Thanksgiving Weekend, 2011

We had a really nice get-together at Jackie and Jerry's home for Thanksgiving. I can't recall better weather for the holiday than what we enjoyed; sunny skies and temps pushing into the 60s with very little wind. Short-sleeve weather. My only regret was not bringing the pups with us to play with Tucker and Gracie in their fenced-in backyard. They would've loved it.

In typical Jerry and Jackie style, the dinner was great. What more is there to say?

Photos and video from the day.

My 24" Simplicity snowblower has served me well over the years since purchasing it new in the fall of 1986 but I decided it was time to replace it with what will likely be the last snowblower I'll need to buy in this lifetime. When we're due for another new one I'm guessing we'll be living the maintenance-free townhome lifestyle.

I've had my eye on an Ariens blower for a couple years but I just couldn't ever find it in me to pull the trigger until Friday. I decided I may as well do it now while I'm still fully employed rather than wait until we're retired. Not much buyer's remorse here either. With 11 hp and 30" wide, it's more machine than I'll need but that will only serve to raise the stakes for the other guys in the neighborhood. Oh, and did I mention it has hand-warmers? I may leave that little bit of advertisement just as it is for a while so there can be no doubt.

I confessed on Facebook Saturday that I've become addicted to The Housewives of Beverly Hills, if only for the afternoon. I began watching it for a couple hours while walking on the treadmill but it didn't end there. I kept watching for several more episodes while waiting for Tammy and Rachel to return home so we could put up Christmas decorations together. It's said that money can't buy happiness. This show appears to prove that claim.

We got a good start on our decorations but there's still much to do. As is tradition, Rachel and I worked on the tree while Tammy tended to the other displays. Charlie found that the bottom row of branches on our artificial tree makes a good back-scratcher. We watched him do several laps around the base confirming for us that he is indeed the nuttiest dog we've ever had.

Tammy and I cut out early to go kick around the mall for a couple hours. It's a nice diversion on a Minnesota winter night.

Each year for the past few we've included a family photo in our Christmas cards. A recap:

2007 saw us all wearing glasses

2008 we were our Wii characters

We missed 2009

2010 found us about as awkward as we get in our snuggies.

So what to do for this year? We were sipping on some coffees from Starbucks while tossing around some ideas on the way home from church this morning when Rachel came up with the perfect plan. A photo of each of us in our own self-absorbed way portraying the typical American family plugged into a virtual world, mostly oblivious to the real one around us. I like it!

And so I present to you our Christmas 2011 family photo!




Comments

Lisa said…
I like that picture! Great idea!!!
November 27, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Kevin Gilmore said…
Haha...thanks, Lisa...honestly, truth-be-told...sometimes this picture is quite accurate of our household!
November 27, 2011 at 8:17 PM
Jackie said…
I think it plays itself out in more households than we care to admit. Clever picture nonetheless. Gonna be hard to top it in 2012!
November 27, 2011 at 10:26 PM
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