693 - What are your family gatherings like?

This year, our family Christmas gathering has a lot of different elements to it.

If you blink you might miss something.

We decided to ignore the weather and go on with our plans.

Yesterday was a day of enjoying time together and catching up, then celebrating my son's birthday by having the whole family go bowling.

Bowling is not something any of us do very often. We were suspicious of 2 family members who scored close to 200 each game.

As a point of reference, my best score was 64...you get the idea.

This morning was a trip to see my nephews National Air Guard squadran.

Their fighter planes are temporarily out at the local airport while their runway is being worked on.

The enormity of the cost of one F-16, or any other fighter plane, blows my mind. Our military spares no cost.

The helmet my nephew is holding carries a price tag of $150K...yes, $150,000 per helmet. But what they can do is beyond impressive.

There are few industries that require the intelligence and precision of aeronautics. When it comes to our military, you must add the element of security.

Most of what we saw today, we were not permitted to photograph.

Our tour ended with a trip to a local Mexican Restaurant for breakfast tacos.

As with most family gatherings the discussion at breakfast was about what we would eat a the next meal.

We love to do a lot of cooking, all from scratch. Meals are an entire production from beginning to end and we all love participating.

Meanwhile, I'm holding the perfect thought that anyone who still hopes to travel will make it to their destination safely.

What are your family gatherings like?