Thanksgiving Take 2

 Let's try this again.  Quinn flew back to Detroit, but Rob made it home safely, so we had our family Thanksgiving, a few days late... and with pork rather than turkey.  It's all good.  Glad everyone made it to where they are meant to be safely.  

Black Friday

 A positive side effect of a two-day power outage and having to move all the food to the garage to salvage it... the opportunity for a clean fridge and freezer!!

And then the clouds part and the sun comes out and all that fresh snow makes it look all clean and pretty, and not the vicious destruction it was just a few days ago!

Don't ask me what this is.  Reagan took it to be mean.

The kids and I went to a movie.  Zootopia 2 was well done.  

And then to dinner with Reagan and her friend Maria!

A Memorable Thanksgiving

 So, our family was not together for Thanksgiving.  Rob, Quinn and Al were in Minnesota with the Wrights, and Colby, Reagan and I were stuck in Michigan due to the blizzard, sans power.   That first day without power was all fun and games (literally) pretending to live a hundred years ago.  By day two, we were maybe a tad more concerned (oh crap - we're going to lose all our food!).  I dug out the generator but didn't know how to use it.  Luckily, I have some very good friends.  John came and plowed us out and gave us instructions on how to save our food supply (move everything to the garage).  Galina and John allowed us to come hang at their house to shower and recharge, and Galina fed us some DELICIOUS homemade chili poppers.  All while they were trying to get ready for Thanksgiving themselves.  Thank the Good Lord for friends.  We are blessed.

We invited ourselves over to Allan and Andrea's for Thanksgiving dinner, and for the first time in history, I contributed not one thing to the meal.  Just showed up empty handed because we had nothing to offer.  Felt guilty about that, but I hadn't bought groceries because we weren't supposed to be in town for the holiday, and even if I had food - couldn't bake anything without power!  Unsurprisingly, Andrea had made WAY too much food, and even with three extra mouths to feed, there was plenty.  We are blessed again.

By 11:30 pm, our power had been restored.  Those linemen working overtime in the cold instead of being warm with their families on Thanksgiving... we have much to be thankful for. 

A memorable Thanksgiving to say the least!

Not three days ago, there was no snow and it was 50 degrees.  Winter came with a vengeance.

She looks miserable.  This is not because of the snow.  She loves the snow.  It's because her mother is taking her picture shoveling.

The generator we have but I do not know how to operate.  Very helpful.

How we made water for cleaning and washing ourselves - melting snow on the stove top.

Recreating a famous photo: 

Back home by battery-operated lamp light.

Those linemen working 24 hours a day non-stop to bring us our power back.  Wowza. 

And Thanksgiving Minnesota style!

Steve submitted a photo to the local news, and said it was from Quinn :)

Well, That Didn't Work

The blizzard hit as forecasted.  What a surprise.  Our power went out, and Colby, Reagan and I were going NOWHERE for Thanksgiving.  Roads are impassible, thousands without power.  The power lines were so low across the driveway I was worried I was going to get electrocuted.  Quinn's flight was delayed by hours, Rob and Al made it to Appleton from Florida, but roads were horrible and it took far longer to drive to Minneapolis than planned.  

This first day without power, Colby, Reagan and I felt all "Little House on the Prairie".  Cell signal was also out, which means I had the kids' undivided attention.  FINALLY -  no excuses to play games with the mama! 

Thank goodness for wood stoves.  This was our only heat source for 48 hours, and we slept in front of it on the floor!

Colby lit his first sauna!

Spaghetti can be made on stove top.  We could still eat!

Lost a few trees and parts of trees.

And really no where to go, with multiple trees blocking the roadway anyway.

God bless the Chassell Volunteer Fire Department.  They opened up a warming center where the kids and I went to eat, charge our phones, and play some games with actual lighting.

I kept checking Snap Map until I saw this... Rob making it to Minneapolis to pick up Quinn.  It took a good 8 hours for Rob to get from Appleton to Minneapolis to Fifty Lakes... but they made it by 10:30 pm.  Hallelujah.  

 

Traveling

 

 This kid.  We are scheduled to spend Thanksgiving with the Wrights in Minnesota.  Before that, Quinn flew from Detroit to Baltimore to visit his girlfriend.  I found him a cheap flight from Washington DC to Minneapolis, to be picked up by Rob and Al coming back from Florida - but the layover was 13 hours in Denver.  This is WAY out of the way, but Quinn didn't mind.  He has friends in Denver, and could visit!  Apparently, this layover entailed snakes.

The OTHER issue is that a blizzard is brewing!  And our multistep travel plans were tenuous to begin with, before said blizzard.  Quinn is flying from Reagan International to Denver to Minneapolis, Rob and Al flying from Fort Lauderdale to Appleton, driving to Minneapolis, picking up Quinn (who will be spending the night at the airport) and then driving to Fifty Lakes from there, while Colby, Reagan and I drive from the U.P. direct to Fifty Lakes.  Heck of a lot of moving parts here.  Let's hope it all goes ok??

Rob and Al in Ft. Meyers

 

Rob and Al went to Florida to visit the sun and the water.  They reportedly spent a whole lot of time on the balcony, enjoying the view.  Al worked on his tan.  It's good to be an Aho.