Thanksgiving!

The Good:

• My parents and 4 youngest siblings (Melodie, 16; Loralee, 14; Zach, 12; Jeremy, 10) were able to come spend a whole week with us!
• We went to the beach twice. The kids (older and younger) loved it and actually got totally immersed. They were used to low 30's so 81 was heaven!
• My family (especially Mom) kept our house so clean! They did all the dishes the whole week! I got to enjoy cooking without worrying about the clean-up.
• Jeffy and Katey had unlimited play pals for a week! And Bekah's never gotten so much attention either! :)
• And guess who cooked the Thanksgiving meal too? Good grief, it was my Mom! I made the rolls and she made everything else! She was insistent, but I don't know why! She worked way too hard for being a guest. What a lucky hostess I was. :)
• Mom and Dad took us on a double date one night. That was so much fun!
• They also watched the kids multiple times so Jeff and I could go out alone. They were so nice to us.

The Bad:

• Jeff had worked hard to arrange for us all to take a tour of his submarine, but on the day of our visit, we were unable to go down into the boat because the ladder had been pulled out. Oh well!
• Jeffy and Katey were so sad when the left! It was barely a consolation that we'll get to see them at Christmas.

The Ugly:

• Loralee got sick on Wednesday night and emptied her stomach all over the table. Poor girl!

The Exciting:

• We had a small house fire! Looking back, we're almost to the point where it's funny, but then it was pretty scary! A table lamp in our bedroom had been knocked over and covered with some clothes without anyone knowing. A pillow, many clothing items and blankets were smoldering and have holes burnt in them. Pages of a book were just starting to catch when we found the fire! Thanks for quick acting on Jeff/Dad's part, it didn't escalate into a full fire, but it was way too close! That was on Tuesday and our bedroom still smells like smoke. Scary!
• The morning after Thanksgiving, we heard a whole bunch of sirens on base and figured something bad must have happened. But they kept getting closer and next thing we knew, a parade was on our street! Riding atop a fire truck were Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Grinch, an elf, and a Christmas tree! The kids loved it!

It was such a wonderful Thanksgiving. I can't think of how it could have been more fun or enjoyable. We loved playing host and were so grateful they made the long trip to come see us! Here are some of the pictures my dad took with his fancy schmancy new camera. Hopefully I can get a few more from the later days too. They're kind of in a weird order, so sorry!

We didn't intend for everyone to get so wet. Bit by bit, the clothes started to come off!

My little sand baby.

The little ones loved the pools left by the tide. And that the big kids would play with them.

So much fun!

Katey down to her very soggy diaper.

Jeremy, Katelyn, and Loralee on our Sunday outing to St Mary's Waterfront Park.

My four youngest siblings: Loralee, Jeremy, Melodie, Zach.

The beach was windy! (This is obviously before anyone got wet!)

Testing the water.

Bekah loves riding on my shoulders. And pulling my hair.

She looks like a Who in this one. :)

Ironman is back!

All smiles from my Katey!

Mom (Grandma) and the girls at the Waterfront Park!

All of us except Dad. Fun visit!