AMERICA 2017: With My Family

It wasn't planned this way but look how the sequence of my posts on our October trip to America made it such that today, THANKSGIVING DAY, is the day I'm sharing our time with my kids.  How wonderfully and therapeutically serendipitous.

Our first week in America was spent with Ted and Jane in Connecticut.  Then we were with the kids a few days before Bob and Peggy, and then afterwards at the cabin in the North Georgia Mountains before flying back home.

Astrid and I both posted most of these on Facebook but here they are in sequence, more or less:

While taking MARTA from the Atlanta airport to North Springs for pickup by SIL Dennis and Nicholas,
Astrid took these pics of some of Atlanta's landmarks as we passed by.

That was Wednesday, 18 October.
[an Astrid FB post]

Once at Amy's, one of the first things I always do is take pics of Astrid and Nicholas together.

This is from 2014 when he was 14....

and from last year, when he was 16....

and now this year, at age 17.

I LOVE comparing the years, don't you!

Because Nicholas is now a working man, when not at school, we made sure to visit him at work.

They even allowed him to take his supper break with us, which was fun.

[Amy was absent because of traveling for work.]

Astrid and I both love walking the neighborhood where Amy and Dennis live.

The walking options seem almost endless.

We always found things to do, while the others worked or went to school.
[an Astrid FB post]

Saturday evening was a block party on their cul-de-sac, with Dennis as the grill man.

Lucky for us to be there to enjoy it.

By Sunday it was time to meet up with Bob and Peggy, but first...Mark treated 

Astrid, Nicholas and moi to an Atlanta United soccer game at the new Mercedes-Benz stadium.

It so happens his company has their own suite there for which Mark got free tickets.

Mark even bought AU t-shirts for Astrid and me to look the part!
[a Mark FB post]

And lucky Astrid captured one of the goals from UA.

The game ended up being a 2-2 tie with Toronto, who was already #1 in the league.

In my book, a tie is better than a loss, so it was a good game.

From the game we met up with Bob and Peggy and stayed with them south of Atlanta till Thursday.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thursday is the day each year we drive up to the North GA Mountains, to the same cabin.

After getting settled in, the first thing Dennis did was make a fire on the screened porch.

This was important because last year fires weren't allowed because of a severe, prolonged dry spell.

One of the reasons why that fireplace is so important is because of...s'mores.  YUP!

[an Astrid FB post]

Besides the evening meal each night, breakfast each morning is also one of the highlights.

[an Astrid FB post]

Having a jigsaw puzzle to work on is good quiet-time for each of us participating.
This is one of the 2 puzzles Amy surprised me with last year...with images from Malta.

[an Astrid FB post]

We were at the cabin the last week of October when it was colder than usual.

But we enjoyed every minute of it.

In fact, one morning we even has a dusting of snow!

That may have been the one day when the 4 of us played Spades indoors,

instead of on the screened porch with the fireplace.
It was that cold.  HA!

These are impressions from Astrid, including pics from the ride up.

[an Astrid FB post]

Because I was still fighting a cold from our time with Ted and Jane, I didn't go out walking,

but Astrid did, every day, even in the rain.  She's such a trooper.

[an Astrid FB post]

She also went with Dennis and Amy and walked around Blue Ridge while they grocery shopped.

[an Astrid FB post]

 When we leave the cabin on Monday each year, our tradition is to stop at Waffle House for breakfast.

The cabin experience wouldn't be the same without it.  We never get tired of it.
[an Astrid FB post]

Each trip thus far Astrid and I then fly home the next day, Tuesday night.

Life goes on for the working people and those still in school.

THIS is what we look forward to each year.  All of it!

See why there's so much for which I'm thankful?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!