Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend was a wonderful weekend, very deserving of its name. My sister Ruth Ann and her family came from New Jersey and another sister, Mary and her family, including her mother and father - in-law came from Kansas, and of course my brother John and Sara here in town all came to our house for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. Mary's family stayed at John's house but we made sure to spend as much time all together as possible. Ruth Ann got here Wednesday evening. We stayed up talking and laughing till way too late. The next morning I got up early to put the turkey in the oven. We had 30 people here for Thanksgiving, and a very large turkey! I don't know how we fit everyone, but we did. It worked out great. I was just happy all day long, having my family here.

Jake and Ruth Ann and darling Spencer

Mary and David and their sweet Rebecca

John and Sara

The girls having so much fun with their cousins

I LOVE this picture. They were having so much fun together.

After our Thanksgiving Lunch the games began. What would be a game day without Risk??

It got so intense everyone ended up standing for the majority of the game.

Hayden had fun playing board games with cousins too.

It was nice enough outside the the kids went out and played for a while.

That night we stayed up late again talking and laughing. Then at almost midnight Ruth Ann and I decided to try out the Black Friday sales. Ruth Ann had never done the Black Friday shopping, and wanted to get a taste of it. We had so much fun at 1:00 am in Wal-mart.

Friday was a relatively warm day so we met up with everyone at a park that is about halfway between our and John's house. It was a great plan. The kids had fun getting out of the house, playing. We had a picnic and played. Then we went on a great walk on the walking trails.

My handsome nephews, John, Keaton, and Stephen

Isn't that an adorable little guy!!??

That night we were able to have a little siblings date night. We all went without our kids to Friday's. Ahh, I love these people. We had such a great night visiting. Then we all went to Target for a couple little last minute Black Friday sales.


Once again, stayed up too late talking Friday night - but so worth it. Early Saturday morning I got a call from a friend in our ward. Her water had just broken and she was having her baby. So we added 4 more kids to the mix. They were actually very good kids and just fit in with the crowd. We hung out at our house and played games, talked, and ate all day. That night we celebrated the 1st advent all together. The first advent (One of our family's German Christmas traditions) wasn't actually until Sunday but we wanted to celebrate while we were all together, before everyone went home on Sunday. We made gingerbread houses. Each family had their own house to decorate.

It was getting a little late when we started the houses, so David had gone back to John's with a couple of their kids and his mom and step dad. (That's why there are a few missing from the pics)

This was such a wonderful weekend. It was the perfect medicine. Spending time with family just helps me feel like myself again after all these huge changes. It was a much needed vacation weekend for everyone. I'm so glad I have wonderful sisters that are willing to drive 12 hours just to keep their little sister happy. And an amazing brother and sis-in-law that live here. It's been great getting to know John and Sara more and more and spend so much time with them. They, unfortunately, are moving to Wisconsin this summer.:( I will miss them - but it isn't here yet, so I'll enjoy the time I have with them!