Thanksgiving 2009

(This is a video... if you receive this via email, you must visit my blog to view the video.)

We traveled to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving this year. The above video is a highlight of pictures from the weekend. We left on Wednesday and drove to Mauston, Wisconsin, where we stayed with my Grandma (Marcella) Schroeder. It rained the entire trip but we managed to do the trip in 6.5 hours... not bad with an infant and a hungry toddler in the car. Grandma had dinner ready for us (chicken soup with spaetzel). We chatted with Grandma for a while and then we all went bed.

Thursday morning we drove north to Spencer to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Draeger (and Bannach) clan. Lunch was delicious as usual, including the brandy slush and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving Day is usually spent catching the Packers vs. Lions game as well, and then vegging in front of the TV and hanging out with family. Also, I coerced Claire (Adam's sister; expecting in January) to open her baby shower gift from us, as she was opening her gift from Shannon (Brian's wife) as she couldn't be there Saturday for the baby shower. (I suck; I *had* to have her open her gift.)

Friday, Adam's mom watched the girls and Adam, his dad, and I went to Wausau to check out Red Eye Brewing. We had lunch there (fabulous pizzas and the cheese tray -- yum!) and tasted the local beers. After a stop at a local grocery (and beforehand I did my one quick stop of Black Friday shopping at Wal-Mart to pick up a few more items for the baby shower), we headed back to Spencer. We stopped at the Maranatha Market, run by local Amish and/or Mennonite (I am pretty certain I saw a Mennonite cap on a gal but there were Amish and a buggy on the label).

We were back at Adam's folks a short bit before driving to Neillsville to visit my Uncle Corey, Aunt Dixie, and Cousin Brock. We had pizza from Pizza Hut (yum!) for dinner with them and then played with the girls and watched a bit of TV before heading back to Spencer. It was so good to see them! And, Julia seems to enjoy a bit of hockey.

Saturday was the day of the baby shower for Claire. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the relatives, eating lunch, playing games, and watching Claire open her gifts. She received some really great stuff! We are so excited to be welcoming Baby Schiller this coming January! :)

Saturday evening we drove out into "the country" a bit to see Adam's high school friends; it was good to catch up with them also... and the group continues to grow as more babies are born!

Sunday morning we loaded up the car and drove to Tomah where we visited my folks and Grandpa (John) Rischette and ate lunch and hung out for a bit. The chili was delicious and perfect before heading on the long drive home. We left Tomah right around 2 pm and arrived back home this side of 9 pm. We put Julia straight to bed as she only napped for an hour in the car.

What a fun weekend! :)

Erin