A few more thankfuls:

To finish up the Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I'd comment on our trip "over the river and through the woods" to eat Thanksgiving dinner with family. Or, shall we say, over MANY rivers and through MANY woods? Our weekend was packed with lots of "thanks" and "FULL"s.

We made the trek to Pittsburgh to be with David's brother, Brian, and his family. David and Brian love being together, Wendy and I get along famously, Grace and Jeremiah grew to be fast and inseparable friends, the teen-agers graciously entertained Hattie, and the dogs even have fun with their doggie cousins, so we all had a great time. These are the things I was most thankful for:

*a very reliable and nice car with a luggage box on top to travel in
*getting there and home safely and in under 12 hours each way
*kids being pretty darn good in the car on the way
*dogs also being extremely good the whole time
*my gut instinct that Grace had strep, almost as soon as we got there
*my insistence to take Grace to a minute clinic for a strep test
*antibiotics that were finally granted to us, allowing Grace to feel better before leaving and also to go to school tomorrow
*my kids' cool taste in music allowing me to listen to my own playlist in the car
*beautiful, traditional, Thanksgiving dinner made by the whole family (Wendy - turkey and potatoes, Clare - desserts, Alec - stuffing, Jeremiah - rolls, Me - random side dishes)
*eating Thanksgiving dinner with family
*chances to go on lots of outings - Fantastic Fox movie, dinner, Frick museum
*Grace and Jeremiah playing endlessly and happily with each other
*getting up early enough to nearly avoid the New York traffic on the way home today
*the brain power to think to bring lots of paper towels, wipes, and plastic bags, especially for the return trip (our little Hattie seems to be prone to car sickness. ugh.)
*very few squabbles in the car, even when I took a turn driving
*the gps and the iphone (ok, so I don't want my own iphone, but I do love that David has one when we travel.)
*I am also thankful for the start of the Christmas season. I love it.

(the kid table)

(the big people table)(Brian and David checking out a sun dial at The Frick)(Jeremiah, Grace, and Harriet doing an I Spy scavenger hunt in the green house at The Frick)(Hattie should have asked Santa for her own iphone)(Grace says "the sun is in my eyes!")