A Happy Thanksgiving

Right after school on Tuesday we hit the road for TN to visit with Patrick's side of the family. It was a longer drive than normal with all the traffic, but we made it there by 10 followed by John and Jessi after midnight.

The morning was filled with lots of hugs and catching up. We also made some yummy pies and sugar cookies for our traditional "turkey cookie activity." Grandpa entertained the big kiddos by taking them to the creek to catch minnows, find crawdads, make crow calls and all sorts of other Grandpa things. Of course, Anna rode on her go-cart while I enjoyed a long walk with Jessi around the farm. Patrick's highlight of the day was going to Big Ed's for lunch. We took Carson along with us and I was so proud of myself for calling in our order early so it would be ready right when we got there. Success! That afternoon we decorated the cookies, although plenty of them gotten eaten.

On Thursday, the girls and I cuddled up to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade...gotta love those Rockettes! Patrick joined John, Carson and Gary for a hike in Frozen Head while Paige and I walked around the farm to talk to the cows. And then Jessi and I pitched in to get Thanksgiving dinner ready. It was SOOO good! We had ham, turkey, sweet potato casserole, green beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, rolls, red potatoes, stuffing, gravy and cranberry relish. The dessert selection was even bigger! What a sweet evening we had visiting with Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Dave as well as Gigi, Aunt Marcia and Uncle CA (who braved the kids table). It felt like we prepared all day and then the meal was over in less than 30 minutes. We were all stuffed!

Friday Patrick and I took the girls to a local park while John and Jessi visited old friends. The girls also got a chance to ride lawn mowers which was hilarious. Even Paige was brave enough to try one on her own. After naps, we wrangled everybody together for family pictures. It's not an easy task to get everybody looking and smiling, but I was so happy to have Aunt Brenda there to grab our group shot. Sweet Addie was on to our game and wanted nothing to do with the pictures which made them even funnier. All in all, we got some good shots.

Later that evening we opened Christmas gifts. The girls were shocked to find out the doll beach house they have been wanting was purchased and waiting for them at home. They also loved their cute toiletry bags, which funny enough I bought for my niece and nephews. That night we said goodbye to John and Jessi as they left for England to scope out places to live this spring. Can I tell you how excited I am to plan a trip to see them?

Saturday was a slower morning. We helped set up Christmas decorations and cracked hickory nuts. Grandpa took the kiddos to the creek again and we all ate lots of leftovers.

We decided to take off that afternoon instead of Sunday morning because Anna developed a cold and we all needed some good sleep before the week started. It was a smart move-the traffic going home was awesome and we made it in record time. We got home just in time to watch the Gamecock football game in the light of the Christmas tree we had set up before we left. Everybody slept in and seemed refreshed after some much needed sleep.

It was a happy Thanksgiving spending time together with family.