thankful

I made two batches of Aunt Mae's wild rice casserole this year. 

One to share and one to keep!

As usual, we have SO much to be thankful for and I was thankful this year to set aside the constant nagging of wanting to capture every moment with a photo.  I think the fact that editing photos topped my to-do list for several weeks going into the holiday season left me, for lack of a better term, "over it!"
I skipped the Turkey Trot this year to join Ryan and Ben at the annual Pigskin classic.  Ben was NOT happy to not be allowed to join the men in their tackle football and made wrangling him less than fun.  In true 3-yr-old fashion, he didn't want anything to do with the field or playing during breaks and half-time when it was his turn.  In those moments he was happy to sit on the sideline and eat oranges.  Needless to say, I'll be trotting again next year. 

The last man to arrive wears the dress and this year for the first time, it was Ryan.

Ben had some fun with Turner and Hailey at a nearby playground

We left football and headed to MeeMee's around noon for snacks and a bloody mary bar fit for kings.
This year Tante's co-worker, Kelly joined us and Ben quickly warmed to her and was happy for the new face and willing playmate. 
Dinner was standardly delicious and a snuggly viewing of The Blind Side ended the day perfectly.
With two families and double-blessings, we got to enjoy another delicious meal the next day with Nana and Papa and cousin Christopher.  We took Papa to Costco for our only Black Friday shopping, a TV mount.

We measured Ben at Nana and Papa's that day and discovered everyone's constant talk of his growth was quite accurate.  3/4ths of an inch in 19 days!!

 

That night was Cole Lineberry's taco bar birthday party.  A taco bar the day after Thanksgiving was nothing short of brilliant and proof that wisdom comes with age. 
Saturday was filled with outdoor decorating and some Small Business Saturday online shopping.

Sunday included the icing on the cake that was a wonderful looooong weekend.  Thanks to friend Wyatt's third birthday celebration, Ben had his first trip to ........drum-roll please............"CHUCKIE CHEEVIES!!!!!"  He must have seen a commercial or two beforehand from PBS kids because he was instantly excited when we mentioned the name and wanted to go NOW!
He favorite part was definitely the creepy robotic singing Chuckie and anytime the music started, he would stop playing and run to watch.  He was also very into a tall climber tube and slide and the basketball games.  He has asked to go back multiple times everyday since.  I'm not sure there's one close to our house but it is a brilliant idea for some cheap indoor energy burning as most of his favorites were free.

The Broncos pulled out a very close and slim victory to end our busy holiday weekend and we were mighty thankful for that, too! That and watching on our new TV thanks to an early Christmas gift from Papa Ken and a holiday bonus.  Our old TV was nearing the end and we were thankful to replace it while hot deals were abound.

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The many blessings bestowed upon our family regularly are not lost on this mama.  I try to live very gratefully and aware of all that we have on a regular basis but I also love the holiday that hopefully allows most people to feel grateful on a deeper level and really contemplate all their blessings.  Ben's class did a lesson on the book Stone Soup to honor the holiday and learned about the miracles that happen when we come together and pool resources.  It's a lesson we'd all do well to take into the world with us and one that reminds me how lucky we are to have friendly and kind neighbors and wonderful families and friends that work together to make good gatherings great ones. 
It's cliche to say, but I'm very thankful for all who read this blog and share in the great times with our family.  And I promise next year on Thanksgiving I will take the camera out of the bag!