Thanksgiving 2012

I have always loved the holiday season. I give credit for that to my parents. In the old neighborhood my dad was often called Clark Griswold because we always had our tree up first, and our house was always the brightest and most colorful house on the block. But now that I have kids of my own, I feel so strongly about carrying on old traditions and bringing to life new ones. I know too well that the years will fly by. But I do hope that Christmas trees will always put a twinkle in the eyes of my boys just as they do now. I pray that they will grow to always appreciate a street decked out in colorful lights and that they will look back on holiday seasons spent in our home as some of their happiest memories. It was a good weekend around here. And though I am exhausted now and very much looking forward to a peaceful evening at home - we made a lot of new memories these last four days, and we're only getting started.

What I will remember most from Thanksgiving 2012...

*So much family time. We stuck with tradition - my family gathering on Thanksgiving day last year, Cody's family gathering on Thanksgiving day this year. It's an every-other-year deal that we've made, and we're sticking to it. It's too hard to eat and run!

*Grandma Grayce and all of her great-grandkids. Randy and Lisa and their family. Cassi, James and Ella. While at the Ubben Thanksgiving, Cassi told everyone that I was the one with the "soccer mom" camera so I was enlisted to take requested family photos on the front steps. I might want to take up a side job in photography with all that free time I have...

*Unseasonably warm temperatures on Turkey Day. Instead of sitting and letting all of that food settle at the bottom of our stomachs, we immediately walked to the nearest park. It was SO nice out.

*Thanksgiving night... the Panthers on TV... our boys in bed... my Mom and Dad came over to watch the game. To me, it doesn't get any better than ending a holiday by watching you favorite team on the NBC Sports channel.

*Black Friday... since my shopping is already done, we slept in a little. I woke up to the sounds and smells of Cody cooking eggs and bacon in the kitchen. When I got out of the shower, cartoons were on, and the boys were devouring their breakfast. Daddy even surprised them with chocolate milk. And we stayed in our pajamas until noon.

*Decorating. It has been tradition in my family that the Friday after Thanksgiving is always reserved for a date with the family Christmas tree. This year was especially special because it was the first time that both of our boys were really old enough to contribute to the tree trimming. They did SUCH a good job. And while our Pandora Christmas mustic station played, I sat there taking pictures and watching them organize the branches for Daddy in a pile on the floor. All of them worked so well together, and I got tears in my eyes and sniffles in my nose. Brandon kept shouting, "It's Merry Christmas time!" It was the perfect moment and one I know I will always hold on to.

*This was the first year that every single strand of our lights worked again after being pulled out of storage boxes. That in itself is a Christmas miracle!

*Placing our new 2012 ornament in a prime spot on the tree. A tradition I started when we got married. I buy one new special ornament for the tree each year. Just one.

 

*Looking through old Christmas cards. I've been saving most of them for two years now and put my Pinterest-browsing to good use this year by making a coffee table booklet out of them. I can't wait to add to these little books.

*Friday night pizza at Papa Bob and Nana Nancy's and the unveiling of their brand new Christmas tree and the popular Christmas train. The boys were giddy excited that Papa had set it up for them.

*Holiday Hoopla downtown Cedar Falls. It was SO cold... but this event is too beautiful to miss. Who can say no to Santa's Workshop, Chipmunks singing on stage (the boys' absolute favorite), an old-fashioned Main St. filled with lights, fireworks over the water and a visit from the jolly man himself? I adore our town and appreciate it even more this time of year.

 

 

 

*Friday night movies under the Christmas tree... and a Christmas bedtime story read by tree light. We snuggled up directly under the tree, turned off all the other lights and read The Christmas Story under the twinkling lights.

*Saturday... we put up the tree in the boys' room, put the finishing touches on the decor in the living room and met at Cassi's house for another family Thanksgiving. I made a Cool Whip Chocolate Pudding Pie and oreo crust that was heavenly, and Brandon found the perfect spot to sit himself right by the munchies. Oh yes... and there was Raspberry wine.

There was Brandon's first "shiner", the cousin's band, a "tip jar" and this picture:

I died when I found him sitting like this.

*A perfect Sunday morning church service. Christmas trees filled our church home, and we learned the true meaning of contentment in our souls without always feeling the need for "more."

*A trip to one of my favorite stores - coupons in hand. My house now smells like Peppermint Mocha, Marshmallow Fireside, Vanilla Bean Noel and Jolly Gingerbread... depending on which room you walk into.

*Brandon's excitement every time we drive by a house decked out in lights. "Ooooohhhhh those lights are PRETTY!"

*Sunday night. Finally nowhere to be. Toys in front of the tree and Home Alone on the TV. After three-hour naps!

Wrapping up a weekend of Thanksgiving with much to be grateful for. All is calm. All is bright.

Wishing you and yours the most Merriest of Seasons. :)

Thanksgiving.

More to come... but for now... wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving... from our family to yours.

A school picture too cute for words.

I know I may be slightly biased... but it does not get cuter than this preschool picture right here:

...and to top it off... last night at dinner, he told us that he thought a couple of girls in his class were pretty.

Bracing myself for the ride and the years ahead!

What I learned this weekend...

...there is a big difference between 27 and 21.

Chris - one of my closest friends from high school - got married on Friday night. The whole evening was sort of like a high school reunion... but with only the people you really want to see, and none of the people you would prefer not to see. ;)

I got to reunite for several hours with Sarah - my best friend from grade school. And with Annalisa - my best friend from high school. Along with their moms, several other close friends... and even an ex-boyfriend. Forgive the fuzzy cell phone pictures...

And though the wine flowed easily on Friday night, I quickly discovered on Saturday that I can't quite recover the way I used to. What was supposed to turn into a busy day of UNI basketball and football games ended with me making the choice to forego both events for a trip to the library and a night of pizza with my boys instead. I absolutely love Christmas books, but I decided it would be better on our gifts budget if I borrowed some instead of buying out the entire Barnes and Noble holiday section. I also am determined to utilize the library more and conquer my fear of not knowing where anything is. I became much more acclimated on this visit, and considering the boys didn't even want to leave... I'd say we might become public library regulars this winter.

While I looked up titles on their computer and browsed their Holiday shelves and DVD collection, Jaden and Brandon pretended to vacuum their house and cook a meal in the oven. And all the while my stubborn little boy refused to take his coat off...

Eventually Brandon wandered over to the fish tank and Jaden started choosing his own books off the shelves. When it was time to leave, I showed Jaden the red cart he needed to put his misplaced books back on, and they both watched as I scanned our library card and checked out the books and movies one by one. I have always loved to read, and it's something I hope to instill in the boys, too.

We capped off our evening with a drive down Main Street after dark so we could get our first glimpse of the Christmas lights lining the streets. While the UNI football game played on the car radio, we drove through the McDonald's drive-thru for a cup of pick-me-up. And while we waited for Daddy to get home from the game, we had a pizza picnic in our living room, watched our library Magic School Bus DVD's and  lost ourselves in picture books filled with twinkling lights, snowmen and Santa's.

It's safe to say we're more than ready to Deck the Halls ourselves.

What else did we do this weekend?...

...we snuggled. Brandon refused to take a nap on Saturday, but both boys napped for three hours on Sunday!

...we Cody hung the Christmas lights on the house in preparation for their Thanksgiving night lighting.

...we ate chicken and wild rice soup and indulged in our last Dairy Queen blizzard until Spring while catching up on the DVR.

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Gearing up for a full week ahead. Thanksgivings and Holiday Hoopla's and shopping and baking and decorating! 'Tis the season!