And Back To A Few Feet Of Snow And Bitter Cold

Dinner With My Sister, Her Family, And Cousins

Our Host, Walt And Ellen, With Cousin Bob

Evie And Her Niece, Julia

We are up at 7:00, ready to hit the road by 8:00, hoping for decent weather, expecting the worst once we get near Chautauqua County.  Our drive up till then should be decent, no blizzards, little if any snow.

Yesterday was a day to relax and everyone seemed ready.  Fortunately, we did not have to worry about another dinner as my sister, Ellen, was having us over last night.  So the girls slept in, way in,  and Evie got up around 8:00, Jill around 9:00.  Around 10:00, Halle had convinced her Dad that she needed small lights around the trim of her bedroom.  So around 10:30, the three of us drove off to Lowe's, stopping first at BJ's so Halle could get a coffee at Dunkin Donuts.  She received a gift card for her birthday and could not wait to spend it.  We got the lights, what we thought would be enough but Drew had to drive back mid-afternoon to pick up one more strand.  Around noon, Drew went out into the nearby woods to do some cleaning up the deadfall with his chainsaw.  I had little interest so I made myself some breakfast, fried up some ham, eggs, and leftover mashed potatoes, my kind of lunch.

Ready To Run

Hayden went out to a nearby park to go for a run with a girlfriend, and both Evie and Jill showered, to get ready early for our night out.  I did some reading, catnapped and with Evie, with started organizing our stuff so we could have most of it packed by this evening and put in the car.

Everything Out Of the Drawers, A Temporary Messy Room

Around 2:00, Hayden left for Cold Stone where she works a couple of times a week.  Unfortunately, she could not get yesterday off so she missed going to dinner with us.  Evie and Halle then went up to Halle's room and gave it a  tidying up, cleaning out all the closets and drawers and reorganizing them.

Halle's Room Needs Tidying Up

Later, Jill volunteered to get Evie a Costco fix, so off we went around 3:00, stopping first at a new grocery store called Lidl's, a competitor and much like Aldi's although I would say it's a step up.  We picked up a few things for our dinner tonight at the lake and quickly browsed Costco, buying only a set of kingsize sheets at Jill's recommendation.  We were home by 3:30, in time to relax before leaving for Herndon, about a 35-minute drive, traffic permitting.  I took a shower, finished packing, and was ready to go by 4:30.

Jill, My Sister Ellen, And Cousin, Carol

Some Of The Guys, Walt, Hampton, Brooks, And Bob

Drew With Julia, Jill, And Halle

We had a fun evening at my sisters, the best part is that her daughter Julia and husband, Hampton and son Brooks, were there, as well as my cousin Bob, his wife Carol and their two sons, Jackson and Keenan.  We got there around 5:30, an easy drive and opened a few presents, as we sipped beers or wine and had appetizers...no redneck sushi, however.

Part Of The Dinner Group

We had a tasty lasagna with salad and garlic bread for dinner, just right and pumpkin pie for dessert.  We have not seen Bob and his family in a couple of years so it was fun to get caught up on their lives.

The Young Guys, Jackson And Keenan

And we have not seen my sister Ellen's children in a year and their lives are changing as Julia and Hampton are expecting their first baby and Brooks is doing well in his business.  And most exciting, my brother in law Walt is retiring after 17 years at the IRS, his last day Friday.  So it was a fun night, great to see everyone and we all vowed this would happen more often.  We did not get home till after 10:00 and Hayden was up waiting for us, happy to see us home at last after working her shift at Cold Stone. We stayed up talking until 11:30 and finally went to bed.