Barhorst Brewed: November 19-26

On Sunday, Bryan took Justine, the babies, and me to the Columbus airport for our flight to Denver. Despite the stress of airports (not actual flying, just everything associated with it), we made it through just fine. I did forget that I had pepper spray in my stroller, so that was a bit exciting at the security checkpoint. The agent held it up and, once I realized what it was, I exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot that was in there! I don't need it!" He gave me a droll look and responded, "Good, because you can't keep it." Whoops. Several people commented on how we had our hands full -- I guess two babies, two carseats, two diaper bags, two personal items, and a stroller does seem a bit unwieldy -- and we blithely replied, "We left six kids at home, this is nothing!" We did decide that traveling was much better with two of us.

Denver was pleasantly ~~warm~~ not cold and it was wonderful to see family. We stayed at Grandma's house since that was where most things were happening. Justine and Dotti and Matthias and I were all supposed to sleep in the same room upstairs, but after the first few hours when Matthias and Dotti took turns waking each other up and then I surprised Justine in her sleep causing her to attack me, I decided it would be wiser to take Matthias and sleep in the den.

Except for Tuesday, which was the day of the funeral, things were relatively upbeat and normal. There were cookies and cake and games and a lot of visiting squeezed into too little time. Tuesday was a wet, emotional day, but that's only to be expected. Justine and I decided that it would have been nice to have husbands nearby for support during the funeral, but that it was nicer to not have the extra children around. I did notice that Will being there for Jacque somehow made it better. It's like he was the designated husband (and also holder of the tissues) for all four of the Fenton sisters. We sang the hymns that we could and cried through the ones that we couldn't. Grandma made me cry, I made Jillian cry, Jillian made Jacque cry, and everyone made Justine cry. It was one big crying circle. We all made it through, though, and after the burial things got a lot less weepy. By Wednesday our emotions were spent and we were back to visiting.

Justine and I flew out on Wednesday evening so as to be back home for Thanksgiving with our families. The lines to get through security were long, but Denver was prepared for huge amounts of holiday travelers, so they moved fairly quickly. The flight back was quite eventful for me since I was sitting next to a couple of rather chatty gentlemen who decided to take full advantage of the adult beverages offered on airplanes (why fly the budget airline and then spend $50 on overpriced beer and vodka?). Alan (who's real name was Anthony, but I guess he resembled a guy from The Hangover) and Ray provided a nice amount of in-flight entertainment, made more exciting by the fact that I was low on sleep. I impressed them both by correctly guessing that the city we were flying over was Omaha and then (quite by accident) getting a stewardess to confirm it by calling the cockpit to ask. I shocked them both when they realized that Matthias was nursing 75% of the flight as I tried to get him to go to sleep and stay asleep. Alan told an amusing story about flying with a lap baby he didn't know; Ray gave me his life story and I learned that possession of a gram of weed with a child in the car will apparently get you a year in a Texas prison. The flight ended with Ray telling Matthias "don't be racist, baby" and Alan panicking because he forgot that he put his duffel bag under the seat and then thought that maybe someone stole his clothes.

Alison and Eulalia picked us up from the airport just after midnight. Eulalia was SO EXCITED to see other babies. She was grinning from ear to ear the entire time and kept trying to touch Matthias and Dorothea. Matthias gave her a concerned look and pulled away. Who is this crazy, happy baby in my face at midnight and why does she keep trying to touch me? Not to be deterred, Eulalia smiled bigger and touched him some more. After adequate sleep Matthias was much more open to being friends, and the three babies got to know each other while Justine and I got ready for the day. Joseph and the boys picked us up from Alison's house (they had been visiting his parents) and drove us down to Ohio.

We're to Thanksgiving morning, now, and the holiday meal was happening at my house. Bryan got the turkey going in the roaster, and Justine and I made everything else when we arrived. Joseph's parents and brother drove down to join us and we had a very nice meal that afternoon. I even thought to copy Now Thank We All Our God so that we could sing it before the meal, reminiscent of Thanksgivings at Uncle Ted and Aunt Ruth's house. The elder Bossards left in the early evening and we set about putting all the kids to bed.

On Friday afternoon, Bryan's family came to visit, bringing their leftovers to supplement our (very similar) leftovers. We played games and hung out and generally had a good time.

Saturday was Edward's birthday, so we turned leftover mashed potatoes into delicious potato soup for lunch, Justine baked a cake, and Edward opened presents. The Bossards packed up to head home shortly after lunch.

Also of note this week, our cat is no more. Bryan's parents found her dragging her back legs across the grass. She didn't seem to be in pain, but she had a sizable sore in the middle of her back and was clearly paralyzed from there down. Our best guess is that she got hit by a car. Bryan took her to a friend of a friend to have her put down.

Pictures:

Matthias in his monster hat: