Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Thanksgiving Weekend


My favorite weekend of the year did not disappoint one bit! I technically had a four day weekend, but it sure felt like a five day weekend (like my minis had) because the day before Thanksgiving was a short and light daycare day. We did our annual Thanksgiving meal, played outside, and watched a movie. Things only got better from there:


As usual, the kids were in charge of the mashed potatoes and rolls.



A quick craft mid-afternoon (it's pumpkin pie for those wondering).


My face listening to my three bicker about which movie to watch the night before Thanksgiving. I wound up ordering pizza and watching Trains, Planes, and Automobiles and my favorite Friends Thanksgiving episodes (my cousin and I then spent some time texting each other favorite scenes).


Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday and Thursday was wonderful! I'd say it's been one of the best Thanksgiving's we've had in recent years (holidays and kids don't always mix). We started our day out with a Butter Braid and watching the parade. Then we went to my parent's house for our lunch feast, followed by our dinner feast at Matt's parent's house. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!



The minis got to put candy canes on my mom's tree.


Photo bombed


Elizabeth spent the day talking my Grandma's ear off.....I was ready for her to break out into song and dance for her audience.




My dad decorated everyone's name tags (I wish I had kept mine).


Instead of pie she went with whipped cream.

Grown up dessert....although not really. I had one glass of champagne that hit me later.


Annual Christmas jammies opening AND getting their early Christmas present from Aunt Jenny: tickets to see Disney On Ice.



We attempted a family picture....



The kids got their own table in their own room to eat at and do crafts! This set from Glazed Expressions kept the kids busy and quiet for quite a while. Things weren't so peaceful after.


Before we ended our Thanksgiving (with a migraine for me thanks to that one measly glass of champagne), we drove around to look at Christmas lights (a Thanksgiving tradition for us). That is the official introduction to Christmas for our family.

The day after Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year! It's our annual decorate gingerbread men, decorate the house, and have a lazy day, but this year we skipped over the lazy part. We woke up early, blared Christmas music while we decorated our giant gingerbread man and the house. For the first time since we started this tradition (6 years ago), Hubs got to participate in our morning gingerbread tradition. I'm not sure if he enjoyed it as much as we did, but it's always entertaining to see how the minis decorate it each year.



Decorating got so intense that the middle mini climbed up on the table.



Decorating the daycare room while Max played Christmas songs on his guitar (although, we couldn't make out any of the songs he was playing).


Friday afternoon found us shopping for a new Christmas print, watching Disney On Ice, and voting for our favorite Christmas tree at the Festival of Trees and Lights. This day could not have been more perfect!




Elizabeth jumped up and down in her seat nearly the entire time.


There were fantastic trees this year at the Festival of Trees and Lights! My favorite was the Wizard of Oz tree, but The Grinch tree was a close second.







The minis also had their first Santa visit of the season. The oldest mini has gone along nicely with his sister's Santa obsession.


Saturday was a busy day as well. The minis and I were at the Children's Museum all morning volunteering (well, I volunteered, they played/caused trouble), did some shopping at the mall, saw Santa, and ended our day at Jolly Holiday Lights (and another visit to Santa). 

I was exhausted after three days of go, go, go and happily opted for a movie night at home with Hubs after the minis went to bed Saturday night. We also opted for a home day Sunday, where we watched Christmas movies, did meal prep for the week ahead, played outside, and hung Christmas lights on the house.






A train ride and mall Santa visit.



We loved Jolly Holiday Lights! 


We got out of the car to see Santa and that's when I discovered the "shoes" the oldest had on.



For those keeping track, this makes three Santa visits in 24 hours.



Homemade waffles with raspberries, Christmas movies, and Christmas jammies to complete our Sunday morning.


The minis helped test all of the lights before they went on the house. They wound up breaking lights by stepping on them, making for a bunch of strands that no longer worked.

The cookie tree looked nothing like the one on the box! Shorter, but decorated nicely and still delicious. It wasn't a total loss.


I was writing on the couch when I looked out the window to see my nine year old on a ladder hanging lights. 



Dinner was veggies and quinoa. 


 The finished daycare pretend corner.


The minis broke into the cookie tree after dinner. The youngest chose the biggest cookie. I love her face looking at it!



Everything about Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful. I'm shocked that it didn't seem to go too quickly (and of course, not too slow). See ya in 2018 Thanksgiving weekend--you will always hold the number one weekend spot in my book!