HALLOWEEN:
As usual Halloween at the campground was a lot of fun and consisted of 3 weekends. Every weekend has trick or treating, pumpkin decorating and costumes. We enjoy each of the weekends but this year I actually dressed up for the last weekend. I dressed up as one of the campground owners, Mike. Unknown to him I borrowed some of his clothes, hat and tools he always has on hand. He is well know for wearing Muck boots all year round so I borrowed a pair from his daughter. When it came time for the costume contest I walked out as Mike. I copied his walk and mannerisms and even introduce myself as "the owner's husband". (He refers to himself as that all the time.) I was a big hit and even won the costume contest. I am not sure if Mike really knew what to think but we really had fun with it.
THANKSGIVING:
This year for Thanksgiving Meric and I had dinner with the campground owner's (the Smiths) and their family. It was really convenient since we live in their front yard. I took my family's traditional cranberry salad and a pie. We really enjoyed the meal and love hanging out with the Smith's. They have become like family to us.
CHRISTMAS:
Every year I debate about decorating for Christmas. In a trailer sometimes decorations are just clutter and take up room we don't really have. But to me it isn't Christmas without stockings, lights and something to put the presents under. This year I got a small artificial tree and draped lights around our back room. It wasn't much but it definitely made it feel more like Christmas.
With the baby on the way Meric and I have really been thinking about traditions. Presents are nice but what we most remember of Christmas past are our family traditions. A lot of those traditions involved food so this year when I made up plates of Christmas goodies I wanted to try out some new recipes and start some traditions of our own. As usual when it comes to food I over did it a little bit. Anyone who has heard about the 6-different-kinds-of-pie-Thanksgiving will understand how I over do it. I tried out 10 recipes! We had almond joys, peanut butter balls, pumpkin fudge, cake balls, baby ruths, nuts clusters, 3 kinds of nuts and baklava. Most everything turned out really good but I definitely made way too much. Next year I think I will just stick to a few recipes and call it good.
On Christmas eve we Skyped with Meric's family. I love that we can open presents together even though we are miles apart. We even played bingo together. It was so nice to see everyone and be able to chat.
Christmas morning I woke up to clean dishes and a breakfast of eggnog scones and hot chocolate thanks to Meric. Then we opened our presents and dug into our stockings. It was so nice and relaxing. By the afternoon my family was ready for their turn to Skype. A family tradition is whoever has Devin's name in the present drawing get to torture him. I had his name and enlisted the help of all of my family so that I could torture him from a far. It was fun seeing what everyone came up with in "wrapping" his presents. Ice, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, glitter, duct tape and countless other items were used in the "wrapping" process. I loved being able to watch it all and not end up all glittery. Sometimes the distance has it advantages.
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| The dogs loved their stocking! |
NEW YEAR'S EVE:
Once again we spent the holiday with the Smith family. We enjoyed a lot of snacking food and played cards until the ball dropped at midnight. Then we spent a couple more hours chatting before Meric and I made the short walk back to our trailer.
The holidays this year were a lot of fun and it is sad to see them come to an end. Of course this new year will bring a lot of new and interesting challenges and adventures. Here's to the new year!
