Grandparents don't get upset over this sort of thing

Sam and I have everything put back in it's place now after the wonderful visit we had with Sharon, Mia and Dusty. Our house seems a little empty. We both laughed when we took the booster seat out of the chair in the dining room. I took a picture to help us remember all of the fun things that Mia did from that chair. She loves blueberries, strawberries and cookies. She enjoyed coloring from that chair and her favorite color is BLUE. She likes the color pink too. She fed herself applesauce with her own spoon and her Mom put a cheerio on top of her vegetables to help her eat them. After a while, we played a game with Mia so that she would eat her protein and vegetables. We would clap when she took a bite which she thought was funny, so she ate everything all up.

Our weather has taken a turn for the better as it has been sunny and much warmer this week. I can't believe how cold and snowy it was while Sharon was here. We still had lots of fun but a warm day would have been nice.

Saying "Goodbye" is so hard to do

Time goes by so quickly! It seems our holiday with family was just beginning and it is now over. I am so thankful that Sam and I were able to travel to NC for Thanksgiving and see all of our family. Hearing about things on the phone doesn't compare to seeing family in action and in person.

Dad and I had such a fun visit with Sharon, Mia and Dusty. The weather in Colorado didn't cooperate but we had lots of time to get to know our youngest granddaughter, Mia. We enjoyed every minute!

Sharon I enjoyed all of our little shopping trips and our cookie baking. Sorry we didn't get to all of the places we had planned, but our time together was very special.

According to what we see on the internet, you should be landing in Raleigh about now.

Love you and miss you

Happy Birthday Ellie

Happy Birthday Ellie! MeMe and PawPaw miss you and love you and wish we could be there for your 8th birthday!

Back to the Cheyenne Zoo

Our visit with Mia and Sharon is going by too fast. We visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo yesterday in 30 degree weather. Mia had never been to the zoo and she loved it and we had fun showing her the animals. I'm happy everyone had a good time and that the weather was nice enough to spend time outside.

Mia watching TV in her chair

Eating lunch at the empty zoo cafe

Baby Orangatuan, only 7 months younger than Mia

Watching the Baby Orangatuan

Watching the gorilla eat poop, she said, "Num num!"

Hippos

Mountain Goat, Sharon yodeled at it.

The giraffe's were inside this time to stay warm

She loved the zoo!

Monkeys!

The lions were sleeping, they were huge.

Mia loved the fish at the bear cage

Mia's first day in Colorado

Yesterday we got up at 5:00am and drove to Raleigh to catch our 11:10 flight to Colorado. After spending 3 hours in the car Mia was more than happy to walk around at the airport. Our flight was on time and there were lots of kids on the flight around Mia's age and younger so that made Sharon feel better. She fell asleep after takeoff and then I decided to try to move her so it was a short "nap." After that Sam, Sharon and I took turns keeping her entertained along with her new buddy Reagan. Since the flight was kind of bumpy she couldn't get up and walk around. It was challenging, but she did pretty well considering she had been up early and hadn't taken a nap. We were all very tired once we got home and Mia and Sharon were ready to go to bed early. Then last night it snowed and today's high has been around 20 so it hasn't been good weather to go anywhere, but Sharon and I took Mia outside anyways. 20 minutes to get everything on to brave the cold and snow and 5 minutes outside because Mia didn't like it...we managed to get a couple pictures before bringing her back inside. So that is Mia's first 24 hours in Colorado. Stay tuned for more.

Our "Carryon" Luggage


A short nap


Looking out the window


Not too happy about the cold


Still not happy about the cold

Thanksgiving in North Carolina

Sam and I were Thanksgiving road warriors in North Carolina catching up with our sons and daughter and their families as well as our mothers and brothers and extended families. We had a great Thanksgiving spent with Sam's mother's side of the family. There were over 40 people at the Thanksgiving/80th Birthday celebration for Sam's mom! Thankful to see everyone happy and healthy.

Thankful

I am finding that I am not that good at this "blog" thing. I have lots of thoughts that run through my mind, but putting them on the page is very difficult.

I have a confession. I have been listening to Christmas music for about a month now. I keep thinking it is Christmas time. I have anxiously awaiting the day when we get to go back home for a visit. Sam and I leave on Jason's birthday, (Tuesday). We should arrive in Raleigh sometime after 3:00. We have to get up very early to make our 7:00 flight. I am pretty much packed and ready. I was going to lose some weight before traveling, but I didn't. I was going to have all of the Christmas presents bought, but I haven't. What do I do with all of my time? It will feel like Christmas being with all of our children and Grandchildren. That is Christmas present enough!

We are celebrating lots of things...Grandmommie's 80th birthday, Sharon and Ashley's 30th birthday, Jason's 35th birthday, Ellie's 8th birthday, Cathy's birthday and Gilda's birthday, Ellie and Will making good grades on their report card. We will be visiting Ashley, Jason & Byrum in their new home and new town. We can see the new Pilates studio. We will be seeing lots of family and extended family. Eating lots of good food. We plan to have some barbeque, fish and hush puppies, red hot dogs, collards, turnips, pecan pie, chocolate cupcakes for Ellie's pre-birthday party. We will be celebrating with Sharon, Dusty & Mia as they look forward to a brand new baby girl or boy to love. I am looking forward to seeing my granddogs, grandkitties and grandbunny too.

I saw a dog this week that looked exactly like Lucy. Most dogs out here are pretty good about walking with their owners. This dog was doing what I have seen Lucy do. Jumping up and down biting on the leash.

Sam and I have been busy collecting items to help when Sharon, Mia and Dusty. (Mostly Mia) Today, we had offers of car seats, baby gates, etc. etc. We are ready!

Guess this is enough rambling....I titled this "Thankful" I have so many things that I am thankful for. I am thankful to be able to go for this visit home. I love you family and will see soon.

(p.s.) can't decide what my favorite Christmas song of all time is.