How We Celebrate!

How does one celebrate Veteran’s Day?  I dunno what the “appropriate” way is, but we chose to go on a county adventure. 

We wanted to check out a nearby county and DO something there.  So we hoped in the car and took off . . .

And went out to eat!  This restaurant got some good reviews from what we could find.

The menu was nothing too special . . .

We ordered some sandwiches and a shake to share.  It wasn’t terrible but it’s doubtful that we would make the drive again just to eat here!

On the way home, we drove through the town to check it out.

It made us feel like we live in the BIG city!  The best part of the jaunt was hanging out with each other and enjoying the beauty of the world around us!

So what do YOU do to celebrate Veteran’s Day?

The Worst Part

I love holidays!  Who doesn’t?
One of my favorites has always been Memorial Day.  I’m not sure what we are supposed to celebrate but to me it always meant the beginning of great weather and outside play. 
However, in the past several years, the Saturday of Memorial weekend is NOT one of my favorite days.
I love to play tennis on Saturdays.  Saturday is drop in tennis day and it is exciting to pick up a good match with people I don’t normally play with.  But the peace of the tennis courts is destroyed on this particular weekend. . .

Typically I can park right in front of the tennis courts.  But when there are cars lining the road on the way to the tennis court, it’s not a good sign.

I grabbed a spot so I wouldn’t have to walk too far or drive around looking for an empty spot.

There is a circus atmosphere and it’s loud and noisy even though it’s early in the morning.  There are campers everywhere complete with bbq’s, smoking (all sorts of things), loud conversations, loud music (not of my choosing), and lots of people.  The bathrooms are trashed and there is chaos everywhere. 

It requires the parks department to fence some things off.
Why is it different this weekend?  Because there is a HUGE softball tournament. . . . and it runs Friday night through Monday. . . non stop.  Who needs sleep?

Most of the ball fields are up the hill from the tennis courts. . . .and the players and their stuff are EVERYWHERE.  It’s noisy, smelly, dirty, and downright annoying.  Because some of the people who attend don’t respect the property, the courts are locked. 

It has become my least favorite Saturday to play tennis at the courts I love to play at. . . .(but a close second is the junior baseball tournament run along similar lines.)

Oh Christmas Tree

In years past, we are slow to decorate and even slower to put up our tree.  But we were lucky enough to have Allie for several weeks this year and we had to celebrate .. . . by putting up the tree once she was home.

Could we be more enthusiastic?  Doubtful!

We found a corner for the tree. . .

Paul and Allie worked hard. . . I “needed” to ensure there was photographic proof!

It is a lot of work for a college student who has been running on a sleep deficit for . . . . the past three and half years?  Or maybe longer?

Decorating would have to wait for another day. . . if at all!

So Thankful :)

We invited some friends over for Thanksgiving. . . otherwise I probably would not have decorated.

Better yet, Allie decided at the last minute to come home.  Some of the extra bonuses are that she knows how to set a table and I didn’t have to do all the dishes.

I am so grateful that she came home.  Holidays is a time when it is NO fun to be an empty nester.