Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

So on the heals of just beginning to get settled into the new house, we actually took off last week for 5 days in CT for the holiday. I crawled into bed with Tim last Monday night and said to him (after 3 days of unpacking) "you know the funny thing is that we'll have to pack tomorrow." But we did, and we had a great trip.

We typically don't like traveling anywhere over the holidays because prices are jacked and lines are egregious. But we flew out on Virgin America from the SFO International terminal. I guess we departed late enough in the day when no international flights were leaving as there was no one in line at security... which was great! We sat in the bulk head and had enough leg room to actually have my feet up on the tray table in front of me... which is nice for fat pregnant feet! We arrived on-time and had a wonderful welcome from my folks and Gwynnie of course. There is no getting around dog hair so you might as well get it up front!

Only in New England...

On Wednesday, Mom and I ran up a credit card bill at Destination Maternity where I got my upper body wardrobe for pregnancy tops in the winter. Lots of shirts, sweaters, and a really cool vest that hardly looks maternity that I have worn every day since! That night, Tim and I headed over to Pito & Melissa's for dinner with the little O-man and had a wonderful visit with them. It's really great seeing my brother in his home, with his wife, as a dad. He is a good father and Owen just lights up when he enters the room.

On Thursday, the MOPs (Melissa, Owen and Pito) came over to my parents house. We took my folks' Christmas card photo, had the special Christmas (FATTENING!!!!) breakfast that I love, and hung out. Around noon, we took a walk down to the Belle Haven club where we played on the beach. And by "we", I really mean Owen, but we all delighted in watching him throw rocks into the sound and go down the slide. It is amazing to watch coordination and communication start to come together for an 19 month old. More photos can be found here.


On Friday, Mom and I went uber girly (fingers, toes, and newly plucked eyebrows) while Tim and Dad flexed their testosterone hunting. By the giggles and squeaks at dinner from the four of us, it sounds like everyone had a truly delightful day.
The boys ended up getting around 5 pheasants and 4 partridge and were more than pleased with themselves... Ashton, Pito's antiquated untrained-but-highly-competent hunting dog also strutted her stuff. Pictures can be found here.

Pito, unfortunately missed the hunt coping with a flooded kitchen (ach!!!!), but he and Melissa took it in stride as their kitchen has been pulled apart and turbo-loud fans have been drying the place out for going on 4 days now. We brought lunch and dinner over there to supplement the kitchen, and were amazed at how gracious of entertainers they can be while shouting over the HUMMMMM of fans.

Sunday, I had my first real melt-down of pregnancy. The prospect of leaving CT made me sad. I loved the visit that we had. Everyone seemed relaxed and I finally caught up on sleep. I will likely see my folks again in January before Monday comes, to show them the house and to hang out, but it is unlikely that I will see my brother and his family for months. It used to not be as big a deal to let a year go by without seeing one another, but now that he has Owen, and we will have Monday, life 9 months from now will be very different than it is today. That part doesn't sadden me, its more that we won't have a chance to daily participate in being Aunts/Uncles to each others children. Next time I see him, Owen will likely be in his terrible-twos, and Monday may be able to hold his head up. It just makes me even more thankful to have places like Soda Springs and 80 Otter Rock Drive to come home to. They are plots of earth claimed by my parents that creates a reason for family to come together... and that's really what its all about, isn't it?

In other, non-sappy news, I am trying to be better about taking photos and actually posting them somewhere where we can actually have other people view them. I have added a link in the right hand navigation called "Family Photos" that goes to a Flickr account for the Tim Reeths. I will be posting older photos up there over time, but will try to get the newer ones posted with some semblance of regularity.