This was our first of many Thanksgivings at my Parent's house! They hosted us, Papa, Stephen's family, and Mary's family. Most of the food had been prepped the day before at our various houses, so it was pretty low stress to get everything warmed up and ready to serve for our big feast. The kids got to go play at the nearby Anamax park while we got everything set up.
The highlight for me was the DELICIOUS sweet potato casserole that mom made using my cousin Shannon's recipe! I was very happy to be eating leftover stuffing for a whole week.
Some more of the spread
We filled three tables. I love a house filled with family on Thanksgiving!
More of us
Felix enjoyed fingers for his feast
He also participated in the post-feast nap tradition
The highlight of Thanksgiving was the post-feast cousin polar plunge. My kids and Stephen's kids all got into the hot tub, even though it hadn't had enough time to get all the way hot. All of them except Isaac ended up jumping into the 50 degree pool for the adrenaline rush. Ethan and Annie were the most frequent plungers. Bree jumped higher than I thought possible to get out as soon as she got in. The grown-ups and a very bundled Felix enjoyed the show and the stars.
The next day we headed to the park for some soccer (minus Andrew who randomly puked). Elliot was a surprisingly effective goalie and Annie was all about charging that ball. Isaac had a blast climbing trees with Ethan and Eli.
I feel absolutely overflowing with gratitude this year. 2024 was a big year for us with Felix joining the family and Mimi, Grumpa, and Papa moving here. Life is really good right now. I think that I'll look back at this time period as one of the golden ages of my life.
