Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend this year was one of our bests.  We had all of our family together, lots of great food, and plenty of time laughing and reminiscing - pretty much perfect.  Obviously we should be working to be grateful and aware of all that we have without such a blatant reminder.  But, its nice to have so many people focusing on gratitude at the same time.  There have been so many people lately that have been drastically affected by natural disasters and other tragedies and I am just so grateful for our safety and comfortable circumstances.  That has been top on my mind.  Luke and Ruby have really expanded their social circles lately and spent a lot of time having play dates, and at friends' houses, so I suspect they would say they are especially grateful for good friends. 

Thanksgiving morning was spent did not require too much preparation -  I had made stuffing the night before and then got up early to make banana cream pies before heading outside.  We have been super lucky with the weather this fall and I was able to go out for a run in 50 degree weather - now that is something to be grateful for.  The time on the trail was a perfect beginning to the day.  When I got home we all quickly got ready, packed up the car, and headed out to Jarin and Jami's house.

Man I love these turkeys!

Thanks Brexley for theThanksgiving visit

There were a lot of discussions about where to have our Thanksgiving dinner and I'm so glad Jarin and Jami agreed to have the party at their house.  The set up in their basement was fantastic and it was so fun to have the entire group together on one table.  Of course the meal was delicious and the company was even better. 

Sometimes it's a real struggle to get a good photo

We loved meeting Andreas and having him with us.

It was a day for new faces - welcome to the party Bronson

After dinner the little kids played and watched movies while the big kids decided to go shooting.  Jami, my mom, and I were content to hang out on the couches.  In theory we stayed home to watch the kids, but they were so busy playing that they barely knew we were around.  Even if I wasn't needed, I was perfectly happy staying home so I could just relax and be grateful for the rest.

By the time they went shooting, Erika had left to go be with Andreas' family, but Taylor and Brycen were excited to be able to go.  Neither of them had done much shooting before and I think they both really had fun.  My dad was so impressed with Taylor's skills - apparently he is a natural shot.  

The sunset was incredible.

We finished the night playing "Remember When" with the entire group.  The game is basically and excuse to tell stories about your life and experiences - the perfect game for a Broadbent gathering.  It was a great ending to the night and I left feeling even more grateful to have all of these amazing people as part of my tribe.

The day after Thanksgiving was busy!  Ruby and I started out early at the craft fair with Jami and Ada.  Ruby loved being part of a girls outing and I love that she is getting big enough to spend that kind of time together.  The rest of the day was busy as we all tried to get everything ready for family pictures on Saturday morning.  For me that meant a lot of time at a very crowded mall and the boys got new haircuts.  The best part of the day was when Craig, Roman and Sadie arrived.  I loved how excited they were to see each other and watching them play together was the best!

Family pictures at 9:00 on a Saturday morning (of a holiday weekend) was a little tough.  But I was so appreciative of Tim and the kids and how cooperative and pleasant they were for the whole process.  It was so important to my mom to get new pictures while everyone was together and I absolutely love how they all turned out.  The real pictures are coming soon, but I love these snap shots and the stories they tell.  

Man we are funny!

At some point in the blur of the weekend, I was convinced to decorate the Christmas trees - Tim put them up earlier in the week.  I wanted to put it off another week just to give some separation between holidays.  However, when I saw how excited the kids were, I couldn't help but join in on the magic.  The entire weekend was really quite magical.  But by the time Sunday night rolled around, we were all so tired and I think a little excited to get back to our normal schedule and routine.

Slightly off balance, but decorated with so much love and enthusiasm.