Ohio – A Thankful Time

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We were able to spend Thanksgiving in Ohio visiting family.  It was wonderful to spend the holiday with family, but Thanksgiving really shouldn’t be once a year. After you've had a transplant, it should be every day.  Each and every day we should give thanks to God for Annie, our hero. Without her desire to be an organ donor, Mike wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have a husband; our kids wouldn’t have a dad. Isn’t that worth being thankful every day…even the days we don’t see eye to eye?

Here are some highlights from Ohio:

Best Restaurant Meal:  Skyline Chili. Let’s be honest here:  the best meal was my mom’s lasagna, even surpassing Thanksgiving dinner, so I had to create a new category under the circumstances.

We stopped at Skyline Chili because of its notoriety but were a little skeptical; however, no beans won the kids over immediately while the cleanliness of the restaurant (at least this newer location) impressed the adults. While it definitely has a different taste, the chili was good. It’s almost BBQ-y loaded with shredded cheese, but it was good, fast, and cheap! Chloe said it was her favorite restaurant, surpassing even Panda Express.

Worst Meal:  The one where we ran out of Mom's leftover lasagna. Her lasagna, salad, and garlic bread with homemade apple pie for dessert is my ultimate comfort meal. We ate like royalty, not just once, but several times...until we ran out of leftovers.

Biggest Surprise:  Jeni’s ice cream. Jeni calls it "artisan" ice cream. It's certainly not your typical ice cream, that’s for sure! We sampled unique flavors like salty caramel, chocolate cayenne, sweet potato marshmallow, and buckeye…after all we were in Ohio. It was interesting and fun to try, but we all agreed that we prefer traditional ice cream.  Sorry, Jeni.

Biggest Disappointment:  How quickly the time with family went. It was great to see family and spend Thanksgiving together at my sister’s house...Thanks for hosting us!

Most Beautiful Spot:  Columbus Zoo Wildlights, the zoo’s annual Christmas light display. The lights were pretty, but the light show reflecting on the lake was spectacular! Synchronizing the lights to music just added to the beauty. We watched it several times, and Chloe and I could have stayed longer. It was a treasured moment breathing in the crisp air, viewing the lights, hearing the music, and sipping hot chocolate with the kids...ahhhhh.

Best Tourist Spot:  The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton. Sadly we had to cut our visit short due to bad weather. Mike and Levi were sorely disappointed since they were of the opinion it was the coolest museum ever. We didn’t even have time to ride a bus to see Kennedy’s Air Force One because they spent so much time ogling at the planes. Chloe was upset to find that half of the exhibits in the hands-on area were out of order. The ones that did work were fun, though, like the exhibit illustrating how the tail hook stops planes during landing on an air craft carrier.

Worst Tourist Spot:  Anywhere close to a mall on Black Friday!

Worst Drive:   Rush hour in Columbus the evening before Thanksgiving. I’m not sure what we were thinking driving then!

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness:  Cookie decorating. Our family is huge into Christmas cookies, especially the decorated ones. My mom surprised us by baking a batch to decorate while we were together. It was nice to continue that treasured tradition together, especially since we wouldn't be baking any cookies this year.

Most Fun:   Blue Jackets hockey game. Our brother-in-law hooked us up with suite (and sweet!) seats. It was so much fun! The kids now say hockey is their favorite spectator sport because of that experience and the fast pace of NHL hockey.

Funniest Memory:  Playing the game Catch Phrase with family:  guys vs girls, of course. This game always has us laughing!

Worst Memory:  The service advisor came over and sat down next to me to discuss the results from our vehicle’s inspection. Anytime they sit down, you know it’s bad news…

Best Memory:  Decorating my sister’s Christmas tree with her. We haven’t decorated a Christmas tree together in 20 years. Chloe and I really enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because we didn't have a tree on the road, but I think even if we did, we’d still enjoy it! Chloe got right in there and helped with the branches, lights, and everything. The best part, though, was knowing we wouldn’t have to box it all up after Christmas.  ha ha

My OH Hike:  Nothing. We were too excited being with family.

Biggest Revelation:  Kids grow so fast! We totally missed my nephew as a baby. He’s walking and starting to talk now.  He was so much fun - and such a cutie!  It makes me realize how quickly Levi, Chloe, and even yes, even my nephew will be off to college...Now that’s a scary thought!

What We Did Miss:  Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, C.O.S.I. Museum, Cedar Point, Young’s Jersey Dairy, Hocking Hills State Park, and others all recommended to us.

In Summary:  We're thankful for so much but especially Mike's donor, Annie, his life saving transplant, our families, and a great week in Ohio. Our only problem was not eating any Buckeyes - the chocolate peanut butter kind, that is!

-The Mom

3 comments:

  1. I still can't believe YOU liked Skyline. EEWWHH!!! Glad you guys were able to swing by for a visit! And I agree putting up the tree was fun. Too bad we didn't have all the tinsel like 20 years go!

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  2. very fun time together! Glad we were able to keep the traditions going while adding new ones... like you all "bowling" with Griffin and helping decorate with the Bucks... oh, and I almost forgot... Mike STIRRING the cooking pots on TV... LOL!!! :)

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