Watching the Wheels

The week of Thanksgiving saw us begin our Holiday travel season. Jack has been a good travelling boy on our trips to the cabin and to Minneapolis, but we were apprehensive about the drive to Oklahoma. It breaks down to two days of travel, 9 hours the first day and 6 hours the second, and that seemed like an awfully long time for a boy to tolerate his car seat. Also, the spectre of the first tooth has been looming for months, and Murphy dictated that it would make its appearance during this drive.

No need to worry. As long as regular stops are part of the trip, Jack travels better than I do. The first tooth remains hidden, which supports my belief that he's waiting to break out a mouthful all at once. Both hotels we stopped at had pools, and so Jack and Stacy went swimming, which is one of Jack's very favorite activities. The long drive actually worked out to be a pleasant part of our family vacation. Even when I got pulled over on the way back. It turns out that speeding tickets in Illinois are much more affordable than in Wisconsin.

We arrived in Ada early Monday afternoon, so Stacy and Jack were able to visit Grandma at school, and meet some of the people there. Tuesday was picture day. In the morning, Jack went to have his picture taken with Grandpa Bingham (as soon as I get a copy, I will post it). In the afternoon, we had our pictures taken as a family, and some more pictures of Jack were taken for our Christmas cards. Jack was a pretty good sport through most of it, but his patience did wear thin toward the end. It's probably a good thing that there aren't any more photo shoots in his immediate future.

Stacy's brother Steve arrived on Wednesday with his fiancee TJ and her daughter Brecklynn. Unfortunately, we managed to miss getting a picture of the three of them together. Hopefully, someone will send one along.

Thanksgiving Day was very exciting. Jack got to meet many new people in his family, and spent quite some time playing with Grandma Bingham on the floor. The day had its flaws, though, as the Bears were embarrassed on national television. We didn't have our camera with us, and so I don't have any pictures to post. I'm hoping that some will be provided. Grandpa Bingham took us for a tour of the property in his 6-wheeler, which Jack really enjoyed. He was particularly impressed by the huge piles of hay. Not so much by the cows--they were a little too sedentary for him I guess.

The official Hambone Holiday 2004 Album has been started. So far, it contains our visits to Racine and Ada. I expect it will grow regularly, as we decorate the house, and continue our travels.