Touchdown in Colorado and then on the Road Again (Tuesday, December 1st, 2015)

It was so exciting to be home after our long trip to Thailand. We were looking forward to getting unpacked and readjusted before our girls got home so we could enjoy every minute with them while we were all home together. We came home to snow, and lots of it. It was very cold, never getting above freezing, and we were definitely not enjoying that part. 

When we arrived home, our house was empty. Our oldest daughter was out visiting her husband in Georgia and our youngest was still in school. We spent a few days getting unpacked and settling back into life. We made the first 12 hour time change pretty easily, but we struggled to the the last two hour adjustment made. We were up at 4:00 every morning and by 7:30 at night we couldn't keep our eyes open.  We weren't much fun to hang with in the evening but knew we would finish our adjustment soon. We talked to a few other people from our Thailand tour group and it sounded like they were all having trouble too, so that made us feel a little better. I tried to catch up on my work as quickly as I could, since our youngest daughter would be home soon.

After a few days our youngest daughter came home for her Thanksgiving break from school. It was so nice to have her home, and she is doing very well. We’ve had a lot of fun cooking together to accommodate her gluten free diet for Thanksgiving.

We were invited to Steve’s cousin’s house for Thanksgiving, so in addition to our dessert that we were taking, we took stuffing and gluten free gravy for our youngest daughter. We had a great time with all of the family. We were split among 3 tables for the Thanksgiving dinner, with four generations in attendance. The youngest and oldest generation were at one table, Steve’s parent’s and aunt and uncle were at another table, and Steve and I were seated with his cousin and his wife who are a little younger than us. It was the first time in a long time that we were able to really sit and talk with them. We really enjoyed every minute that we spent with them. The dinner was fabulous, but the company with the whole family was definitely the highlight of the day. 

We had a chance to face-time with our oldest daughter and her husband during our Thanksgiving celebration. He recently graduated from his officer’s boot camp, which was certainly the highlight of the month, but it was also their first Thanksgiving dinner with just the two of them and it was so fun to see their excitement about preparing their own meal and just having time together. 

When our oldest daughter got home from Georgia, we invited Steve's parents over for an evening, and had a fun evening of setting up for Christmas.  This will probably be our last time to have the help of our oldest daughter, so this was a very special evening.  

Hanging Stockings

Steve in his usual position handing out ornaments

Love my Charlie Brown Tree, so little and cute!

All done with ornaments!

Time for the nativity scene

Very careful placement!

The perfect nativity, but where's the angel?

There's the angel, Steve is adding her to the top of the tree!

A wonderful meal to end the night

Lobster tails, broccoli salad, beets, beet greens and polenta

I think she liked the beets!

When Thanksgiving break was over, our youngest daughter returned to school, our oldest daughter came home and went back to her routine of work and school, and we were once again on the move.

About a week and a half after getting home, we were off again for another trip to Lake Havasu City, this time with Steve’s parents. Our oldest daughter took us to the airport at 5:15 in the morning, before she left for school. We appreciate this so much, as she has such a busy life. We trade this favor back and forth for each other so that we don’t always have to leave a car in the parking lot while we’re gone. 

We had a treat for Steve’s parents on the plane, we had four Southwest drink coupons, so we all ordered bloody marys. Steve’s mom and dad loved it, and said that now he was going to have to do that on every flight. Steve's dad enjoyed the entertainment that he got out of pouring and mixing and pouring and mixing. The next thing he knew, we were touching down.

We landed in Las Vegas at about 9:30 am and headed straight to Avis Car Rental. We can do a one way rental from the Vegas airport to the little airport in Havasu. We are Avis Preferred, so when we got to the car rental building, we just looked for our name on their electronic sign, and it told us which car was ours. We walked out, got in our car and drove off. It is was so, so easy and very quick. 

We drove to Lake Havasu City via Laughlin, NV where we stopped at In-N-Out Burger for lunch. It’s always fun to enjoy our first In-N-Out Burger after we’ve been gone for a while. It’s about the only fast food that we really ever eat, so it’s a treat. 

It’s so much warmer here than at home, so it’s a treat to be able to run around with just a light jacket.

We have done the drive to Lake Havasu so many times over the last 20 years, that it is really a treat to be able to fly. It only cuts about 7 hours off of the commute, but it is so much easier than making the full drive. 

We got to Havasu, and we all felt great, and ready for the day. We had to grab some groceries and return the rental car, and of course, take some time to enjoy the 70 degree temperatures!