Ummm . . . Thanksgiving?

I'm working really hard to get caught up on all my blogging and *almost* completely forgot to blog about our Thanksgiving holiday! I'm pretty sure that I did this exact same thing last year. Does anyone else get through Thanksgiving then just hit the ground running in December?

This year, we traveled to my brother's house for Thanksgiving. He and his family live not far from Memphis, Tennessee, which should be about an 8 1/2 drive for us. I say should be because this year it took us quite a bit longer than that! I think it took us 10 hours to get there and close to 12 hours on the way home. There were lots of reasons for this . . . weather (fog on the way there and rain on the way home), a toddler, and a pregnant Momma (who had to make frequent stops). Brianna was FANTASTIC in the car. I couldn't believe how good she was. She was definitely the least grumpy of the three of us on the way home :-).

The host family:

My parents also traveled there from Missouri:

And, my sister and her family came in from South Carolina:

It worked out so well for us all to able to meet in a somewhat central location!

My parents didn't get in until Thursday around 1:00pm, so we didn't have our big Thanksgiving meal that day. We hung out at the house, played games, and ate barbeque for dinner.

On Friday, we started cooking our Thanksgiving meal first thing in the morning. The smaller girls did a fun Turkey craft to help keep them occupied while they waited for dinner.

Cousin Kay helped Brianna with the craft:

Chloe Jo showing off her turkey:

During dinner (which was super yummy!), we all went around the table and told what we were thankful for. This is something we do pretty much every time we are together (Thanksgiving or no), and I love this tradition. Sometimes, we tell what we appreciate about each person instead of what we're thankful for, which is a great thing as well.

After dinner, we headed to a local State Park to play and take photos. It was great to be out in the fresh air after having all been in the house for several days together.

The big kids swinging with the littles:

Brianna is fearless on the playground equipment. It makes Momma's heart jump!

JT joined in on the fun:

Chloe Jo preferred the slide to any other activity:

Kaylee striking a pose:

Even the big boys climbed all over the playground equipment! Clowns!

All of us "big" kids decided to squeeze on this bench for a photo. I was just waiting for one of us to pop right out!

On Saturday, we all got up pretty early and one by one hit the road for home. Russ and Lisa left earliest (as they had the farthest to drive), then we left around 10:00am, and Mom and Dad left a bit later. Like I said above, it took us FOREVER to get home, and I was soooooo sore the next day. My back did not like riding in the car that long while being pregnant! However, we had such a good time that it was completely worth it!

We always have so much to be thankful for!