Scott ate his typical Thanksgiving dinner: Pepsi and rolls. He so wishes the pilgrims had ordered pizza for the first Thanksgiving, instead of shooting a turkey!

Desserts are always a big hit! Pumpkin pie, apple pie, Mississippi Mud Dessert. Yum!!

The real fun began when Jason headed to the basement to look for an ugly sweater. Have you been to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party?

I tend to believe there are even uglier sweaters to be found in the basement. But this one will serve its purpose.

While searching through the basement (which is ten times better than any thrift store, by the way), Jason hit the mother-load. Pong!! For you young chickadees, this was the first video game system. Even before Atari.

And what's better than finding Pong? Finding out that it still works!

I think the idea of Pong was a lot more fun than actually playing it! But the guys and kids did enjoy a few games.

And the weather was absolutely amazing!! Hard to believe it was the end of November!

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday, too!

(Even though I doubt yours could top finding Pong!)

4 generation luncheon

I feel so blessed to have such beautiful women (and young ladies) in my family!!

I'm very fortunate that my parents live in the same town as us.
And a couple of years ago, my grandparents moved back here after 30 some years. So I get to see my grandma regularly and my kids enjoy spending time with her.
Grandma is a beautiful, Godly woman. Such a wonderful example of a Christian woman.**
And I've always thought my mom was the prettiest woman in the world.
I can only hope that I inherited their genes!

We took advantage of our last days of summer, piled the four generations into the car, drove to Winfield and had lunch at College Hill Coffee. The food was delicious and the company was even better! Bri (my picky eater) even ventured out and tried quiche.

After lunch, we headed over to the True Value Hardware Store, which also has a fabulous kitchen store. I made one purchase, which has spurred me to try a little something on the creative side. I'll share more about this later.

There was the cutest little kitty living at the hardware store.

Bri informed me that we need to come back once a month to visit her (or him...not sure). Fine with me, as long as we can stop for lunch!!

**My other grandma is just as beautiful and Godly. And internet savvy! Unfortunately she doesn't live nearby, so we don't get to see her as often. But she reads this blog. Hi Grandma!!

more firecrackers

We had a great time at my parents' house on the 4th. The whole family was there...all 13 of us (plus Roseanne, the dog). We had yummy food and even yummier desserts.
And there were no injuries.
Erika warned Scott, "No face, no hands, no wedding!" In other words, she's not really into firecrackers and she's not interested in marrying a guy who recklessly maimed himself with a firecracker.

Jeremy was not his graceful self. Fortunately his ego was injured much more than his body. We all got a laugh out of this sight anyway.
And honest to goodness, he wasn't drinking. We'll just blame it on the slight slope of the yard.

The girls love Rosie!! She is a sweet little ball of fur.

Delaney found the "mother load"!!! At least it entertained her for a few minutes.

You gotta love that expression!! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends.

pre 4th of july celebration

Jeremy's uncle and aunt are visiting from California, so we had a pre-fourth barbeque and fireworks display.

It was a gorgeous evening (minus a little wind).

I was the big chicken...kept running for cover when I thought burning pieces of fireworks were coming at me. Something did hit me in the head. It MIGHT have been a June Bug, but I'm pretty sure it was something more dangerous!!

Some of my pictures are blurry. I'm still getting used to my camera and with night shots, the shutter was staying open too long, causing the blurs.

**********

We'll do more celebrating today. We're going to my parents' house this afternoon and will watch the city display from their yard.

I love the 4th!

I love feeling patriotic.

I love getting together with family and eating.

I like watching my family shoot off fireworks.

When I was a kid, we always went to my grandparents' house for the afternoon. Back then, it was illegal to shoot fireworks in most towns, but it was legal where they lived.

We loved looking for old cans and flowerpots and things we could blow up. Well, my uncles, brothers and boy cousins did that and I mostly watched.

I was a big ol' chicken, even back then!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!!