Thanksgiving

This year we had debated for many weeks about what we would do over the Thanksgiving weekend. The kids would have three days off and Theo would have four. I was unsure if I would have a job by then, so we were pretty open to possibly traveling. In the end, we opted to stay home and have Theo's family come to us.

The first to arrive were Tim and Anne coming all the way from Indiana. They flew in with their two boys, Symond (4) and Max (1) on Wednesday morning. We were so excited to see them especially since our visits are few and far between with the distance. My boys really love being the older cousins and had a great time entertaining. We made an outing to the park near our house and played in the backyard. Luckily the weather was even pretty good, a surprise since we had snow before Halloween.

Later in the evening our second wave of travelers arrived as Theo's parents along with Shaun, Melissa and their two little ones Maverick (3) and Isabell (10 mo.) rolled in. We got everyone situated and prepared to feast the following day.

Thanksgiving was actually a low key affair. The day was another nice one, and the kids frolicked and snacked while the food was prepared. I wish I had snapped some better pictures of the day. We ate in the early evening a delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, sweet potato casserole, corn, green beans, and Lisa's famous corn casserole and even some deer meat from a recent hunt. The best part of the day was sitting around the table with full tummies eating pie and ice cream while the kids have a free for all.

We had made tentative plans to go visit Palo Duro Canyon on Friday morning to work off some of the Thursday gluttony. Instead, the weather took a chilly turn, and so Friday was dedicated to hunting down some of the after Thanksgiving deals in the stores of Amarillo. Theo and I opted to stay home to avoid the crowds. Everyone seemed to enjoy the hunt.

Saturday morning, our first arrivals were the first to depart. Tim and Anne took an early flight out of town and then the overland travelers made their getaway a few hours later. In all, it was a deligthful gathering of far-flung family. In the wake of our move to the new and unfamiliar, getting to host some family in our new home was very centering. We have so much to be thankful for!

Thanks to the Martins who were able to come. To those we missed, hope to see you soon!