Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving

We left Boise the day before Thanksgiving. We arrived home on Wednesday night, dropped off our dirty clothes, swapped them out for some clean ones, bought groceries for Thanksgiving, and made pies until about 2am. Then we got up, got ready, loaded up the car, and headed for my Mom's house.

Jordin and her family arrived shortly after we did. They had spent the night with Stacey and her family who would not be coming up for Thanksgiving. Kelley and Elle picked up my Grandma and the holiday was soon in full swing.

Our family eats Thanksgiving Dinner at night by candlelight so we had plenty of time to get everything done even though it was a little crazy. Lucky for us there were quite a few cooks in the kitchen.

Reilly wasn't able to come up with us which wasn't fun. Since she is a seasonal worker she had to be at work on Thanksgiving at about 4pm. She worked until late that night with all the Black Friday hoopla and then worked until about 2pm on Black Friday. Have I mentioned my absolute and utter hatred of Black Friday? This year only intensified my feelings. BOYCOTT BLACK FRIDAY!! Ugh and the fact that now it begins ON Thanksgiving. Thankfully Reilly's boyfriend's family invited her over and they eat early at 1pm so she didn't completely miss out on Thanksgiving dinner. Justin then drove her up to my mom's house on Friday evening and they both spent the rest of the weekend with us up there.

My grandma was in a really loving and sweet mood. That isn't happening all that often anymore. Being blind and having dementia makes her a bit on the crabby side. She spends most of her time sleeping or talking to people who are no longer there. Losing her son took a toll on her and she was cognizant enough to understand what had happened. This visit was really sweet and special. She was so very loving and appreciative. The noise and the kids running around didn't bother her like they sometimes do. It was a really wonderful gift. She had us in tears with her sweet conversations with those beyond the veil. I hate seeing her like this and I know that it is so frustrating for her. She was always such a busy and capable woman who was most definitely in charge!! Sitting on the sidelines has been very difficult for her. I am glad that we all had this wonderful day together.

RJ absolutely loves Kameron!! He will not let him out of his sight. Kam was cute to hang out with him the entire visit. I think they both appreciated having another boy around. There are a lot of girls in this family!!

Bryn is looking so grown up these days!!

Jaylah and Bryn had a lot of fun together. 

Eventually we had to send the kids outside to play and run off some energy. The weather was so nice and mild...perfect for playing outside. We just put their snow pants, jackets, and boots on right over their nice Thanksgiving clothes and they stayed clean and tidy. It worked like a charm!!

I am very thankful for this guy!! Especially after the year that we have had. I am thankful for stents and diabetic pumps. Eventually he is going to be completely bionic!! I am thankful for wonderful children and a loving family. I was also especially grateful to be at my Mom's house which is so beautiful and cozy. It always feels like such a nice respite from the world and everyday life.

Then my phone went  suspiciously missing...

I am thankful for these peeps and the bevy of *interesting* pictures I had on my phone!! 

Weirdos!!

Then it was finally time to eat!! The dinner was amazing as usual. We had my mom's delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, liquid gold gravy, sourdough sausage and chestnut stuffing, and her pumpkin pie. Jordin made my grandma's homemade noodles that we eat on our mashed potatoes southern style. Kelley made a fantastic brie and the world's best green beans. I made two pecan pies, two cherry pies, and the cranberry sauce. It was quite a feast.

The kids table

The whole group...we were definitely missing Reilly and had set a place for her at the table accidentally. ;(

This was one of my favorite moments!! RJ ended up at the adult table and spilled his Shirley Temple. As we were running to grab a towel he told us, "NO! I got this!!" and then proceeded to suck it up like a little vacuum!! He got up every drop!!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, talking, laughing, and having fun. The kids played and ran around outside. We watched movies and played games. Our favorite was the Headbands game on our phones where you put your phone on your head and it films the people guessing. Hilarious. We went to the lake one day and hung out with our Uncle Steve, Aunt Margaret, Uncle John, Aunt Ade and my grandma. My mom and I did some Sisters Creed business too. It was nice to just hang out. We also continued to eat good food.

One night we made Meki's (Kirk's girlfriend) famous chow mein. Whoa. It was fabulous. I am making it again this week!!

 Look at our mother trying to creep in our picture!! Ha ha!!

We let her in. :)

The kids eating Grandma's famous pancakes. I grew up eating my pancakes the Ellersick way...the way my grandma always made them...with corn meal and cooked in oil until crisp around the edges. YUM. Tyler grew up eating fluffy buttermilk pancakes. This has caused a rift in our marriage a time or ten about how to make the "proper" pancake. I don't love his pancakes and he doesn't love mine. Unfortunately for him...our children all prefer their pancakes Ellersick style...the PROPER WAY!! :)

There was a lot of all day pajama wearing...Justin, Reilly, Jaylah, RJ, and Kam

The kindergartners got sent home with big homework packets over the holiday weekend. For realsies. Not cool. Daddy/Uncle Tyler and Ailey helped them stay on task and get their homework done.

You might think that this is Kameron and RJ but really it's Dr. Blue and Dr. Orange (as named by RJ). RJ demanded that they be called by these names all weekend. Ha ha. Could you say no to that face?

Yes..the adults played some dress up too!!

Lookin' good!

Trying to get the *perfect* shot!!

It was a wonderful weekend and so nice to be able hangout after a busy and emotionally draining week. November is a month of gratitude for our family and also a month of remembrance. Tyler's father died in November. My Grandpa Ellersick died in November...and now Uncle Mike. How grateful we are for our loved ones... those here and those who we are waiting to see again.

I'll end with a few pictures of the world's two cutest boys:

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!