one thousand miles together.

today i'm thankful for so many things.
i'm particularly thankful to be in denver with james and my grandparents.
every time i visit, i love the connection that i feel with my past. today i came across a family tree that my grandpa has constructed of his maternal side of the family. i should probably take a photo of it. anyway, i learned that my great grandpa's first name was arch. and my great-great and great-great-great grandpas shared the same first name, which was guy. lots of other names that i hadn't known. i also noted some family names like mary, which was my dad's older sister's name as well as my great grandma's name. louise seems to be a family name as well. so today, i'm thankful for the opportunity to explore my family history a bit.

it was interesting to see james' reaction to my grandparents' house last night. i think he had expected something modern, like my sister's house. but this place is like a museum. most of the house is just as it was when i was a little girl. i love it. i love that the walls are covered in art, much of which was painted by my aunt mary or uncle david, and photos of family members. i could do without the photos of me during my awkward years. ha. i love how the kitchen is just how i remember it, and the flour and sugar canisters are the same as always... lovely blue antique glass. there is a lot to take in here.

james and i are actually home alone right now. my sister and jamie went to his mom's house, and my grandparents made plans with friends before they knew we would be coming. so we're having a big thanksgiving celebration tomorrow at my uncle's house. there will be lots of family there, and i'm sure the food will be wonderful. i'm definitely looking forward to that meal, although waking up this morning and having a home cooked breakfast thanks to my grandma was pretty fabulous. :]

in the meantime, james is watching football and i'm thankful that my grandparents have wifi. ha.

as i get older, thanksgiving celebrations take more and more of a departure from what i remember as a child. this marks the first year that i'm not with my parents. they are in vegas celebrating with my brother and his family. i'm sad that we aren't all together this year, but i am happy to be here. thankful to have this time with my grandparents and thankful that james gets to see a little piece of what i remember as a big piece of my childhood summers.

happy thanksgiving to you all! :]