Thanksgiving

We had two wonderful Thanksgivings this year. It was our year to have Thanksgiving with my family on Thanksgiving day and we spent the day visiting and very relaxed. I didn't get any pictures at my Dad's of Thanksgiving (thanks to a dead camera battery) and only one at my Grandparent's. At least I got one. Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a ton of fun as always!

{Hannah and Grandma Janet}

On the weekend, we went to Steve's side for Thanksgiving/Austin B's birthday. The triplets are getting to the point where they really enjoy themselves and Hannah is getting more and more independent, so she also enjoyed some time playing with all the little people. My sister in law always does a fun ornament craft and we did that also. This year she had two - one for the little people and one for the grown ups. It worked out perfect and the older cousins were great sports about helping the little cousins!

{Kendra and Noah}

{Hannah is still tiny enough to stand up under a pool table.}

{Aidan}

{Hannah, Nathanial, and Kendra are fascinated with Aunt Sue's pictures}

{Aaron "helping" Hannah make her craft}

{Troy helped Nathanial, but Nathanial wanted to do it himself}

{Aidan working hard on his craft}

{Shane helping Noah}

{Austin helping Ethan - they make a great team!}

As always, we take a grandkids photo for Grandma Lee and Grandpa Kenny's Christmas card.
{Noah, Troy with Kendra, Austin B with Thano, Austin C with Ethan, Shane with Hannah, Aidan}

Thanksgiving Memories

Since I didn't have time to write a Thanksgiving post, I am sharing a few of my favorite Thanksgiving pictures. It was a wonderful day and very relaxing. I am so thankful for each and every one of my children and the blessing they are to me. I am very thankful every day for Steve. I could not have prayed for a better husband.
Ethan:

Nathanial:

Grandpa and Nathanial (he knew where to go for more cake!)

Daddy and Noah taking time to relax

All of the Calonder grandkids Ashley with Hannah and Noah (of course she couldn't be trusted to just hold Hannah)

And how could I forget how our day ended?? With a first lost tooth!

Black Friday and another Thanksgiving

Am I insane??? I do believe so! We spend the night at my sister's. Shawna and I got up WAY too early at 3:30 to go Black Friday shopping. There were some great bargains, though, so I was willing to do it. We had a lot of fun, too. Steve and Chris took care of all seven kids while we ran from store to store picking up bargains and waiting forever in lines.

Then we came home around 12 and got ready for Thanksgiving with my dad, stepmom, and little sister. I felt really bad because I was having issues with the babies and Aidan, so I was very little help in the kitchen.

It was another wonderful meal and very relaxing. It is so nice to not have to worry about going anywhere else and just enjoying the company you are with.

Thanksgiving

This year we had my family Thanksgiving. This has been pretty stressful in the past because we have to have two huge meals in one day and everyone gets ripped off. My sister came up with a brilliant idea. We had Thanksgiving with my mom's family at Grandma's today and tomorrow we will have Thanksgiving with my dad at my sister's.

Today was a wonderful day! We were all so relaxed and we actually got to enjoy the holiday. There was no stress, no rushing around, no worrying about how much to eat (or not eat), and we didn't feel like we were cheating anyone. I loved it! It helped a lot that my boys were actually pretty good, too!

A little sad is watching my grandma. I have always been very close to my grandparents and that has been one of the hardest things about moving away from home. My grandmother has Alzheimer's. I used to not notice the slight differences in her when we would visit. It is becoming more and more obvious every time we go back. She did not make any of the food this year and that was hard to see. She has always been an amazing cook. Grandpa made a fabulous turkey, though! (He has always made the meat and it is always awesome!) Grandma asked one of the kids, in a joking way, what his name was. But it was very clear she had no idea which child he was. That was heartbreaking to me. I knew it was coming and I know my younger kids will never know the grandma I know. She used to play baseball with us and run around. She has always been so much fun. She is still fun, but she is quickly forgetting more and more. I know that I am lucky to have any grandparents alive, but this is still hard...