Thanksgiving up north

If you know me 'n Jill well, you know that we don't always have grown up things under control.  For instance, our drivers' licenses.  Since we have tended to move every so often, we never paid much attention to what the address said on our licences.  Our car is correctly registered under our residence, so I assumed we were law abiding citizens.

However, a store recently rejected Jill's attempt to purchase a bottle of wine on account of her license being expired (Jill is still getting carded!  What a beauty!).  Wouldn't you know it, mine was too.  So a few Mondays ago we headed out to the dmv to renew.  The dmv is closed on Mondays.  So we went again on the day before Thanksgiving, and found about 50 people in the waiting room (I guess international students spent their week off learning to drive).  We walked right back out the door and drove up to Michigan.

Before Christmas, we will get them.  I'm sure.

Who are on the ball?  Clara and Janny!  They help mommy in the kitchen, create projects out of tape, paper, and whatever else is handy, and ask us to read books**.  I spent about 1/4 of my life sweeping tiny pieces of paper, looking for Clara's bunny, and tracking down caps for markers.

** Hansel and Gretel is a current favorite.  I hope this doesn't mean that mommy is really mean, and that I'm incompetent (how hard is it to find wood in the forest?).  Personally, it's quite a shock to go from reading about Frog and Toad to this story of starvation, abandonment, witchcraft, cannibalism, theft, and murder.

 Clara is super duper excited about Christmas.  She gets to nap by the lighted up Christmas tree.

 Aunt Jo did her usual fine job of assembling the White family for photos.  First, the Knutsons.

 Then the Smiths.

Then the whole Whites (except for some working folks, like Paul out fracking rocks in Pennsylvania).  In addition to celebrating Christmas, we gathered to celebrate Grandma White's 90th birthday!

We also celebrated Grandpa Smith's 90th birthday, but Aunt Jo wasn't there to take photos and put them on facebook.

Finally, we are down to a family of 4.  Fereshteh moved up to the big City last month in pursuit of her fortune (and maybe true love?).  She had been very busy recently, so the change felt gradual.  Still, we miss her huge personality and dramatic life (I mean that as a compliment).  Watch out Chicago!