Knights in Shining Armor and Thanksgiving...good times

I wanted to spend my 45th birthday weekend in Chicago and to go to Medieval Times with the FAM but we postponed it. We are trying to get foster licensed and well we had a home study to get ready for the very next week and our house a mess with all the remodel stuff going on we just didn't want to feel rushed into having fun, so we went a few weeks late. It was Jake, Sasha, and Patti's first time to experience it so we had a lot of fun with them. Sasha got a ton of cool pictures too. I didn't really take pictures this time but here is our "Family Photo" of our VIP entrance. What is it about eating with your bare hands surrounded by a bunch of horses and jousting that is fun?

Thanksgiving was so warm weather wise it felt like an Indian Summer. We flew out from Milwaukee and of course the first stop was for Mexican lunch. Oh do they have the best Mexican food out west. Green Bay is okay if you are a pure gringo, but I like the way they make it out west best thank you very much.

We stayed at mom's and watched Stranger Things, finally. I love vacation for that, you don't have to be in a rush for anything. Other than for Thanksgiving dinner to end up on time. So many dishes so many people. It turned out well. Still waiting for my sister to send her pictures of course. And I didn't pack my camera...I am just finding that I live more through that lens then I do in real life so I try to not always pack it. But I regret not getting at least one photo. Here is one Savannah took on her phone of me, mom, and Monica with her granddaughter Ella. It was such a nice day that day we walked to lunch and to the cupcake shop. It was good to see my family again. I miss having that option for holiday events. Matt and Kelly did a super job on the turkey and stuffing...I cannot say much for my potatoes and the disaster I made...but we won't get into that.

And while we were there we got to spend some much missed/needed time with Harmony. She is so bashful and I hope someday I can spend enough time with her so she knows who I am. She sure has grown. It was fun to see her open her early Christmas gift and play with it.

We also got to spend time with  Ryan and his two brothers, Paxton and Kayson. We had fun playing with them but it was hard to say goodbye. I hope to get to see them again soon and we are working on what we can do to make that happen. 

When we got home Mr. Garfield's voice was so scratchy from crying and missing us so desperately. We picked up the dogs and they were happy but all three were exhausted even more than we were. You know how vacations can be and it takes a day to recuperate. Here is Charlie and GF passed out COLD.