Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year. It's amazing to me that we spend so much time getting ready...Cooking, cleaning, etc and it's over with so quickly! However, I had SUCH a great time!
Thursday morning, my dad and I got up before daylight, got dressed and drove out and picked up Kimberly and Alexis. We then went to my dad's pasture and did what we call "hunting" but fear not, no animals are ever hurt...That's because we sit there and talk and laugh so much that no animal dare gets close. We don't even bring anything to "hunt with. Although, surprisingly enough, we did see a doe which thrilled Lexi. Once she had seen her deer, she was ready to come home. Kimberly and I have gone every year for as long as I can remember. The only year we didn't go was the year Lexi was born because she was so tiny so we chose to go out to breakfast instead. We just make sure we do something just to have some father/daughter time. Last year was Lexi's first year to join us and now it's tradition that she comes too.
Once our "hunt" was over, we all headed home to shower and get ready for the family to arrive. Once they did...It was nonstop action and tons of fun. I really can't help out a lot in the kitchen because so much is going on and me and my wheels can get in the way. I helped Kimberly set out the desserts and then sat in the kitchen and talked with everyone while lunch was getting ready. We really do have a lot of fun in the kitchen. Lunch was great! After lunch, most of us tend to float to different rooms chatting and telling stories, just catching up and then later in the afternoon we head outside for pictures....It's always entertaining trying to get Austin to stay still long enough to get his picture taken, but at least he was happy to be out there! Around dark the family headed home with the exception of my mom's younger brother, his wife and their two kids.
Friday morning, My mom, aunt, Kimberly, Lexi, (Austin stayed home with his Daddy this year...Believe me, he enjoyed it there much more than with us) Landon (my cousin) and I all piled in the van and headed for the woodlands (don't worry, we may be crazy enough to go shopping that particular day, but we're not up at 4 a.m. we headed out around 9:45 so we're only semi nuts). We had a productive day...Lots of Christmas shopping got done and we had a blast together! This was the first time in MANY years that Kimberly's been able to go with us, she previously worked at the Holiday House the Friday after Thanksgiving and now since it has closed she was free to come. It was so great to have her with us...I recently realized just how much I laugh when I'm around my sister. I laugh a lot anyway, but get us together and she cracks me up! She really is SO much fun and is so hysterical (I see things that probably only crack me up because I'm her sister). I think I enjoyed this year even more because she was with us.
On the way home we were already on the road when Kimberly thought about getting Lexi in her PJ's in case she fell asleep on the way home. She was already in what we like to call "the zone" where she's staring off into space right before falling asleep so we had to get creative so we could keep her awake long enough to get to a well lit parking lot so we could pull over and get her changed. So, my aunt Becca and Landon started singing Christmas songs until we could pull over. After that was done, instead of stopping, the singing just continued and included an absolutely hysterical version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each one of us had a part and poor Mom NEVER got her part "six geese a'laying" right....What she came up with each time had us all laughing SO hard it was unbelievable. We were laughing so hard we were crying! And that was the thing we referred back to for the rest of the weekend and would laugh all over again every time. Needless to say, Lexi stayed awake the entire ride home and was totally wound up by the time we pulled in the driveway.
It was crazy around here but we love it. I realize I am one of the few who is blessed enough to have grown up being really close to my extended family. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and even great grandmothers...Some of them are gone now but I realize how rare that is to have known BOTH of my great grandmothers and to have one that is still here to celebrate with us. I definitely don't take it for granted and am SO thankful! It's memories like the ones we made this year that will be talked about for years to come!
I hope YOUR Thanksgiving was just as wonderful!
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