It’s quiet in our house this morning after a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with our family. We had decided that we weren’t going to be traveling this year for Thanksgiving given that the holiday is short plus the fact that we have three children. We invited Nat’s parents to join us earlier this summer for Thanksgiving, and they graciously accepted. Nat’s brother, very pregnant sister-in-law, and Grandpa Thompson also joined us for Thanksgiving. With all the people, Nat’s parent kindly decided that the family would stay at a hotel in order to make everyone as comfortable as possible. I will recap the events.
On Wednesday, Nat took the day off since his parents and grandfather were coming in during the day. Nat took Sean to pre-school and stayed to volunteered. I was excited both for Nat and Sean, but mostly for Nat to see what Sean does at school every day. While Nat and Sean were still at school, Nat’s parents arrived. Jonas took some time to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa, but after 30 minutes, he was all smiles. While we had some time to spare, mom and I started parts of Thanksgiving dinner, which I think was a wise idea given the craziness of the next day!
When Nat and Sean came home, we sat around catching up and waited for Great Grandpa Thompson to arrive. Great Grandpa Thompson arrived shortly after lunch, and we were able to eat a short lunch while the kids were down for their naps. The men stayed at home while mom and I headed to Sam’s for some shopping. In the evening, we had a lovely dinner of lasagna courtesy of mom. Nat and dad headed out to play his soccer game in an indoor league after the kids were down for bed. Mom and I stayed at home and waited for Ethan and Anne to arrive at the airport. Mom went to pick them up and the men managed to come home shortly after they arrived back at home.
Thanksgiving Day was pretty laid back for the most part. The boys were excited to have so many people around, especially Uncle Ethan since he so fun to play with! Karis was all smiles and was happy to held by anyone. She loved to flash her smiles at all her adoring family.
Most of the day was spent slowly prepping for the feast while the children were running around with whatever adult was available. While the children were down for a nap, we were able to play Alhambra, a new game Nat got. In the afternoon, Nat and mom took the children out because they were getting a little stir crazy. Around 4PM, things started to get a little crazy as things were getting finished up for dinner. We had four cooks in the kitchen, and dad was getting ready to carve the turkey. We managed to get dinner on the table shortly before 5:30PM. It was quite the feast – turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry jelly, cranberry bread, pumpkin bread, rolls, peas, creamed spinach, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Sean loved the turkey, and he ate 3 helpings! Jonas loved the rolls the best. Karis was napping while the feast was occurring. Needless to say, everyone was stuffed at the end of dinner!
Friday, we surprised Aunt Anne with a massage in the morning while the men stayed at home watching the Nebraska game. Most of the day was spent watching college football. We took turns entertaining the children, and by naptime, everyone was pretty tired out. We all took our turns resting while the children were down for their naptime. I made a Chinese dinner for everyone, and I was happy that everyone enjoyed the meal!
Saturday morning we headed to the bakery to get some treats while Nat, dad, and Grandpa Thompson stayed at home. Nat and dad were kind enough to rake our elderly neighbor’s yard in the morning. I had scheduled Nat for a massage in the morning, so that was his treat for the day!
Mom and I decided that we should keep the kids a little busier during the day without being in the house, so we went to the grocery store in the morning. In the afternoon, Nat, dad, and Ethan took them to the pool at the hotel. The boys had a blast, and they were starving for dinner when they came home! We put all the kids down and had a nice dinner of rib roast with all the grown ups. It was nice to sit down to a meal without the kids.
Grandpa Thompson left Sunday morning before most of us were up. Mom and dad came over for a leisurely breakfast and left soon after we cleaned up. Ethan and Anne headed back to the hotel while we were at church. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon of NFL football and laying on the couch. After the kids woke up from their afternoon nap, we drove around the town to show Ethan and Anne around. In the evening, we were able to go out on a double date thanks to our friend Jason.
Ethan and Anne left early this morning, and we’re now back to our routine. I definitely think we need a break from our break! Despite the busyness, we had a fabulous time with our family!