the thanksgiving trip

where did november go? thanksgiving has come and gone. today is the first day of advent. it's hard to believe.

i am thankful for the time i spent with family on thursday and friday. we gathered at my brother's house where we ate good food, caught up on our lives, and played lots of guess who? and rockband. yes, rockband. ryan said we had to wait until after lunch to play, and i'm pretty sure that the first beat of the drum occurred about 10 minutes after the prayer (or invocation as ryan likes to say). ryan started out on vocals, jacob on drums, and josh on guitar. it was a borderline nightmare to listen to. don't worry, i saved the day. it was quite a shining star moment. i held the vocals, ryan moved to guitar and jacob and josh worked the drums as a team...we finally made it all the way through a song without getting boo'd off the stage. you would have liked to have been there, i'm sure of it. i know we made my grandmother proud...i bet she was never so ready to return to her quiet little home at the summit.

in all seriousness, it was fun to be with my family. i spent some good time with both my dad and my mom. my brother and i had some real bonding moments. and, as always i love just playing with my nephews. there is real joy amidst the chaos and the unique coming together of people.

one other hi-light from the trip to austin: i came home with a new wii! yes, i was one of the crazy people up at 4:15am in hopes of getting a doorbuster, and it happened. a little speed walking through the store, jumping over a palette, maybe nudging a few people, and reaching to grab one of the last 5 wii's left while 4 other hands grabbed the remaining provided me with my christmas present just a little early. stephanie is starting to set it up for us as i'm typing. we are about to bust out a little wii fit/animated jillian from the biggest loser...only after i kick some booty at bowling. thanks mom for letting me bring it home!

more on advent to come...