On Wallin Pond: Thanksgiving Week, 2014

Our dear friends from Bangladesh were here in the States for several weeks and here in NJ this past week. On a whim, I asked them if they wanted to join us on a hike in a park nearby and surprisingly, they were available. So that's what we did on Tuesday. Even though clouds hid the sun, the weather was fairly warm and pleasant for a hike.

We went to Amico Island on the Delaware River. The tide was out so we had a nice long walk along the beach. Shawne and I thought this little tree had an interesting shape.

And this tree was also interesting growing off the side of the bank.

The city of Philadelphia in the distance.

Amico Island selfie!

Where is the sun?

It was a busy week at work because I had to get 4 days of work done in 2. But the reward was 4 days off in a row! On Thanksgiving Day we went over to Andy's brother's where we go every year for Thanksgiving. We enjoy catching up with our nephews while there and this year, Christy and family were able to join us, too. Dan & Lou very considerately changed the time of the dinner this year to accommodate us so we wouldn't have to travel home in the dark. We ate the big meal around 1:00, then had the rest of the afternoon to visit before returning home.

When Christy and her family arrived, I mentioned that it was a shame we hadn't thought about it earlier so we could prepare to have the kids come home with us to spend the night since they would be coming to our house the next day. Well, just the mention of it was enough to start the wheels turning. The kids insisted they didn't mind sleeping in their clothes and they knew we had extra tooth brushes. So it was arranged except that our car could only take 3 children. Aiden decided he would rather sleep in his own bed so Grace, Naomi and Asher came home with us. What fun!

Grace and Naomi had their instruments with them and were given strict instructions not to neglect their practice. So on Friday morning, while they practiced, Asher played on the treadmill.

After breakfast and practice, Andy and the kids rode bikes to the church and played in the gym. There happened to be 2 boys playing there but Andy and the kids joined them in having a good time. Andy's really good at making up games, but this time, the kids decided they wanted to play dodge ball. They explained the rules, but Andy didn't seem to be able to remember them and kept "cheating." The boys were so kind, though, and kept saying, "it doesn't matter." They were very forgiving and sweet tempered.

Later in the day, around noon, Christy and the rest of her family arrived and Dawn and her family joined us. Our traditional meal on the day after Thanksgiving is panzarottis and pizza. It's an easy meal with very little hassle and mess and everyone likes it. Our dessert included all the leftovers from the day before. There was plenty to eat.

After lunch and Kasey's nap, we decided to go to the park to let the kids play. It was extremely cold with a bone chilling wind, so we didn't stay more than about 5 minutes. I did get some pictures. The kids seemed to enjoy the park except for Kasey who didn't last too long before letting us know she was very unhappy being so cold. She just "verbalized" how we all felt, I think!