This year for Thanksgiving we headed south and spent the day with the Connors in Kansas City. It was fun.
Thanksgiving in Kansas City
Cincinnati Trip
This weekend we made a quick trip to Cincinnati. We left Thursday afternoon and drove home on Monday. Holly’s 40th birthday party was on Saturday night and we thought it would be fun to show up for the weekend and surprise the Donleys and the Beinkempers. It was.
Susan Flies to the Dominican Republic
We dropped Susan off at the airport today around lunchtime. She is heading to the Dominican Republic for a week with her high school friends. It was a harder goodbye than I thought it would be. I was certainly not looking forward to her leaving, but I think I have taken for granted the fact that we have spent nearly every moment of the past 6 months together.
Even More Vacation Pics
More Vacation Picks
Day at the beach
Today we spent most of the day at the beach. Our time at the beach is interesting because the water is very stirred-up and murky. It is more brown and smelly than usual, and there is a lot of sea-life. Jellyfish, stingrays, crabs, snake eels, fish, and dolphins are all prevalent right now.
The kids are loving playing at the beach. Lucia and Rose are having fun playing at the edge of the water and the older kids are having fun digging, looking for things, and using the skim board and boogie boards.
Gadsden -> Orange Beach
Today we made the trek from Gadsden to Orange Beach, to meet the Herrels and the Reagens for a previously scheduled vacation. We are all staying in a big house just a short walk from the beach.
Crazy Day
It was a crazy, emotional day today. Susan, Erin, and her mom went to the house this morning to clean. They were there for a few hours, getting everything perfect for the new owners.
All of the Lieslands went over after Rose’s nap, to say goodbye. There were a lot of tears shed. We also had one last visit and popsicle with Rick & Donna, our closest neighbors ever.
By dinnertime it was time to transition to the traditional May 29th affairs – our 13th anniversary. Erin & Nate watched the kids so Susan and I could go out to dinner. We ended up at Cool Basil – table 13!
Cincinnati Visit
Sunday: Drive there
Monday: Dinner with the Romans at Skyline
Tuesday: Dinner at my parents’
Wednesday: Dinner with the Herrels
Thursday: Thanksgiving Breakfast, Thanksgiving dinner at the Radles’
Friday: Hang out, help Holly & Alex move, Holly & Alex’s for dinner
Saturday: Xavier game, Thanksgiving dinner at the Holmes’
Sunday: A very long drive home (11 hours, traffic back-up, rainy!)
Pearl Jam in Chicago
Last winter Pearl Jam announced that they were going to play a couple shows at Wrigley at the end of their summer tour. Six months later the older kids and I were off to Chicago. We stayed one night, arriving at our hotel and then heading straight to Wrigley. After dinner at a near-by restaurant we enjoyed a self-guided tour of Wrigley and then the concert.
24On Tuesday, the next day, we headed downtown for just a few hours to play at Millennium Park, see the lake, and walk to Navy Pier. Then it was time to head home.
