Thanksgiving this year was so, so, so much fun! After having Seiden, we have stayed in Abilene and not traveled for the Thanksgiving break. And, I have to say, it's been so nice to just be at home and hang out for the few days that we are off and not have to be on the road. Especially now that we have Seiden. She travels GREAT in the car. She sleeps most of the way any where we go, and when she wakes up, I have the iPad set up on the head rest in front of her and we just play Disney movies and she absolutely loves it. But, still, it is much more stressful trying to remember all the things to pack and such these days. So, it was super nice to have from Wednesday until Sunday to just be at home and relax.
On Wednesday, Cody's sister and her hubby and three sweet kids came over for dinner. It is always so nice and so much fun to hang out with them. I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup, some bread, and Chrissy brought a yummy dump cake for dessert. We sat around the table and just ate and talked...it was really nice! And then, the kids just played while we sat around and watched them and visited and laughed. Chrissy and Richard's kids are 18, 15, and 4. And at the time of Thanksgiving, Seiden was 13 months. Airicka and Eli are the older two and Seiden just loves them. During dinner, Seiden would just make googly eyes at Eli. It was so cute! And Airicka calls Seiden, "her baby" so she is totally spoiled by her...and her Auntie Chrissy! Aaron and Seiden play so good together. They were back and forth from the play room and the living room all night. We had a blast. It was a great way to start out the break!
On Thursday morning, we decided to start a new tradition. Every year, there is an annual 5K Turkey Trot and we are usually always out of town, or getting ready to leave to go out of town when it starts. But, this year, we decided to run in it since we were going to be here! Meaning...I signed us all up...my parents included! Our sweet neighbor also ran in it with us. So, we just made it a family affair! My parents just decided to walk. But, the rest of us ran. I had Seiden in the jogging stroller...and totally beat Cody! Not gonna let him live that one down! I don't beat him very often when we workout together. So...I gotta rub it in when I do :-) I think Seiden enjoyed the run the most. When we crossed the finish line, I came around to see her and get her out, and she was konked out! I mean...she was OUT! She stayed asleep until right before we were getting ready to leave. I guess she just got so warm, I had her bundled up pretty good, and then the motion from the running and the comfort of her stroller just put her right to sleep. Sweet girl. I love running with her! After the run, we headed to Starbuck's and all got coffee. Big Country Coffee is our favorite...but they were closed. S got a hot chocolate and a piece of banana bread that she shared with Bella (my mom). Cody didn't get anything. He doesn't like coffee...or any hot drinks really...he's weird! I could live on Starbuck's and Big Country Coffee...not even kidding.
After we got home and all got cleaned up from the run, we went over to mom and dad's and had a light lunch. Since we did the run that morning, we didn't have any time to get everything ready for lunch, even a late lunch. Plus, we knew we would all be hungry after just running and walking 3 miles! We just had sandwhiches, veggies, chips, and dips. It was good...but we couldn't wait until the real meal that evening. There is just something about Thanksgiving and having turkey and dressing. It's just SO good!!! Probably doesn't hurt that it's such a special time to spend with family and just be together and relax and not have a million things to be doing. I sure wished there were more days like there are during the holidays!
Dinner of course was fabulous. Mom and dad made the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls, and an apple pie and pumpkin pie for dessert. I made the sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole and a cheeseball with crackers. We had a spread! Seiden ate a pretty good amount too! She loved the green beans (not the casserole) and the sweet potato casserole. The girl loves anything orange. Then, add brown sugar and marshmallows to it and you've got one happy little girl! She ate some turkey too. I hate to admit it...but she's kind of a picky eater. She loves her some grilled cheese, turkey and cheese and pb&j sandwhiches, hot dogs, cheese, and a pretty good variety of fruits and veggies. She's gotten better about eating meat. But, it's totally my fault. She just now has 7 teeth. So, I was kinda hesitant to give her anything other than really soft food until she could chew it better. I'm terrified of her choking. Oh well...she'll have plenty of time to expand her palate! And of course, she loved the pie. I love sweets...so it's no surprise that my child would push away her plate full of healthy food and then proceed to eat two cupcakes and a bowl of ice cream. Don't ask me how I know that... My dad makes THE BEST pies and his apple is probably my absolute favorite. I know, I know...you must have pumpkin at Thanksgiving. And, while it is absolutely delicious, there is nothing like his apple pie with the brown sugar streusel topping. I know you're drooling just thinking about it! We were all stuffed after dinner. But, it was all so yummy...how can you stop?!? Seiden was ready to play after we ate, so I changed her in her jammies and she proceeded to play and watch movies with Opa long past her bedtime. Isn't that what breaks are for?!? When we got home, I read her a story from her Bible, and she fell asleep before I had finished reading to her. Thanksgiving was pretty fantastic if you ask me!
The rest of the break, we spent just hanging out and doing whatever we wanted. I'm not much for Black Friday. However, I did get one of the Keurig 2.0's at Sams for $100. It was regularly $199...so I HAD to get it :-) It was so nice to have the rest of the weekend off and to be at home with my family and just have the time together to relax and not have an agenda. The weather was beautiful. So we were able to take lots of family walks and play with Seiden and the dogs in the gorgeous weather. We did take a day trip to Hamilton to see my Mimi. We left a little after 8 and got home by dinner time. Seiden had so much fun playing in the big open field behind her house. And...she may or may not have attempted to eat leaves. Silly girl! Mimi loved getting to see her and it was a nice little trip to get away for just a bit while we were off. These holidays just keep getting better and better every year! So thankful to have such a wonderful family, amazing hubby, the most perfect and sweet little princess that I get to call my daughter, and three sweet fur babies. #sothankful
