It seems strangely misleading to say we had a calm and relaxing Thanksgiving this year but we really did. Sure we flew 2000+ miles to DCA and then spent the next ten days driving another 700+ miles as we visited family and friends but really, it was just awesome and relaxing!
After arriving in DC, we spent some long overdue time with dear friends of ours. We even earned a “come back anytime” offer that we cashed in on about a week later. Great food, great conversation, and a couple of cocktails studded our stay in DC as did a (Sophia’s) bucket list trip to the top of the Washington Monument. It was then south to Bassett for some days in the woods with Mumsie.
Quiet Time in the Woods 
The daily walk 
Warm fire and a cold beer
Our time at Mumsie’s house was packed with all of the slow things in life like reading books, taking long walks through the woods, cooking, eating, and even slogging through some relatively dreadful puzzles. We made sure to burn a few chunks of wood and I made sure to suck down a few porters to keep my body temperature at equilibrium. Don’t want to overheat you know…
After Bassett we visited Meredith’s family in Pennsylvania Dutch country then it was back to DC to our friends place for another night. The icing on the cake was some unexpected tickets to the Monday Night Football game at FedEx Field. First NFL experience for the kids and they loved it despite the temps dipping into the mid-40s and the game not getting over until around midnight.
The Monday Night Football crew 
Hail to the… who?
Sophia and Will are still working through what to call the team but it sounds like the Washington Football Team is old news at this point and they already have a new name in the works. As long as they have nachos, beer, and a pigskin, we’re in.