Thanksgiving 2017

It was so hard to go to work this morning after a great Thanksgiving weekend!  I feel like I always look ahead to the weekend and think about how much time I'm going to have and before I know it, it's Sunday night and I'm hopping into bed thinking about how fast it went!

The ONLY photos taken this Thanksgiving...sigh.

Highlights this year included starting the weekend at noon on Wednesday, listening to Past Vertical on Wednesday night, enjoying Adam's fried turkey, my mom's potatoes, and my sister's scotcharoo bars.  Looking through the ads on Thanksgiving afternoon followed by shopping with my mom and sister all day Friday is always a favorite.  This year Adam and my dad surprised me by organizing the garage and making room for both of our cars -- living in Iowa this is a definite perk before winter!!  Saturday I took down my fall decor and decorated for Christmas {everything but the tree}, saw Wonder with my mom and sister, and Adam and I went to our friend's 40th birthday party.  And Sunday we found out my sister and her husband are expecting a GIRL!!

Such a fun weekend.  I feel so blessed to celebrate with a group of loved ones -- I definitely don't take the for granted!  Especially since today marks 2 years since Murdocks death & we have a friend that's been in the hospital all weekend.  Life is so short!  On a happier note, Lola turns 6 months on Thursday, my niece has a dance team competition in Des Moines on Friday, & the kids and I are spending the weekend with my parents while Adam's deer hunting with his dad.  Now, if we could just get some snow already... ;)

Thanksgiving 2016

The weekend stirred a lot of emotions as we hit the one year anniversary of Murdock's passing.  I ended up getting just one photo with my camera all weekend {this is the phone version of it, as it's still on my camera waiting to be uploaded}  

After work Wednesday, we loaded up the car and headed to the lake. We had our annual Friendsgiving at the lake that evening.  We decided to forgo our typically potluck thanksgiving and make sushi instead since everyone would get their fill of turkey the next day.  It was the best decision ever, except we bought way too much of everything!  Seeing fresh seafood go to waste breaks my heart.  But the evening was so fun.  My heart fills every time we get together.  The conversations are effortless, the laughs are endless, and our kids are making memories at the same time.  We are so incredibly blessed to get to live life with these friends!  Who would have thought that Adam's highschool friends would grow to become some of my closest friends.

We take turns going to Thanksgiving, and this was the year with 'Adam's family'.  We spent the morning watching the Macy's Day Parade with the kids at the lakehouse before going to Adam's sisters house for her Thanksgiving day lunch.  We show up with a side, eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and spend the rest of the afternoon lounging in the living room as a family.  I typically play games while others watch football.  This year I did more online 'Black Friday' shopping than I'd ever done before. I'm 100% done shopping for my kids, 25% done with my nieces and nephews, and about 5% done with our parents -- they're always the most challenging for me!

Friday started early!  My mother in law picked me up at 4:30a and we spent the next 12 hours shopping! :)  That was pretty much the entire day other than an impromtu family dinner to the pizza resturant in town.

Saturday and Sunday were a perfect way to round out the holiday weekend.  A mix of sleeping in  and staying up late.  Meeting up with friends and staying in with Adam.  Eating a homemade meal as a family and sneaking out for late night Mexican food with friends. Hunting for him and painting fingernails for me.  Packing fall decor up and pulling out the Christmas books. Hanging exterior lights for him and trimming the tree for the kids and I. A sleepover at Grandma and Grandpas for the littles and a night of wine, charcuterie, wrapping presents, Jeep rides and the first indoor fire of the season for Adam and I.  Lots of football for him and the start of Christmas movies for me. I even found time to read.  Long weekends spent at home will forever be my Love Language!

Thanksgiving 2015

I'll be honest…Thanksgiving 2015 sucked.  However, we did have a few highlights.

On Wednesday night, we went over to a friends house for Friendsgiving, which was a good time.  I took these photos before we left.

Thursday morning we all slept in a bit and then got ready and left for my parents house to join them for the weekend.  My grandparents surprised us all by joining us for lunch and staying for a few games of BINGO.

℅ PinkPineappleCouture

℅ PinkPineappleCouture

Doesn't he look like an infant again?!

That night Murdock got sick and the following morning Adam and I had to go to the vet to put him down {the rest of my family took the kids to pick out a Christmas Tree}.  Adam and I debated about coming home and hibernating, but ultimately decided we just wanted to be with family to help keep our mind off everything, so we went back to my parents and helped her decorate for Christmas. 

That night we played cards with the neighbors.  They taught us Canadian Salad which was a great time!

On Saturday, us girls went shopping and then had the neighbors over for games again.  We had intended to leave fairly early on Sunday to get settled for the week, but neither one of us was in a hurry to get home {& be reminded of Murdock more} so we stayed at my parents until after the Viking's game and ended up getting back to the lake around 5p.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for this year!  

℅ TheJudeBug 

These photos were taken right before we headed to our Friendsgiving at the lake.  

Today we're celebrating with my family at my parents house. 

Thanks TheJudeBug for the shirts.  We love them!  

If you're still looking for Christmas or New Year's shirts {like us} go check them out!  

A {quick, easy} USEFUL gift to show your thankfulness…

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pic, it was late :(

I just wanted to share a gift we have our sitters this week for Thanksgiving.  I thought about grabbing a gift card to Starbucks or for a pedicure, but decided that was more suitable for a birthday.  Instead, I got them a basket of thinks they use while caring for my children every day.  We included snacks {mac & cheese, granola bars, goldfish, applesauce pouches, juice boxes, etc.}, paper products {toilet paper, paper towels}, cleaning products {wipes, bleach wipes, hand soap, hand sanitizer}, & a few other random items like laundry detergent {our sitters wash the kids clothes if they have an accident--potty or paint}, gum, chapstick, hair ties, gum, bandaids, & ibuprofen. Plus a little chocolate and a sweet note on this free heart Thank You printable.  The best part about this gift is that you can make it whatever price range you want {I also included a gift receipt, so they could return anything they wanted to}

Don't forget to show love to some of the people that help keep your family together {school/dance teachers, babysitters, grandparents, preschool drivers, aunts, friends, etc.}

Thanksgiving 2014

Well, it isn't Christmas yet {& we don't even have snow on the ground!}, so that makes this post acceptable, right?!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had a couple of friends that Adam works with down to stay at the lakehouse.  Adam fried a turkey {so good!}, we had wine, pretty {store bought!} cookies, and of course tons of other goodies!  With so many people {including 5 kids} is was a little crazy in our small house, but it was so much fun.  I'm pretty sure the highlight was playing games the night before.  I know I've said this before, but Heads Up is seriously the best game! {cheap, portable, & tons of fun no matter how diverse your crowd is}

Runaway, topless children during every meal.  Such is {our} life right now

Drinks for all

New lake sign from 417DesignsIA :: ignore the missing trim on my windows! Perhaps this winter? ::sigh::

The weekend of Thanksgiving, we had my nieces watch the kids and we went to a party with our lake friends.  It was fun catching up with people we hadn't seen much this summer {due to traveling}, but I wasn't feeling 100% {I thought I was just tired, but we learned later I had strep}. 

The next morning we went to my sister in law's house to have dinner and hang out with the family.  It's always a fun day.  Good food, fun games, relaxing Black Friday prep. :)

I totally 'won' that wishbone when we cracked it. :)