Thanksgiving week

Well, it's Sunday evening and the kids go back to school tomorrow. Thank goodness! Good riddance to noisy, smelly, messy teenagers! I mean, not permanently, but just for a while. On our way home from a movie and errands today, Rocket Boy whispered to me, "Do they really go away tomorrow?" and I whispered back, "Yes! For several hours!" and he sighed in delight.

It's been a good week, don't get me wrong. It's just that we're old and tired and we need our rest. 

What did we do this week? Several things, falling into various categories:

1. Saw movies.
2. Celebrated Thanksgiving.
3. Took a short trip to Wyoming.
4. Celebrated the Baby Kitty's 2nd birthday.
5. Celebrated the 1st Sunday of Advent and the 1st night of Hanukkah.
   

1. Saw movies

The kids have been asking me for WEEKS if we could go to another movie in a theatre, and I've been putting them off, putting them off. So this week I said we could see a movie. Or movies, as it turned out, because they had a long list of things they wanted to see. We ended up seeing FOUR different movies at the Cinemark Theatres in Boulder, plus one on DVD at home. Considering that I am not that much of a movie fan anymore, it was a lot.

• On Monday the kids and I saw Clifford the Big Red Dog. They both wanted to see it.
  
• On Tuesday, the kids and I saw Ghostbusters: The Afterlife. They both wanted to see it and I was slightly less horrified about having to see it than the other kids' movies.
  
• On Wednesday, the kids and I saw Encanto. They both wanted to see it, but especially Teen B.
  
• On Thursday night, we all watched the original Ghostbusters on DVD at home.
• Today, Sunday, we all saw Dune (2021). This was Rocket Boy's choice.
  

Of these, Dune was definitely my favorite. I was actually interested in the story and I thought the acting was good. I have somehow never read the book (will probably have to do that now), so I didn't know what to expect and sometimes had trouble following the plot. But for the most part my attention was held. 

The other movies -- well, I'm pretty tired of kids' movies and none of these were even great kids' movies. Clifford the Big Red Dog -- why did we even have to go to that? The only other people in the theatre had brought little kids, like three-four-five years old little kids. I have no idea why my 13-year-olds needed to be there. Ghostbusters: The Afterlife was better, but not enough better. It was more of a tribute to the original Ghostbusters (which is why we then had to watch the original, since the twins had no memory of having seen it before, even though I'm sure they had) than a truly original movie. I was also disturbed by a similarity between this and Clifford: both featured a 12-year-old white girl with a small Asian boy as a sidekick. Diversity in movies is always nice -- it's fantastic in Dune -- but when two kids' movies come up with the same idea to make the movie "diverse," it feels weird.

Oh, and Encanto. A lot of fuss about nothing, in my opinion. Beautiful graphics, pleasant (forgettable) songs, and absolutely no plot at all. No villain, no conflict. They were upset about something but I couldn't figure out what. Plus, I often couldn't understand what the characters were singing or saying (so maybe there was a plot, but I missed it). A total waste of my time. I don't know why it's getting such good reviews. Well, maybe it was better than Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Teen B also wanted to see House of Gucci, but we didn't manage that one. Maybe next weekend. And he wants to see Sing 2, but fortunately that won't be out until near Christmas. Oh, God, I'll probably have to see a whole bunch more movies during Christmas vacation. Rocket Boy certainly won't go. He was very upset by the experience of seeing Dune. They wouldn't let him bring his backpack into the theatre, he thought the sound was too loud, and he was horrified by the number of ads we had to watch before the movie started. I was actually pleased that we got to see some new ads -- I saw exactly the same ads for all three kids' movies. But there's a horrible ad with Matt Damon hawking cryptocurrency that I have now seen four times and it was unpleasant the first time. Today when I saw it beginning again I thought I was going to vomit. 

Yeah, it's been a fun week with movies. And I didn't get to see anything I wanted to see (to be honest, there isn't anything in theatres right now that I really want to see).

2. Celebrated Thanksgiving

Rocket Boy wanted us to go on a trip this week, and he thought we should leave on Wednesday, thus skipping Thanksgiving. But I objected. The kids want to do Thanksgiving, I said, and I hate having Thanksgiving in a restaurant. It's always terribly expensive and not very good. So he agreed that we could have a normal Thanksgiving at home and go on a trip the next day.

The menu: cranberry chutney, sweet potato casserole, spicy spinach dish, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, Pillsbury crescent rolls, swordfish with lemon-caper sauce, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Oh, and sparkling cider to drink.

I'm perfectly capable of making most of this by myself (Rocket Boy does the mashed potatoes and gravy), but I thought that this year the twins should be more involved. So I read off the list to them and told them to choose two dishes to help with. Teen A chose pumpkin pie and swordfish; Teen B chose stuffing and gravy. And then they actually helped! Teen B was not that interested, but he did cut up the celery for the stuffing, and he did some mixing and stirring. Teen A, on the other hand, was totally into the pie-making. He insisted on doing it all himself (while I read the directions), and then for the rest of the vacation he referred to me as "Bad at pumpkin pie making," since apparently if he is good at it, I must be bad at it. 

I'm OK with that. I was just so pleased he helped.

He didn't do too much with the swordfish (not much to do, plus it involved the scary broiler) and Teen B annoyed Rocket Boy by not wanting to stir the gravy, but it's a start, ya know? I'm very encouraged. We will definitely repeat this next year.

After the delicious dinner we took a walk together, and then we watched the original Ghostbusters as we ate the pumpkin pie. Totally something out of Norman Rockwell. A very nice day.

3. Took a short trip to Wyoming

I really would have preferred to spend Friday reading on my bed, but I had promised Rocket Boy we could take a trip (gotta help reduce inflation), so I pulled myself together and packed a small bag. And off we went to Cheyenne, Wyoming for some R&R. Not most people's idea of a place to rest and relax, but we actually had a very nice time. It's only 100 miles away and you can take I-25 for most of it, so it's fast. We went first to the Air Force base, and Rocket Boy's current job credentials were enough to get us past the guard shack and off to the museum (which is pretty cheesy, but nice). The not very great exhibits were further enhanced by a lot of Santa Claus dolls and other Xmas decor piled all over everything. I bought some souvenirs. On our way out we got lost, but in the process we saw a herd of antelope and some magpies, so it was worth it. Rocket Boy and I did a lot of reminiscing about when we used to drive to Cheyenne to TEACH at the base for 8 hours straight on Saturdays. This trip was more fun, but those trips had their charm too.

Then we went to play mini golf at the Ice & Events Center, getting there just in time, as it was getting late (around 4 pm) and darkish. They supposedly close at dark, but it was fairly dark by the time we left and another family was just getting started. Otherwise we were the only people on the course. 

After mini golf, we checked into our hotel (a Days Inn). I had gotten a large, airy room with two queen beds and a set of bunk beds, which was great (though the beds weren't actually comfortable, unfortunately). Rocket Boy and I shared one queen bed, Teen A took the other, and Teen B took the lower bunk bed. There was a curtain you could pull across the bunk beds, presumably to help put small children to sleep while their parents stay up and watch TV or whatever, but Teen B liked the curtain because it gave him privacy.

We had dinner at Shari's, a chain that we used to eat at in Laramie. Then back to the hotel for swimming: there was a nice pool (though a little chilly) and we spent an hour in it. There was another family with two boys there too, from Idaho. (You meet the most interesting people in Wyoming.) The hot tub, unfortunately but not surprisingly, was broken.

The next morning we had a rather spartan, free breakfast (apparently due to supply chain problems, though it seemed to me they could have gone to the grocery store) and then lay around the room reading (me and Rocket Boy) or playing stupid video games (the twins) until it was time to check out at 11. Then we drove to the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, which I had not known existed, and had a lovely time touring the indoor conservatory. (The grounds are probably beautiful in June, but not so much in November. Plus it was very windy, as it almost always is in Cheyenne.) I bought some things at the gift shop, as a way of giving back, since the Gardens were free (I also stuck $5 in a donation box and Rocket Boy gave the receptionist $10). 

Then we drove back to Boulder, stopping for lunch at Johnson's Corner truck stop, where we had stopped for lunch on our way up the day before. We had left the cats on their own, with some extra food, so it was important to get home that day. Our Thanksgiving leftovers were all in the fridge, waiting for us, so dinner was no problem at all.

4. Celebrated the Baby Kitty's 2nd Birthday

Mr. Merlino actually turned two on Saturday, but we were too tired to do anything about it yesterday, so today after seeing Dune and buying Teen A some new shoes, we picked up a small cake at King Soopers and took it home for a party.

This is not a good photo, but I chose it because you can just barely sort of vaguely see the Baby Kitty, as he escapes from Teen A's arms. Rocket Boy had just said happy birthday to him, which scared him for some reason. He is still not totally sure about RB.

Merlin did not have any cake, of course (I offered him a forkful of mine but he declined), but we enjoyed it. After the cake, we opened his birthday present, which I bought several weeks ago and saved until now. It's a cat tunnel, a little like one I saw in the "Breaking Cat News" comic strip. 

Baby Kitty obligingly went in it (Sillers bit him on the neck while he was in there), but it wasn't as big a hit as we had hoped. Maybe he and Sillers will play with it more later, after their naps. Or maybe in the middle of the night, that's always a good time. Or tomorrow morning, after the twins go to school. We're all looking forward to that. Have I mentioned that?

5.  Celebrated the 1st Sunday of Advent and the 1st night of Hanukkah

As if this week wasn't busy enough, today is both the first Sunday of Advent and the first night of Hanukkah! So I begged and pleaded with Rocket Boy to find the box with the advent wreath and the hanukkiah in it, and after dinner (more Thanksgiving leftovers) he did so. And we lighted the first candle of Advent and the first candle (plus the shumash) of Hanukkah. And all was right with the world.

The week ahead should be quieter -- the twins go back to school, which will be wonderful. (Maybe I should stop saying that.) Rocket Boy and I have a zoom call tomorrow, and then he has a medical appointment. My book group meets at 5:30. After that, the days will be simpler until next Saturday when Teen B is scheduled to march in the Parade of Lights. Oh, and we also have a tour of one of the high schools on Thursday night. That'll be interesting. But other than that the days should be pretty low-key. Rocket Boy will work. I'll do this and that. We'll put up the tree (I hope). It'll be good. He will probably leave next Sunday, a week from today, and that will be sad. But I think (I hope) he will be back a few weeks later for Christmas.

As the end of the year rushes toward us, I feel the need to revisit my resolutions and see whether there are any undone that I could still do. Colorado Gives Day is coming up, so I'll need to plan for that. And I liked what I did last year, celebrating Kwanzaa by giving money and buying from Black-owned businesses and authors. I have some more reading to do to finish those goals, so there's that too. And of course Christmas stuff -- baking, cards, and a bit of shopping. The kids have three more weeks of school and then two weeks off. We might plan another trip for after Christmas (somewhere farther afield than Cheyenne), though I'm wondering what this new covid variant is going to do to travel. Ah, well, we can still plan and hope, even though it may not work out. Kind of like life in general. Enjoy it while you can.