Post one of two. Yikes.

As it has been two weeks since I've blogged, I'm going to break this into two posts. I have a lot to recap, apparently. Let's bring it back to November 22nd, 2008, shall we? (Happy birthday, Mom!) Let's all make the Wayne's World time transition fingers, yes?

Thanksgiving week was an exercise in how much family it is physically possible to see in a finite number of days, as well as a looong experiment as to how vast I-90 truly is. (It is large.)

P.J.'s niece's christening was on Sunday in Cincinnati so we heartily enjoyed the 20 hours we spent in town. Being as we had not really slept in the week leading up to Road Trip '08, we managed to faceplant for almost 10 hours in the third floor Ozzie and Harriet beds that were designated to us. (Who needs a husband? I had a twin bed and three blankets! Plus, I could reach over and high-five him if need be.)

We hit the road on Sunday early evening and drove through the night, making the trip in a little under 12 hours (we had to stop in ridiculously quaint Willoughby Hills, Ohio, for a stationary meal and so I could pee twice. I have a child-sized bladder. P.J. probably could have made the trip in 9 hours without me.)

A highlight of the drive occurred when we became a tad hysterical and thought each other were brilliant. This took place in Waldameer (Pennsylvania? Ohio? Guam? I'm not sure which, I wasn't driving) and we decided that Waldameer was the best place to visit, for all of its residents were very old and charming. They would tout old-fashioned values and invite you to stay awhile. An actual conversation:

P.J. (in a pitched voice): Come to Waldameer, you love Waldameer...

Keely (pitched): Churn some butter...

P.J. (higher pitched): We'll let you sit on the porch and churn your own butter...

Keely (normal): Okay, now you're being the guy's wife.

P.J. (indignant): I was always his wife!

And then we fought about which of us made the best Waldameer resident.

We also perfected a few duets, ask us about those sometime. Better yet, ask P.J. to whip out his Aaron Neville impression at the next party. For it is fantastic.

Thanksgiving itself was lovely, mainly because every person in my immediate family was within a two foot radius of me for the entirety of the trip (I don't know how it's possible, either) and also because I gorged myself on my parents' amazing cooking; I ate three salads a day with this fantastic buttermilk ranch dressing my mom sells, let alone how much I consumed at the actual "meals" and the intermittent "snacks." Seriously, is food just better at home? I'd probably throw a stick at you if you offered me ranch dressing anywhere else. Well, maybe not, as that would be rude. But I usually do not care for it!

My dad made great fires in the front room all week (so I could write for 2 hours a day <---not happy about it) and my mom and I somehow found time to watch "In the Good Ol' Summertime," an excellent Judy Garland flick and a tear-jerker. (Well, at least for my mom. She cries when she's happy. Me, I only cry when I'm scared, sad, injured or confused.)

Got to hang out with my main men Quinn and Cole (Q-Dog and Coltrane), who are a whopping 2.5 years and 9 months, respectively. They are also up at the crack of dawn everyday. Even weekends and bank holidays. They're lucky to be so darned attractive- I didn't even mind getting woken from my futon in the sunroom to the chorus of "Auntie Kiki...you 'wake?"

My 10 year high school reunion was on Friday night and it was a TRIP. P.J. trumped everyone else's date as I knew he would. Jen and Lori looked lovely as I knew THEY would. Some people did not age well and THAT I did not expect. (As P.J. pointed out, when you peak at 18, where is there to go?) A dude I asked out every day for a solid year (to an answer of definitely no) approached me and told me that I looked 'stunning as always.' (!) Really? Always? I can recall once or twice (or all of 8th grade, for example) where this was not the case. Also unexpected- a girl whom I complimented on her two young kids frankly (and out of left field) told me, "Keely, I have to tell you this. You need to have your kids before you turn 30. I'm a biology teacher, so I know." (Plural kids? Whaa...?) 

Stay tuned. The evening did NOT end there...