Days of Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time during the Thanksgiving holiday. We arrived at my parents' house on Wednesday and began all the preparations for the big meal on Thursday. My grandparents and uncle and aunt (and their two German Shepherd puppies) joined us later in the day.

Cuddling with Granny

Trying out the puppies' pen

Thursday was all about eating. And eating. And eating. And, watching a little football and visiting. But, mostly eating.

A lovely Brussel sprout centerpiece

On Friday morning, Jeff and the boys went out for doughnuts. Because, of course, they needed more sugar and calories. Friday was also Ruth's half-birthday, so Jeff and I took her to see Catching Fire, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. And later in the day, because I let my boys pack their own bags and then got distracted and never double-checked their packing, and they ended up with not enough clothes and pretty much everything they own that doesn't fit or has holes in the crotch, we ventured out on Black Friday. Thankfully, though, we were able to avoid all the insanity by just popping into a wonderful children's consignment store in Temple that wasn't the least bit crowded. Clay was asleep when we got there, so my mom went in with the kids while I stayed in the car with Clay. She helped them pick some things out and oversaw the trying on of clothes, and then said she would buy one outfit for each kid. She randomly pulled out the outfits and paid for them, not looking at any of the tags. Then she came out to the car, and I went in the store to pay for the rest, also not looking at the tags. Our totals came out exactly the same, down to the penny, which completely confused the salesgirl and had us shaking our heads and chuckling for the rest of the day. A couple of my cousins (and two more very large German shepherds) joined the party on Friday, as well.

Eye on the prize

Icing and Sprinkles

Yay for doughnuts with Dad!

Watching a movie with Phillip

a private concert

coffee with Nana and Grandaddy

Jeff and Ruth left about 6 on Saturday morning, so Ruth could participate in her first competitive horse trail ride in Spicewood. She came away with the first place ribbon for her division. She also won a sweet thermal vest. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and is looking forward to participating in another ride soon. The rest of the family (and all their dogs) left on Saturday after lunch. Then, my mom and I took the boys to Target, so Weston could use the gift card he got for his birthday. Saturday evening was designated for football watching, and we literally all stopped mid-bite and got up from the table to replay the last second of the Alabama/Auburn game. Wow! Then, we watched the Aggies flounder and lose against Mizzou, but at least the Aggie defense seemed to show up in the first half, which isn't something we have been able to count on this season.

First place!

On Sunday, Weston wanted to use the Fandango gift card he got for his birthday to see Frozen. We took the three big kids. Everyone enjoyed the show, but Weston was a bit disappointed that the things depicted in the ads were not represented exactly in the movie. We spent the rest of the afternoon packing up and enjoying a brief visit with my sister and her family as they passed through on their way home from their Thanksgiving travels. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We have so much to be thankful for! Hope you had a great holiday, as well.

Reindeer games