So we left the train station on Christmas Day in our very own van and headed to Disney World! We arrived around 10 am only to discover that Disney was sold out! Apparently that is one of their busiest days!  Instead, we detoured to Epcot and bought a 2 day pass.

It is an interesting trip when you take along someone in a wheelchair or scooter. I had rented Mom B a portable scooter in order for her to get around long distances like Disney or Epcot. You get to park in handicap parking, closer to the door(good thing). We rolled right into Epcot and had a beautiful day exploring all the different countries and riding a few of their rides. Even Mom B enjoyed the rides(but we had her skip Fast Track and Soarin!). We loved all the Christmas decorations and strolling past the Living Christmas tree concert. And Christmas dinner was in Mexico. We were getting the hang of the scooter thing until someone scooter jacked us. An elderly couple were given Mom's scooter by mistake by the staff in the restaurant when we parked it to  go eat. Who knew that every key fits every scooter! After I just told my mom, "It will be fine. We can leave it here. No one is going to steal your scooter!" Little did I know! Scott tracked down the culprits(an elderly gentleman) and we were able to swap scooters and be on our way!

That was Friday. On Saturday we thought we would take our chances at Disney World. Tom and the kids got up early and drove the van over to the park. They had hit several rides before Mom and I were dressed and having breakfast. Then Mom and I took the hotel van over to the park. I had to locate the van and unload the scooter. But I drove it up to the entrance and loaded Mom onto it. Then we took the ferry to the front door and made it into the park before it closed again-filled to capacity! We entered just when a Christmas parade was coming by so we sat and enjoyed the show until the kids and Tom met up with us. Disney is so handicap friendly. Even though many people have taken advantage of the system in the past, they have altered some of the procedures and it was still very impressive. Allison downloaded fast passes on her phone so we could catch specific rides at certain times. Mom and our gang also received Fast Pass Plus which allowed all of us set times to board with mom along. She enjoyed The Haunted Mansion, The Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh ride(twice), The People Mover, The Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, and the Tikki Room. Everything else was just too crowded or too fast paced. We had a wonderful day and Tom, Scott and Mom headed back to the hotel at dark. Allison and I stayed behind to catch the firework show and light parade as well as a few more rides. Sadly the Pirates ride was down. And we missed the 7 Dwarf Mine Ride(ran out of fast passes). But another wonderful day with perfect weather in the 80s!

On Sunday we packed up and stopped into Downtown Disney shopping plaza(now known as Disney Springs). It is a small shopping plaza with lots of restaurants, entertainment and condos on a small lake. We stopped into Ghiradelli for a hot chocolate and the Pin Store for Allison to swap Disney pins. She lucked out and bought a mystery package with Star Wars Pins! Luke and Leia! We also toured the Legos store. Then we were on our way to Venice. We stopped into Tom's parents house for a quick visit and to stroll around their community checking out the Christmas lights. Tom was staying with his parents, and we were at the Hampton Inn. I decided to get a suite for my mom and I so we could visit with the rest of the Bozyk family when they arrived. Dan and Sheila and their kids, and Dave and Sandra and their two boys were there on Sunday. We had a quick visit with Dave and Sandra, Chris and Nick on Sunday. On Monday we were busy getting ready for the service we had on Tuesday for my Dad. We also had a family outing to see the new Star Wars movie, and then take out Pizza Hut for our whole family back at the hotel.

On Weds, Dan and Dave's family headed out. Dave and Sandra decided to take their family to Disney before driving back to Houston. Dan and Sheila had to drop their daughter, Caroline off to the airport for a scheduled ski trip and decided to keep going. Before Dave and Sandra and their kids left, we met my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy for breakfast. They had driven all night to arrive in Venice at their rented condo so they could visit with us before we all left. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and visit with them, even looking through their son Ryan's wedding album(of which we were in many of the photos from last Sept!). After breakfast we stopped into Tom's parent's house. I took Mike on a bike tour down to the beach. We loved spotting the gopher tortoises along the route.

We then left Mike and Mom at the hotel with BBQ carry out as Tom and I, Scott and Allison, and Tom's sister Susan and husband John headed up to Tampa for a Tampa Bay Lightening Hockey game. We arrived a bit early so we had time to walk the Tampa River Walk and eat dinner outside on a patio at a nearby restaurant. Later we discovered that the Arena has a large patio with food trucks and tables as well as several stages and live bands providing entertainment. The hockey game was incredible, even though Tampa Bay lost to the NY Rangers. We were especially impressed with the light show from the Tesla coil in the roof shooting out lightning bolts. We'll have to go back and spend more time visiting the Tampa area-lots to see and do.

On Thursday we met up with my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy at their rented condo, only about 20 mins away from Tom's parents. They have rented their place for the past several years and share their street with many retired Michiganders hunkering down in the South over the winter months. Tom, Mom, Mike and I and the kids stopped in for an afternoon visit on New Year's Eve after lunch with Tom's parents. I gave Mike and Mom a tour before lunch of Tom's parent's beautiful new Community Hall and Pool in their retirement community of which Tom's Dad was responsible for its being built. At Joe and Kathy's we were treated to an afternoon of kayaking and paddle boarding. Tom stayed at the condo with mom while we headed out to a nearby park on Lemon Bay. Scott had his first experience paddle boarding while Allison, Mike and I kayaked. Allison and I were treated to a SeaWorld experience with a show by the local dolphins as they swam around our kayaks and did flips in the air! What an amazing day! Afterwards we headed to Susan and John's house for a New Year's celebration. Sadly, we watched our poor MSU football team get spanked in their Fiesta bowl game. But we did enjoy putting together our yearly puzzle with Tom's Dad that evening. And Thanks to Susan and John for being such wonderful hosts!

On New Year's Day we were packed up and headed out to Busch Gardens in Tampa. (You should have seen my well packed van!). Tom and his Dad went out and bought a top car carrier for suitcases and a rack for the hitch to haul the scooter. We spent a beautiful New Year's Day at Busch Gardens and sent Mike on his way to the airport in the afternoon via taxi. Then it was off to Happy Hour at our hotel with dinner from our favorite Taco Bus(as featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives). Then we hit the road on Saturday-bumper to bumper traffic all the way to South Carolina. On Sunday we detoured in VA to the eastern shore to drop off Allison at school. She was taking a winter class and was not sure if she had to be at school or not since it was an online course. Better safe than sorry. Plus it gave us a chance to give Mom B a quick drive by tour of Salisbury U and drop in on Allison's condo. Then back home and dropping Mom off at her apt.

Christmas at Disney!

 Epcot Center

Magic Kingdom

 Lego Store at Disney Springs

 Mom, Joe and Kathy

 Venice Bike Path

 Sunset at Nokomis Beach

Gopher Tortoise

Tampa Bay Lightning Game w/ Susan and John

 Scott on Paddleboard

Allison and Mike in kayaks

New Year's Eve party with Mom S, Gus dog and Mike

 Puzzle mania with Grandpa S

Visit to Busch Gardens

So we headed off on our big trip to Florida on Thursday, Christmas Eve. We were going to Florida for one main purpose, my Dad's funeral and memorial service. I had decided that since my parents never made plans for their final resting place, that Florida was a good choice since most of my mother's family is buried there. I had contacted the cemetery and made arrangements for the burial and had decided on cremation for traveling purposes.  After speaking to the Deacon who would perform the service at the cemetery, I found out that we could schedule a funeral mass at the nearby cathedral. What a special opportunity! I thought since we weren't parishioners that we could not use their church. Instead, I was directed to a wonderful volunteer who helped me through the entire process of setting up the service over the phone. We could even have the mass said in polish if we wished! We just would not be able to understand a word of it! And unfortunately the coordinator had never heard of  a polish mass with accordion music(aka polka mass).   I also wanted to set up a place to meet afterwards for lunch since the whole family was getting together and the ceremony was scheduled for the morning. I did not want to worry about the hot Florida sun or afternoon showers, so I scheduled the service for the morning.  Turns out we had the most gorgeous weather during our whole trip there. I also figured we could find a restaurant easier for lunchtime than dinner.

Our family decided to travel the fastest way down to Florida that Mom B would approve of-the Amtrak Auto Train! We talked about trying it for many years. This seemed like a good opportunity. You pick up the train in Virginia, south of DC and it takes you to Orlando! They drive your vehicle right on the train. We left at 4pm, slept overnight and arrived in Orlando at 8am! Before the train station was even open. We made great time. And we had a wonderful dinner in the dining car-fish, beef, rice and broccoli and cheesecake for dessert. Although the train is a bit bumpy and not easy to walk back and forth from your car to the dining car. They also have a lounge car with a bar and tv screens to watch movies. We bunked down in our own sleeping quarters. Mom and I shared a compartment, Scott and Allison next door on the lower level and Tom had his own space up top. The train has two levels. We were closer to the bathrooms which looked just like airplane toilets. Each compartment has two seats that fold down into a bed along with a small table. The conductor in our car made up the beds complete with pillows, sheets and blankets. I slept in the overhead bunk. It was a real pain climbing up and down to go to the bathroom. They had showers, but Tom said they were not very exciting.  And it is not a terribly restful sleep. The train starts and stops along the way to let freight trains pass, and it is a bit noisy and shaky, but it was fun to look out the window at small towns along the way all decorated with Christmas lights.  Mom and I even spent some time finishing up our Christmas cards before dinner. Allison and I had traveled by train in Europe on an overnight trip and thought this was much more comfortable. When we arrived, all the passengers sit outside the train station waiting for their cars to be driven off. We were on our way by 9am!

Our funeral service was scheduled for Tuesday which gave everyone a chance to travel to Florida. Dan and Sheila and their twins, Caroline and Clayton, arrived Sunday afternoon in Venice as did Dave and Sandra and their two boys, Nicholas and Christopher, all driving in from Texas. Their daughter Sarah drove in with her boyfriend Monday night from Louisiana, and Mike B flew into Tampa on Monday night as well. Unfortunately my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy had car trouble along the way and were not able to make the ceremony. But Tom's parents and his sister Susan and husband John were invited and joined us for the ceremony and lunch afterwards. I spent Monday getting ready for the busy day-calling the cemetery and the church as well as the restaurant to verify our schedule. I also treated Mom B to her first manicure/pedicure along with the rest of us girls-Allison and myself, Sandra and Mom Seitz. We all took a quick lunch break at the restaurant next door with Tom and his parents and then dropped Mom B off to get her hair done. Then it was time to get the extended family together to see the new "Star Wars" movie. Since we had such a huge group we decided to split up and enjoy dinner with the Bozyk clan back at our hotel. I had Tom reserve a suite in the Hampton Inn for mom and I and a room for the kids. That way we could visit with family members without crowding out the Seitz families in their Florida homes. We all enjoyed an evening of take out from  Pizza Hut and catching up.

We all arrived at the church on Tuesday morning early for a quick review of the service. Tom, Allison, Sandra and Sarah all graciously volunteered for the readings, and Scott, Clayton and Christopher helped out with bringing up the gifts for communion. Dan and Dave led our procession into and out of the church with Dad's urn. The priest offered a prayer prior to the mass over the urn as we all walked in together. I brought along some mementos per recommendation of the mass coordinator to display on a small table in front of the altar. I placed a photo of Dad, some Christmas lillies, a small Ford truck and emblem, his John Deere hat and some Florida shells as well as Michigan Petoskey stones. The church was beautifully decorated with poinsettias and a huge manger scene. They even had a banner on the altar with Dad's name and an even bigger surprise, the Christmas mass was said in his honor! We had the whole church to ourselves as well as our own organist and choir. The music and the service was wonderful. Afterwards we headed to the cemetery. We had a short prayer service and had a quick opportunity to visit the gravesite and the memorial headstone. Both my parents now have a joined plot among family members, primarily on my mom's side. After the burial, we headed to Sarasota for lunch.  I thought the luncheon went well-lots of food and drinks to choose from, but I was disappointed that they did not have a projector on hand to show off our slide show of Dad. Allison, Tom and I worked very hard organizing and scanning photos of Dad from childhood to present day. Allison even added beautiful piano music. They had a screen, but no projector available. Instead we played it on the laptop, but it is so much nicer on a large screen. Later we showed Tom's parents on their tv and brother Mike had an opportunity to see it. I thought it was very sweet.

So that was the most important part of our trip. After lunch we all took a family photo and then split up. I dropped into Nokomis Beach and watched a beautiful sunset with Mike. We then headed into Venice for ice cream at Kilwins!(just like Michigan). Allison needed to get her fill of  Superman ice cream. It was a very special day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We were running around and getting ready for the holidays and our big trip to Florida.


Scott had one more full busy week of school with tests and homework before the holiday break. He also participated in his first, two Holiday choir concerts. His high school has so many talented students and groups that they had to hold a school concert over two evenings. Tom and I headed to Scott's concert Thursday night and enjoyed the first hour together listening to the choir perform. Then Tom took Scott home so he could finish homework and study for a few tests. I decided to stay on for the evening and especially enjoyed listening to the strings perform(all the violinists and cello players). You can tell most of the kids have been playing and performing for quite some time. On Friday evening, the kids were all back at it. This time I brought Mom Bozyk to the concert. They mostly played Christmas music and did a fantastic job-especially when they combined the entire choir and all the orchestras-strings and wind instruments as well as percussion singing Gloria. A fantastic job! And Scott finally got to wear his tux!


I was hoping Tom and Allison would have been able to join us, as well as Allison's boyfriend Tyler. However, Tom was stuck at the pet store waiting for Cookie to finish with her grooming. And Allison was giving Tyler a ride home from school and his family was waiting for him for dinner. So Gma and I enjoyed the concert on our own. Afterwards though we all got together for dinner out a local restaurant and then I dropped mom off back at her apt. We had both spent the afternoon at the hairdresser. I decided to get a shorter cut for our trip to Florida and mom needed a perm.  On Saturday I was busy running errands and getting Scott to work. Tom decided to take Allison to a Hershey Bear hockey game along with friend John Dutton. I spent the time wrapping presents. We decided to have Christmas a week early since we were going to be traveling to Florida during the holidays. I decided I really liked having Christmas early. On that Sunday morning I had to go into work. I was making up an extra day since I would not be in on Christmas Eve. I worked in the morning and then headed over to Mom's retirement building to sing for the residents with the Girl Scout choir. We put on an hour long show and the resident's loved us! They said we provided the best entertainment of the season since we sang such a variety of songs, including a few Hannukah songs. After our show, I brought mom over to our house to enjoy an early Christmas dinner along with presents. When mom had opened all of her gifts, I dropped her back home after a quick drive through our neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights. Everyone seems to have gone all out putting up incredible light displays. I think because the weather was so nice this year. After dropping her off, I hurried home so our family could finish opening up our gifts.  We all got really nice presents; more than we expected. And Thank you to Susan and John  P. or providing our Christmas dinner!  The ham and cheesecake were perfect!  I even received an extra special treat when a secret santa dropped off a present on our front door Sunday night! An adorable snowman decoration. What a wonderful neighborhood we have!

Enjoying Christmas dinner!

 Tom and Allison head off to a Hershey Bear Hockey Game

 Scott and Gma at the HS Holiday concert

 Scott and friends at the cookie exchange party

 Opening Christmas presents!

Cookie does not seem to be enjoying the Spirit of Christmas in her new Santa outfit







Scott and I enjoyed a very busy Saturday together. In the morning we headed out with the Boy Scout troop to visit the NSA museum. We learned all about secret codes during war time, starting with George Washington all the way up to our recent battles during our private tour. I especially enjoyed doing some shopping for Tom in the NSA gift shop. Afterwards, Scott and I had lunch with one of his friends and fellow scout mom at a local restaurant. Then we were headed off to a cookie exchange party. But this was nothing like the ones I have been to before. This is a group of  Scott's friends and their parents from his elementary catholic school. The mom hosting the party not only had all of us provide cookies to swap(I had been busy baking all week), but she had an incredible amount of food(chili, soup, appetizers) along with gift bags for each guest. Her generosity was overwhelming. I really enjoyed myself and chatting with the other parents. And Scott and his friends kept busy with video games. But we had to leave since Scott had to get to work and I had to get  busy wrapping gifts.

I also enjoyed celebrating the holidays during the week with a Christmas party at work. We had a wonderful work luncheon and I even won an I-pad as a raffle prize! Our rehab team also went out to lunch for the holidays at a local crepe restaurant and exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Finally, I joined my mom after work for an Open House with lots of goodies and entertainment at my mom's retirement apt.

On Monday I was back to work and Scott was back at school. He was in class until Weds. At least he was done with his Boy Scout meetings. He had finished off the year with a wonderful last Christmas meeting. Allison was so happy to be done with her finals. She had a very successful 1st term in the school of business-lots of As and Bs. Scott still had a few quizzes to complete before Christmas. Even Tom, who was on vacation from work still had a lot of papers and assignments to complete before Christmas for his online Phd. program. Allison went out to see Star Wars with her boyfriend Tyler and roommate Jen. They all really liked the movie. It was still on our "to do" list. I was busy filling out Christmas cards each night, along with packing for our upcoming trip. I had to pack up a suitcase for my mom as well as my own and I had quite a bit of laundry to do. We managed to survive our short week and headed off to the train station for our trip to Florida on Christmas eve.

Happy Birthday Linda Seitz! Happy Birthday Cookie Seitz! Two very special somebodies celebrated their birthdays this past weekend. One got a cake, the other a bone. Although Cookie also got into Tom's St Nick's Day stocking and ate up his peanut/yogurt mix. She is such a garbage hound! We celebrated her big day with a long walk. And then she tried to mooch food off Grandma. My favorite was when she kept trying to jump up on Grandma's lap when mom was taking her newly rented power scooter out for a test drive on the driveway. Cookie does love her car rides! No matter how small. Cookie turned 7 this year. I won't say what birthday Linda celebrated. (more than 7).

Mom seems to have taken to the scooter quite easily(although she still wants a car). I feel so bad. I took mom to the ortho MD last Thursday for a cortisone injection in her arthritic knee. Since we are going on a big trip, I wanted her to be in tip top shape(if that is possible for anyone). She has been going to PT 2x/wk which helps, but the cortisone shot can really  help with pain and swelling. She really had no idea what they were going to do. I did. I hear the injection is very painful. The MD told her she would hate him at first and then love him. It was true. She said her knee feels wonderful! And we were even able to go out to dinner afterwards.   On Friday I was busy meeting with her broker for end of the year business. On Saturday I took her to get her hair done, and then she joined us and our neighbors for a wonderful Holiday party at their house. I also picked her up on Sunday afternoon and took her to our GS choir performance at the B and O Railroad museum. She got to meet Santa and Mrs Claus and enjoy all the Holiday decorations. Afterwards I brought her home for a steak dinner.

Most of us here on the East coast are experiencing a heat wave! It feels like Miami! We hit temps in the low 70s this past weekend. Which made for a very nice party at our neighbor's house on Saturday. The food was incredible, the company terrific and the weather beautiful. It got cool enough in the evening to sit around their new fire pit on the patio,  chatting the night away with drinks and dessert. I felt like I was in an LLBean commercial. Our neighbors spent a lot of time putting up beautiful decorations both inside and out for the party. And of course I supplied the entertainment. We played Christmas Trivia. Boy are we a competitive bunch. I treated them all to candy bars for their efforts.

On Friday I had two parties to attend, but could only be at one. I picked the Bunco Holiday party. We had a white elephant gift exchange. I got a nice Margarita set complete with glasses and mix. I had picked the tupperware set, but being with a group of mom's with single college aged kids living in their first apts and needing gift ideas, it disappeared. (Still a little young for the margarita gift set). Next year Allison! I skipped the cookie exchange party. I was not ready to bake and besides, I have a cookie exchange party coming up this weekend with Scott!

He is winding down at school. Of course the teachers are cramming in lots of tests and assignments. He will be in school right up to Christmas. And he is getting ready for his school Holiday concert next week. Not to mention getting in some work hours over the weekend. And driving lessons when he and Tom have the chance. Plus he ran another successful boy scout meeting with a plumbing theme(yes there is a plumbing merit badge).

And Allison can't wait to get through finals! She will be done next week and then head home. She took a study break and made cookies and decorated a Christmas stocking. Very cute.

I am running around like a crazy person getting ready for our trip to Florida and getting ready for Christmas. I hope I make it!

Mom B and Mrs Claus

 Mom B has been a very good girl this year Santa!

 Mom B meets the North Pole!

 B and O Railroad at Christmas

 Neighborhood Party

Happy St Nick's Day! Tom and Scott and I enjoyed our annual ritual of opening our Christmas stockings on Sunday morning. St Nick brings our stockings early so that if we get any Christmas socks, tshirts, ornaments or jewelry we can wear it or display it before Christmas.  Everyone was very happy with their loot. Allison had her stocking early when she visited over Thanksgiving weekend. St Nick stocked her up with lots of goodies to help her through the upcoming Finals week. She will start with one of her tests this coming week and then finish up next week. She managed to get in a bit of celebrating at a formal party with her Ultimate Frisbee team this past weekend in between all the studying, and even got to wear her new dress.


My St Nick's Day gift was an evening out with our neighbors to see our favorite group, Straight No Chaser. They are the acoppella group from Indiana. They were in town for just one night at a sold out concert(again). Tom bought the tickets months ago. Sadly, one of their main singers was out on Paternity leave. We noticed. Although we really enjoy the group, having one member missing seemed to really affect the quality of the concert. We thought last year's event was much better. Although the concert was very good, it seemed a bit subdued. We felt like we should have been given a discount. But our neighbors really enjoyed it since they had never seen them before. And we all enjoyed dinner out beforehand. And I got a new tshirt, although no concert schedule on the back this time?

My weekend was also jam packed with scout activities. On Saturday morning, Scott and I got up early to volunteer at the Jingle Bell 5K Arthritis Fundraiser run. Scott decided to run again this year, so we signed him up at the walk up registration table. He seems to keep a consistent time of 34 mins. The run is a bit tough since it is around our local lake, very hilly and slippery as the path was very frosty in the early morning. Scott and I both helped direct traffic before the event. Mainly I just like checking out all the costumes (on both the people and the dogs!). And getting a free shirt for volunteering! Afterwards, Scott went off to assist one of the scouts with his Eagle project. By the time Scott arrived, all the boys that volunteered earlier in the morning had already completed all the work. So instead, Scott and Tom spent the afternoon practicing driving. Scott was almost run over by our neighbor's daughter as she was backing out of their driveway. And right after that, a mailman ran the stop sign on our street. Scott is learning at the Driving School of Hard Knocks.

After volunteering at the Jingle Run, I went off to the Baltimore Harbor to sing with the Girl Scout choir at the German Christmas Village. Our choir sings Christmas songs on stage for about an hour. I mostly enjoy shopping at all the booths and especially the tent full of German Christmas decorations. On Sunday I sang with the choir in the Baltimore Mayor's Parade. It makes for a long day-the parade is two hours long. You have to arrive an hour before the parade starts to line up. And then the parade starts at 1, but we don't actually start moving until 130 because of all the different entries. It is not my favorite parade, but they always need extra voices for the crowds.

Again I spent my Friday off work helping out my mom. This past Friday we started off with a PT appointment. Afterwards, I dropped into a medical supply company with mom. We are looking at getting a portable scooter to rent/purchase to help her get around this coming holiday trip to Florida. We were able to rent a scooter for now and are sending in paperwork to the insurance company to see if it will be covered. Then we were off to the bank, lunch and dessert at the mall, Christmas shopping and back to her apt where I spent 2 hours decorating for Christmas. I finally sent mom down to dinner and headed home quite exhausted. I still had enough energy in me to get in some Christmas shopping of my own at Kohls. Wow, what a jam packed weekend. We ended it off having dinner with our friends at their house. Of course Cookie was invited to spend time with their Cavachon, Ripley and we celebrated both of our boy's 16th Birthday party with a big ice cream cake.

I was just as busy during the week. Tom was off working in DC for the week. Scott and I had to throw together a boy scout meeting last Weds. His guest speaker got sick at the last minute, so Scott and I had to come up with a new plan. Scott asked one of the counselors to present the Art Merit Badge. She agreed and after her presentation we had a drawing contest. The boys loved it. When they were done and the awards given out, we asked the boys to make some Holiday cards. They also loved that! Overall, a very successful scout meeting which is Scott's current role as Sr Assistant Patrol Leader.

Scott in the Jingle Bell Run

 Waiting for the Baltimore Mayor's Christmas Parade/Hanging out with the Charm City Rollers

 Scott and Bryce celebrate their 16th Birthdays

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful holiday with all the family and guest. Allison came home from school on Tuesday night and enjoyed a long weekend with all of us. She had to drop off her roommate and boyfriend first, so she got home late. Plus she had a test in Finance that morning to get through and had to pack up her fish. Only 2 more weeks left for her in this semester!  I picked up my mom for dinner on Thursday and we invited our good friend John over for Thanksgiving dinner as well. The meal was a family project. Tom did the honors of cooking the 25lb turkey on the rotisserie grill. I got the stuffing put together on Weds night after work, and Allison cooked the loaded baked potato casserole on Thursday morning. Scott had salad and rolls. Grandma opened the cranberry sauce! John brought the wine. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake courtesy of Costco for dessert.  All in all a very good meal and good company!  And it was the warmest Thanksgiving day I could remember. I ate dinner in shorts and my Turkey trot tshirt.

Allison, Scott and I started our Thursday morning by participating in the YMCA Turkey trot. Scott ended up running in the event and Allison and I took up the back of the pack with Cookie in tow. Cookie was sporting her pumpkin outfit while Allison and I had our turkey hats on! We brought a wagon for Cookie-she still has issues with her torn ACL in the knee(very much like our Joe Flacco, Ravens Qback). We tried pulling Cookie some of the way, especially up the hills, but she was not interested. She kept whining and jumping out. She desperately wanted to walk with us. Now she is paying for it since she is limping around the house.

Just like poor Scott too. He wore himself out this weekend with the race as well as rollerblading at work every day since Weds. And he got a whole year older this Friday. Happy 16th Birthday to Scott! We brought my mom over for his Bday dinner after picking him up from work. Allison made him a chocolate coconut cream pie(his request). It tasted just like a Girl Scout Samoa cookie. And  he was very excited to get a hoverboard,  It is basically a Segway without the handle, and he seems to have mastered it.  I am making him wear a helmet though, and he wants to see if he can ride it at the rink at work(not sure about that). He also wants to see if he can ride it to school(not sure about that either) The thing weighs a ton. He would have to haul it in to his locker. I am sure someone would think he was trying to smuggle in a bomb if he put it in a duffle bag to carry it around. And we think you need to be licensed to use one. At least he is covered with his driver's permit! We really don't want all the kids in the neighborhood asking to try it(don't want to be responsible for broken legs or clunked heads!) It takes some getting used to and good ankle strength!

We spent the rest of the weekend getting in some shopping. The family was off school and work on Weds, although Scott had to work at the roller rink and I was in at the nursing home. Allison did some dress shopping for an upcoming party next weekend at school with her roommate after dropping Scott off. And Tom treated everyone to a Hershey Bears Hockey game Weds night. They had a great time and enjoyed the overtime win. They did not enjoy the new high security screening before the game as they missed the first quarter standing in a very long line. Not sure how many terrroists have made their way to Hershey PA at this time. I stayed home and made stuffing after work as well as putting in my eye drops for pink eye and now rubbing on lotion to avoid getting scabies! We had a lovely scabies outbreak at our facility before the holidays. Never a dull moment!

Allison also spent the weekend getting caught up on some homework, and I put her to work helping me organize a computer photo slide show for my Dad for his memorial service this coming Christmas. Scott also had some homework to finish up this weekend, and even Tom had been on the computer completing online homework. Tom was recently in Chicago on business(glad he got home before the snow up there!). Now he will be traveling down to DC for the upcoming week for work.

On Saturday I enjoyed a special day with the family taking our Christmas photo. Afterwards we went out to lunch and to see the movie ending of The Hunger Games. In the evening, Scott went into work and Allison visited with her boyfriend Tyler and his family at his house. His family  put on a surprise  graduation party for him since he is a Senior and not interested in attending his school ceremony at the end of this winter semester.

On Sunday, Allison spent the morning working on her resume with Tom. She wants to send it in to Northrop for a possible internship next summer. She headed back to school after picking up her passengers for the return trip. I sent her off with an early St Nicks Day stocking as well as a few for her roommates. She also packed up a few holiday decorations for their condo. Scott was off to work in the afternoon after finishing up his homework. I dropped him off and then ran some errands, including having my new tires torque checked at Costco. Tom set up a few outdoor Christmas lights. Nothing too extravagant this year since we will be out of town. I also took down our Thanksgiving decorations. I was putting the candles in all the windows and noticed that a small lamp was left on in our spare bedroom. We had moved a pile of blankets off the guest bed to take it up to Allison's school condo and the blankets landed on the lamp. And they started burning! Along with the lampshade. Thank God I did not burn down our house!

Turkey Trot!

 We made it!

 Thanksgiving Dinner

 Happy 16th Bday Scott!

Unique gifts:
 Scotty O'Hotty Hot Sauce

 Hover Board

Later in the evening, we picked up Scott from work and then Tom and I enjoyed an evening out with our friend John and my fellow co worker, Ann. We headed to DC for dinner at a chinese buffet along with our neighbors and afterwards attended the Christmas Carol Dickens play at the historic Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. John and I  attended the play several years ago along with Scott and Allison and thought it was an amazing experience. Tom was not able to come since he was traveling for business, So I thought he would enjoy this special program. I also gave our group a quick tour of the Lincoln museum in the basement during the intermission. They have the actual pistol that John Wilkes Booth used to kill Lincoln. And this time I noticed they have the suit Lincoln was wearing when he was killed, along with a blood stained pillow his head was lying on. They also had Lincoln's custom made size 14 shoes! And the actual theatre door to the balcony that Booth shimmied shut when he slipped in behind Lincoln.  And we got home in time for me to watch my recorded mid season finale of the Walking Dead.

All in all, a wonderful Holiday weekend. A big  Happy Birthday to sister in law Sheila Bozyk  who also celebrated her big day this past weekend.

I ended last week with a fun night of Bingo and then topped it off with a case of pink eye. Scott's high school had a fundraiser Bingo event. I have attended with the neighbor ladies for the last 5 years and usually come away with some type of win. Not so this year. But I had a great time. I just wish I had felt better.

Instead, I had to head over to the doctor's office on Saturday morning for eye drops. I was still busy filling up my days off with lots of activities. Again I had some financial issues to deal with for my mom on Friday(phone calls and office visits). I did manage to get to my water aerobics class though on Friday morning, even though my eye started burning.  On Saturday I was busy shopping for Thanksgiving Day dinner as well as buying new tires for my mini van. I left the van at Costco all day while I did some shopping. Tom picked me up and we had lunch together. We then spent the afternoon shopping until the car was ready. We started to pick up a few new Christmas decorations too. The Christmas Holiday decorations have sure gone up a lot earlier than in the past. I am still trying to enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday! And Scott and I just got the Halloween decorations put away in the attic!

Scott was very busy with tests and projects since this was the last full week of school before the Holiday break. He is really looking forward to a break from school. He did get a small break last Tuesday when he participated in a field trip to a local computer company, Ciena, with his Robotics team. The group was treated to a tour of the company by the CEO, free lunch(designer pizza) and computer tote bags with polo shirts and pens.  He also managed to run another successful boy scout meeting. This week the theme revolved around music. He had the badge counselor for the Music badge and the Bugler. It made for an interesting meeting. He also attended a a planning meeting on Monday and volunteered on Thursday evening for their blood drive. I was busy making cookies to donate to their bake sale. Scott was also busy working this past weekend at the roller rink.

On Sunday I went in to work for a few hours to get caught up before the Holiday week. In the afternoon I picked up my mom for a hair appointment. Afterwards we went to church and then headed home for dinner. I also managed to get a few bags of leaves out to the curb. Most of them have fallen off the trees onto our lawn, so it keeps me very busy!

A very busy week. Just wish I was feeling a bit better. We are looking forward to seeing Allison when she comes home for the Thanksgiving Holiday! We are looking forward to participating in the YMCA Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving morning!