A Happy Thanksgiving - 2015

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Baltimore and saw more family than we would have supposed we would a few weeks ago.  We left Albany after our Tuesday evening Institute class and drove two hours to a hotel just outside of NYC.  That left only a 3½-hour drive the next morning.  

On the way into town, we stopped at Tammy’s to let her know we had arrived and to drop off a pecan pie.  She and Noel live north of the city in Bel Air and only 30 minutes from the Delaware border, right off the interstate we came into town on.  Next we dropped by Jessica’s apartment which is 30-40 minutes west of Tammy’s.  They were surprised to see us, but we didn’t stay but a few minutes – long enough to drop off another pie and let them know we would be back the next day.  At 2 p.m. we checked into our Residence Inn hotel near BWI airport and waited for Nori and Travis who arrived within the hour.  They were stuck in traffic around the D.C. area.  That afternoon and evening we visited and rested up for a full day on Thursday.

Jimmy

Grandpa and Reed having some fun at the hotel

Thursday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we met most of the Ellsworth group at the park near Jess’s around 10:30 a.m.  There we watched the kids play, swing, and have fun.  We visited with Jess and Mark, saw Steve, met his friend, and exchanged greetings all around. Not long after that we headed to Jess's so that Jeff could start the turkey, which he deep-fried, and Jess could get everything set up.  She had done most of the preparations before any of us arrived and just had last-minute things to attend to.  The rest of us visited and watched the kids play. There were 20 of us, and nine were under the age of six, which kept it lively. It was fun to see Uncle Steve and to get to know his girlfriend from Columbus, Ohio.

Playing with the kids at Jessica's

Reed liked Grandma's nametag.

Steve and his friend from Columbus

Sherry and Daniel drawing pictures

Sherry took this pic right before we left.  I wish we had thought to
take one of Jimmy and Reed, too.

Nathan

Nori hanging out with the boys

At 2 p.m. Nori, Travis, the boys, Dad, and I left for our next gathering.  There were 23 of us at Tammy and Noel’s home for Thanksgiving Dinner.  We enjoyed visiting with my cousin, Greg, who I haven’t seen in about ten years.  He is still active military and has seen his share of the world.  He is always interesting to visit with.  Beside our group, Tammy had a family and a brother from her ward along with a few friends of her kids over to join them. Everyone had an enjoyable time, and there were tablefuls of food.  The dessert table had multiple kinds of pies, carrot cake, blueberry cheesecake, cookies, and pecan pastries.  We hardly made a dent in it all.

Thanksgiving at Tammy and Noel's

On Friday Dad and I watched Jimmy and Reed while Nori and Travis went to the D.C. temple and met up with some friends.  Tammy came over to visit for a couple of hours, too.  When Nori and Travis returned, Dad and I went out for dinner and afterwards drove over to Michael’s. We only got to see Lester for a few minutes, but I am confident that Mike knows we tried.

Travis and Nori at the D.C. temple on Friday

For Thursday and Friday, five of our six grandsons were together in one place.  They enjoyed each other, and on Friday evening when we gathered at the hotel to watch the Baylor football game, they had their own party watching “Frozen” in one of the rooms. The eight adults visited and snacked and hung out for a couple of hours before Jeff, Sherry, Jess, and Mark (and their kids) headed back home.

Back: Michael and Nathan; Front: Jimmy, Daniel and Reed

We were grateful to learn that all of us had safely returned home to Michigan, North Carolina, and New York within minutes of each other last night. (We were also blessed with unseasonably warm weather – mid-sixties - and totally clear roads). This Thanksgiving was totally different from our first one in this mission where we did a lot of cooking and serving to those in the branch who had no family with whom to spend the day. As always, we feel truly blessed!