Monday, December 3, 2018

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving Break is always a week that we really look forward to as a family.  We tend to do something different each year, but it's also a holiday that is more low-key for us.  It's always nice to get a week off and not really have a lot to stress about!

We kicked off Friday evening with a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake from Chick-Fil-A after the kids went to bed.  These are my favorite.

Saturday we had a wedding to go to where Matt actually officiated.  He is an ordained minister and spent the first 6 years of our marriage working as a music minister for any new readers who might not know that!  He hasn't done many weddings (I think this is number 4??), but it's always fun (and an honor!) when he gets asked to do one!  This wedding was an outdoor one at The Crescent in town, and it was absolutely beautiful.

While we were at the wedding, the kids had a blast playing outside at Gigi's house.


That night, we had another first in our new house - a fire!  We've never lived in a house with a fireplace, and we've been looking forward to this since we moved in.

A fire, hot chocolate, popcorn, and a movie - life doesn't get better than this!


On Sunday, the kids spent as much time outside as possible!

This is what the scene looked like outside our house on Sunday - kids everywhere!  I love this!


On Sunday afternoon, LL's best friend Maddie came over to play.

These sweet girls have been best friends since Kindergarten!  They haven't gone to the same school for several years now, but Maddie's mom and I do our best to still get them together so that they can keep their friendship strong!

While Maddie was over playing, Cooper went hunting with Matt, and they got a deer!!!  Typically the kids don't even see deer when they go, so for them to get one just made Cooper's year!


On Monday we left for Atlanta.  We spent the morning cleaning up and packing while Matt got some work done (and Cooper and I may have fit a little time for snuggles in!).

ATL bound!

I didn't take a ton of pictures while we were in Atlanta because we had a pretty laid back trip.  We did take a walk around Aunt Laura's neighborhood delivering some Thanksgiving goodies!


The white chocolate covered oreos at Christmas time are my favorite!  It's a good thing they don't sell these year round!

Laura and I also put together a few puzzles during the week.  This one was especially hard, but we got it!

We went to the movies to see the new Grinch movie - and my crew all loved it!


Reclining chairs, popcorn, candy, and a slushee - these kids can't get much happier than this!


Laura set up a fun game for the kids - turkey balloons and nurf guns; who can kill the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner??  Spoiler alert - no one - haha.  Evidently nerf guns aren't strong enough to pop balloons!

We had lots and lots of chill time!

There are some neat walking trails in Laura and Gino's neighborhood, so we went for a pretty long walk one day.

Crazy face!


Cooper was so terrified of this old bridge - haha.  He was convinced that it wasn't safe for us to walk on (even though it was made of asphalt).  




Last year for Thanksgiving I made homemade rolls for the first time, so I did it again this year.


Our Thanksgiving spread!

Old-lady Lola came with us and had a blast on the trip!  She slept for days when we got home.

We came home pretty early on Friday, and we got home, our Christmas tree had been delivered!!  We typically go to a local tree farm and cut down our tree, but they closed this year.  The closest farm is about 45 minutes away, so we decided to just go the artificial route.  I did some research and we decided to go with King of Christmas.  We had a little bit of a hassle getting the tree to us, but it was worth it.  She is gorgeous!

Let's decorate!

On Friday we just got it up and all fluffed out.  We decided to go with a 9ft, flocked, pre-lit tree.


The kids ended up spending the night away on Friday, so Matt and I snuck in a little date night!

Aspyn was happy to have been rescued from doggy-jail a day early (we initially planned to come home from Atlanta on Saturday).

Lola was so exhausted after our trip!

Saturday we spent a good part of the day decorating, and the tree turned out absolutely beautiful!


We have a few nativity sets, and I asked Cooper to go upstairs and put this one together for me.  He put it together absolutely perfectly....right in front of the potty.  :) 

Hot chocolate in front of Christmas lights is one of my favorite parts of this season!

Sparkle (our elf) always comes after we decorate.  Since we decorated on Saturday, she came on Sunday with her North Pole breakfast.  She came with new pj's and dounts...and a new friend!  Santa sent us another (boy) elf - and Cooper proudly named him Michael Jackson - haha.

When you order your daughter Christmas pajamas...and they look like they're long enough to fit you!  Where is my baby?!

The new pj's were a hit!


It wasn't a super packed Thanksgiving week, but I do feel like we fit in quite a few fun things!  You can read about our past Thanksgivings here:




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