Saturday November 30, 2024
Dear Diary,
Good morning God,
- Thank you for this day.
- Thank you for hot springs.
- Thank you for sunshine.
- Thank you for a safe and enjoyable drive.
- Thank you for my kids.
I love you!
I woke up at 2 am. I attempted to fall back asleep but by 3 am I got up and got ready to drive to Utah to have Thanksgiving dinner with my boys, daughter-in-loves and grandkids. I had planned on getting up at 4 am but since I was awake I got started early. Since by the time I fell back asleep it would be time to get up anyway. I let the dogs out, packed our suitcase and our food in the car. I woke Angel up and she got her things together. Right before I left, I fed the dogs and let them out one last time. I checked over the house and it looked nice and clean. I told the dogs that their people would be home later and we hearted (headed) to Utah. It was going to take us 7.5 hours to get there.
The drive down the mountain in the dark went well even though there was thick fog some of the time. By the time the sun came up we were already in southern Idaho. The sunrise was beautiful and I pulled over to take a picture of it. We stopped at a rest stop off of I-15 in the middle of nowhere and there were two kittens climbing a tree. Someone had to have abandoned them there since there wasn’t a house for miles around. I attempted to rescue them but they were wild and wouldn’t let me come near them. I didn’t want to leave them there because a coyote would probably get them before long but no matter what I tried, they wouldn’t let me anywhere near them. Angel and I tried luring them to us with cheese but they didn’t fall for it. We threw them the cheese and they voraciously ate it, so we threw them some more. Then we left and I had to resign myself to the fact that I didn’t know what their fate would be. Maybe someone else would be able to rescue them.
The first half of the drive we listened to a Diary of a Wimpy Kid audiobook. The last half of the drive we listened to a Louis L’Amour audiobook. The Louis L’Amour book was so good that I wanted to sit in the car and keep listening to it when we arrived at my son Scott and daughter-in-love Delany’s house. I was excited to see them though and we went inside. We all hugged and I brought in our luggage. We all talked for a while then Angel and I went upstairs. Angel played on her phone while I took an hour nap.
When I woke up, I went downstairs and hung out with Scott and Delany in their room. When it was almost time to leave, I put the Christmas presents that I had brought into Delany’s car. We were going to my oldest son and daughter-in-loves, Shawn and Bri’s, house at to have dinner and do a ThanksChristmas together, since I will be pet sitting in Council and McCall over Christmas.
We all rode in Delany’s car to Shawn and Bri’s. We were greeted by their dogs. They have 5 indoor dogs and 4 of them are big dogs. Shelby is a black German Shepard and Bits is in love with her. Buck is a black lab. Odin is a Sharpei/Great Dane mix. Taters is a chocolate lab puppy and Hazel is a large sized chihuahua. It’s always mayhem for a few minutes after walking in the door. Once the dogs calmed down, we greeted Bri. Shawn was talking a nap and Bri woke him up. We brought in food and presents and Angel found my 5 year old grandson Sam in the basement playing video games. He came upstairs and I gave him a big hug. My 13 year old granddaughter didn’t come out of her cave until it was time to eat.
Shawn got up and I gave him a hug. We got the table ready and we all ate together. I had brought a big salad and homemade pumpkin pie. Delany had made a pickle dip that was really good, green bean casserole and deviled eggs. Bri had made the rest of the food, turkey , stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, pistachio pie and layered pumpkin pie. I ate potatoes, salad and corn.
After eating, I gave everyone their presents. It was fun watching them all open their gifts. I haven’t gotten to see them open their gifts for 10 years. Angel did really good in understanding that she wasn’t getting anything, but that we were only giving and watching other people open presents. Everyone seemed happy with what I got them. I got them all something they had specifically asked for as well as fun things I thought they would like. I buy Christmas gifts all year long when I see neat things at craft fairs or gift shops or thrift stores.
The adults all stayed upstate and played card games while the kids went downstairs to play video games. The first card game we played was one that I got Delany for Christmas. It has been on her Christmas list and was called Your’e Getting Old. I lost as officially being “old” both times we played it 😂. It was a lot of fun. Next we played Cards Against Humanity which is always raunchy and everyone thought it was way funnier than I did. The energy of that game is “not my thing” 😂.
It was almost 9 pm by the time we finished and I was feeling really tired. I was surprised that Angel was still going strong since she had gotten up at 3 am and had not had a nap. I hugged Shawn, Bri, Alex and Sam goodbye and Scott, Delany, Angel and I hearted (headed) back to their house. When we arrived, I made tea and we all went straight to bed. Angel and I slept on sleeping mats upstairs. I put on a sleep meditation for Angel to listen to and she fell asleep instantly. I wrote part of my blog and fell asleep at 10:15 pm.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I appreciate you.
Love, Victoria
P. S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.