Thanksgiving 2020
The night before...we cleaned the house. Then in the morning the kids were allowed video game and Youtube time...to avoid making messes in the house.
We had invited a new family from church...Liz and Jacob Monson and their little boys...to join us for a Thanksgiving lunch. We divided up the dishes and food items equally between the two families. And invited a single airman or two to come get some food as well.
But when Thanksgiving day began I felt sick. I think I had a pinched nerve in my back from the workout I had done the day prior. And the pinched nerve caused me to have discomfort in my neck muscles. A headache and later nausea. By 10am I was throwing up in the restroom and new that even if I wasn't contagious with some disease... I could not risk it. I had to cancel guests coming over.
Athena wanted to wear a fancy dress. She also lost two front (bottom) teeth this week.
We still shared the meal...just not in the same house. At noon Liz came over to retrieve turkey, cherry pie, pumpkin bread pumpkin bars and whipped cream. She also dropped off for us homemade stuffing, homemade green been casserole, croissant rolls and mashed potatoes.
I felt well enough for Thanksgiving lunch. I was so thankful to be able to eat with my family and not feel ill afterward.
I still felt uneasy in my stomach the rest of the day. It was a rollercoaster or feeling well and not feeling well all day.
After our delicious Thanksgiving meal with jello and eggnog added we watched a movie. Part of one anyway. The Grinch (with Jim Carey). Sterling fell asleep and then went upstairs to take a proper nap. He had not slept much the night before.
After his nap is when we ate our pies. Mmmmm.
That evening Ster and I went on a walk and it was a nice evening!
The next day we had a family day trip. I wanted to go to Hakone, Japan to see the Torre gates and see Mt. Fuji closer up. However, the mountain is hard to see unless the sky is clear of clouds. And sadly that is hard to catch. Having a day off of school and work that isn't a busy Japanese day (crowds) and having the sky clear at the same time. That sounds near impossible to me. Sadly for us, the sky was gray and cloudy.
So we went to Hakone but we went to Odawara castle. The skies turned blue for a little while and it was a wonderful morning! But over in the area I had wanted to go...to see Mt. Fuji it was still cloudy and gray. So, we made the right choice going to Odawara.
Usually we don't spend a lot of money on souvenirs and toys/treats for the kids on these trips because driving and paying to get inside it always so pricey here! But Grandma and Grandpa Roundy sent us money for Christmas and we decided to use it for this trip. To make it extra special for the kids.
So this whole trip was paid for by the grandparents Roundy. Thank you!
We had a great time! And I loved the castle and grounds!
Water surrounds the castle grounds. Then you have the wall. Inside is a cage of monkeys. Then a samurai museum which was small but fun. There was a digital experience that was just awesome. A samurai mannequin sat in the center of the viewing room. An image appeared on the mannequin bringing him to life. Then the image left the mannequin and took us on a magical journey on the screen.
We took pictures in front of the castle and bought the children souvenirs. They love their souvenirs!
Inside the castle is 5 floors of museum. At the top was a wrap around viewing area where we could see the ocean and the castle grounds and the city around us. That was fun!
On the 1.5 hour drive there and home we snacked and watched Christmas movies.
