November Happenings

 How has ANOTHER month come and gone?

The best news of the month is that Grant was finally eligible to get the adult version of the Covid vaccine!  He did so without hesitation or a fight. Everyone in CVS was like, "You're so brave!" and I think he was a little embarrassed by that.

After the birthday/Halloween weekend hangover, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise the first day of the school week.  It really made the leaves look so vibrant (even when they probably really didn't. The changing of the leaves was a bit underwhelming this year.)

We have finally hit that point in our lives when we can leave our kids at home for a couple of hours (especially pretty early in the morning) and go have some fun!  The first weekend of November, we went on a hike at the Blue Hills with some of my FEMA coworkers.

At one point, the hike got a bit treacherous! Straight down and all rocks!

A few times, the hike got a little more challenging so we had to take a few breaks. Todd and I were up front near my coworker John (on the right) so we got an extra long break! I've spent the last almost 20 years keeping up with a guy with long legs so I can handle it.

There's a great reward for climbing to the top of Eliot Tower on Great Blue Hill... a fantastic view of Boston!

On a good day, you can see the Atlantic, too!

John (and some others) brought some snacks that we all shared at Eliot Tower, including honeycomb from John's beehives!

It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning and there were still a few leaves on the trees.

FEMA group picture!

FEMA group picture number two!

After a morning of hiking, we went to the pasta dinner at church (it was required for Natalie - you know Todd and I don't really eat pasta that often!) The dinner benefited the confirmation class, which is a two year program. The 9th graders brought desserts, and the 10th graders served the meal.

To round out the weekend, we went to see the final home game of the season for the New England Revolution, who play at Gillette Stadium - Go Revs!

The lighthouse at Gillette! The Revolution were playing Inter Miami CF for the final game.

We finally made our way to our seats after grabbing some food. 

They also gave out free Revs flags!

It was a really nice evening at Gillette.

Unfortunately, we were sitting next to the Inter Miami CF fan club, who was very loud and enthusiastic.  Meanwhile, the Revolution crazies were under the big screen next to the lighthouse.

No one paid attention in my family selfie - and I apparently didn't pay attention in Todd's family selfie!

The Revolution had two goals that they took back - including one that they actually lit the fireworks for.

In the end, it was a loss for the Revolution who didn't score any actual goals, but it didn't really matter because they won the Supporter's Shield for having the best regular season record in MLS.

Do you know what else we do in November?  We rake leaves.  A LOT of leaves.  Here we had a tornado of leaves coming through our neighborhood.

It's kind of pretty but where is my driveway?

Ah, that's better. Let's see how long that lasts!

Uh oh!  Not long, apparently!

Hey, we also celebrated our 16th anniversary!  We went for a nice dinner at the Wayside Inn, and we didn't even have to get a babysitter for the first time ever.

I'm not sure what I'm looking at here ha ha.

Ah yes, here we go again.

That's better.  We had a drink in the bar area before we went in for dinner.  I just love this place!

The Wayside Inn has a bit of a European feel to it since it is one of the few places Todd doesn't fit... much like the old hotels and castles in Europe.

There are a few rooms in the Inn where they have it set up much like it would have been in the 1600s.

Ugh, more leaves?

Ahhh, that's better!

The Bailey family decided to get together the weekend before Thanksgiving, which happened to also be the weekend that they were holding the Plymouth Thanksgiving parade (America's Hometown!)  It was pretty easy to get to, but you had to park pretty far away (like, right off of Route 3) - however, they provided buses for everyone to get to the parade route and that was definitely less stressful than trying to find parking downtown. The Army Golden Knights jumped from airplanes to start the parade!

The start of America's Hometown Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth!

I shudder to think what the Pilgrims would have thought of this parade!

The turkey float is one of the most popular floats in the parade.

The Mayflower Society is made up of descendants of the 102 men, women and children (along with 25-30 crew members) that made the voyage from England to Massachusetts, carrying English passengers from England and Holland.

This is a replica of the Edward Winslow house, which now is home to the Mayflower Society.

Todd was blocking the glare for the Bailey family selfie. And then there was Grant...

This guy got the biggest cheer of the day. Some of the horses came by early on in the parade and pooped right in front of us. It was BAD.  Really bad.

The Coast Guard marched right on through - we saw them flying overhead, too!

There was a nice float of a ship bringing immigrants to America, which was definitely an (obvious) theme of the parade this year.

The parade of nations featured countries where people emigrated from to the United States. Our personal favorite, of course, was Germany!

Ah the good people of Lithuania!  We went there!

There was also a group featuring tons of flags from countries around the world.  I spy Norway and Sweden in there! (Honestly - I might not have known that if Grant hadn't called it out!)

And who could forget, of course, the American flag!

Last but not least, the Big Guy himself, Santa Claus!  I think he's pointing right at me here. I was getting a little nervous. What does he know!? Was I good this year?

After the parade, which was very well organized, we headed back to Grammi and Bean's for some midday snacks.  Nauni taught Natalie how to make pinwheels, which she did without even putting up a fight.

We told her she now has to make these at EVERY family get together.

Grant got a late birthday present from Grammi and Bean, which was hilarious.  Money on a string!

We also got to meet our grand fur-nephew, Theo for the first time! Grant went bonkers for him, of course.

Look at me, stretching my legs and doing a little sploot!

After the big meal, which for some reason I have zero photos of, we all went into the living room.  Grant is showing his dad and Uncle Steve some silly filters that they were using to take pictures.  ALSO, GoGo asked Seth to be a groomsman in his wedding! So fun!

We were trying to figure out what GoGo was saying to Natalie here. Meanwhile, Theo is getting some loving from KK.

Grammi with her two youngest grandbabies.

The next day, the kids and I went over to Aunt Betty's house to see about a few things she wanted us to have, along with a few surprise gifts - one of which was Grammi's mink coat which is crazy awesome.  Here, Natalie models for us. We thought she was kind of rocking the Macklemore look here.

We left Plymouth on Sunday because we had to get back home to prepare for my mom's arrival on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Monday evening, we saw THIS sunset!

WHOA!

Errr, ummm... does someone want to tell them that they should be in hiding this time of year?

Nana finally arrived on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, after a LONG ride to our house in traffic from Logan.  She was able to give the kids their Christmas presents in person!  Grant got his annual Hess truck, some cold hard cash, and a player-(gift)-to-be-named-later.

Meanwhile, Natalie got a Louis Vuitton purse (!!!) and inside of it, there was a VERY special surprise.

What could it be?

Perhaps a receipt to the purse?  LOL!

Nope. Not a receipt.

 It was tickets to see BTS in Los Angeles the week after Thanksgiving!  Nana purchased her ticket! Queue the tears!

She was so excited!

But what?  There's something else?  (This is me looking super proud of myself for having kept this secret because I am equally as excited!)

What else is in there?  Tickets to see Hamilton at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood??? Say WHAT?  This is another epic Nana win!

This kid was so excited, her hair was bouncy! I actually took a video of this but it won't save to the blog because it was too large, so these are screen captures from that video (apologizing for the quality!) Nana coming through with the biggest win of her life!

Side note: Nana does not just give Louis Vuitton purses to her grandkids for fun.  She had purchased it for herself and then decided she didn't like it, so it was a re-gift ha ha.

My Thanksgiving face is much more relaxed because I now no longer had to live with the secret that Natalie and I would be going to Los Angeles to see her favorite group in the entire world!  We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner that everyone gobbled up! 

We had a really nice visit with Nana, who got to be here with us for Thanksgiving AND helped us put up our Christmas tree(s).  She even dealt with some cold weather and a little bit of SNOW! 

A Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night! (We miss you Pop Pop!)