Ah, November. The month of eating. Eating Halloween candy. Eating birthday cake with Grandpa. Eating a big Thanksgiving dinner.
Aunt Cele and Aunt Alice came out, on what's becoming their annual visit. This year, Grandpa very carefully parked the motor home in the driveway, and they used that as their guest house. It worked out well; we'll probably do that more in the future. It's always wonderful to see them. They spent a night down in San Diego, too, visiting Uncle Alex and Aunt Lena. One of Grandma's best friends from Madison happened to be in SD, too, so they even got to visit with Carol. And of course, they played with you and Miriam. Last time they were here, they showed you fun apps on their iPads. This year, we bought Grandma her own iPad, as an early Christmas present, so she loaded up all of the same fun apps on hers, and now you like to try and help her make words when she's playing scrabble online with them.
We celebrated Grandpa's birthday while they were here--his 80th birthday. It's a bit hard for me to believe that Grandpa is 80. It seems so old, and yet I don't think of him as old at all. We have such a subjective view of time and age, especially when we see a person every day. It's only when we stop and think about it that we realize what our perceptions are. I think of Grandpa as young, because I watch him play with you and Miriam. It's only when he moans and groans to stand up from sitting on the floor that I think he might be older.
You had the latest skills test at your gymnastics class. Every few months they put everyone through a checklist to gauge progress. You seem to be doing well; they've given you high marks on your abilities. You always say that you have fun and like it, which is the most important part.
It was our second Thanksgiving in this house. You and Dad both had off the week of Thanksgiving. In preparation, we ordered some addition and subtraction flash cards, and Dad made some sight words flash cards, too. So we made sure that you didn't just play video games until your eyes were bleeding. For Thanksgiving, our friend Chris Karbo came over and we made a turkey breast roast with veggies. It turned out quite well, which is always nice. It was a nice day overall. Then next day, I went to Target to see if I could find an Xbox on sale. I have never shopped on Black Friday before, but I guess I just needed an extra dose of holiday craziness this year.
The day after Thanksgiving is also when Grandma can finally cry, "Christmas!" and let slip the decorations of the season. You and Miriam helped her put out Nativity sets, and the little village. With the weather these days, we're lucky to have all of Grandma's decorations, because inside the house is the only place that it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Love,
Mom
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