Thanksgiving in Michigan

On the ride from the airport, Madi began pointing to bridges (overpasses, really). She was obviously moved by this abundance of bridges that she had never seen before, so she came up with, "There are too many bridges in Michigan!!" and she would slap her legs for effect. She complained about the bridges all week, especially because of the fantastic reaction she was getting!

I thought about blogging a few times during our trip, but my heart kept telling me to live in the moment and enjoy every minute with the family. So I did. We had such a nice time in Michigan. We laughed alot. Yes, Madi saw snow--not a lot of snow, but she saw snow fall out of the sky. We met Kelsey's boyfriend, Nick, who is very sweet and good to Kelsey. He gets a thumbs-up from the Aunt and Uncle in Florida (and from Madi too:). Refer to the slideshow for photos.

The puppies were very cute. Madi loved Hogan (aka Hoggin) and Hollister and slept with Aunt Kathy and the puppies every night. We would hear them get up in the morning to take care of the puppies and make them scrambled eggs. Kathy makes them each a scrambled egg every day. You heard me--they eat a better breakfast than most people! Madi was constantly saying, "I love you boy" and "I love you girl" in her special little accent. Madi was Kathy's "little helper" all week. Kathy let her have a hand in everything just about. She was an award-winning Aunt, to say the least, and Madi was glued to her all week. Kathy was playing with her constantly.

We went out for a couple of really, really good dinners with Kathy and Kelsey, and Nick joined us one of the evenings. Madi was a champ at both restaurants we went to. She was praised pretty much everywhere she went and received special treatment because of her behavior. Yes folks, me bragging again about my daughter!!! On our way home from dinner one night, we drove through some neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights. We found one house that was absolutely decked out in Thanksgiving theme. We had never seen anything like it. Please check out the picture in the slideshow. Anyway, Madi was so impressed that she asked us if she could draw them a picture. The next day, she proceeded to draw them some pictures and insisted that we deliver the pictures to the house. So, we drove over and walked up to their door (which had a 'no soliciting' sign!), and rang the bell. The homeowner answered and glared at us as if we were solicitors--until I explained our motive and the fact that we were visitors from Florida. He seemed pleased enough with the delivery, and Madi was extra-pleased with her good deed.

Thanksgiving dinner was spent at home with Kathy, Kelsey, and Kathy's best friend Gary. Gary is a wonderful, kind-hearted man who we've known for many years now. He is absolutely hilarious and always adds levity to our family gatherings. We love his company. Anyway, it was just the six of us, and it was perfect. We wore our most comfortable clothes and adhered to no schedule. Kathy single-handedly made a wonderful spread for all of us.

On the ride back to the airport, we decided to count the bridges. We counted 141. Turns out Madi was right about the bridges afterall! Kathy and Kelsey, I know there is so much more to add. We have so many funny things to remember and reflect on that I could blog on forever!! Thanks for a wonderful time.