Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Turkey Day!  I love Thanksgiving.  I love eating a ton of food and not feeling guilty, I love all the great shopping deals on black Friday, and I love kicking off the holiday season with family.  This year seemed very different because my parents are on a mission in D.C.  Dan's parents went to New York this year to be with his sister Michelle.  So we got to spend thanksgiving here at our house with my two brothers and their families that live close.  It was nice, and small and easy.  I like having Thanksgiving with a smaller intimate group it's a little less crazy and hectic.  Anyways we really miss my parents, but they got to spend Thanksgiving with my sister Karyn who lives in Maryland so they had a nice day. 

Here is Benjamin dressed up like a pilgrim.  I love the cute costume his preschool makes for the kids the day before Thanksgiving.  I just noticed the shirt he has on which makes this photo so patriotic!  Wow that's one red blooded American pilgrim through and through!  It's now time to eat some apple pie I think!

After we ate diner and digested pie, we went on to more sugar and decorated ginger bread men.  It's a tradition with Dan's family to get together to decorate ginger bread houses, with Dan's mom being gone I thought I'd still do this with the kids.  I wish I could take the credit for baking them, but it was a Costco kit.

Here is Jence biting into his gigantic cookie.

Kate had so  much fun decorating the ginger bread man, that she also decorated herself!  I have to admit that I'm pretty tired.  It was a fabulous weekend, but with all the cooking, and hosting, and shopping, and Christmas decorating I've done I'm pretty tired out.  It's crazy that Christmas will be just a few weeks away now.  I'm so excited, but a little daunted by all that I still need to get done.  I think Nutcracker the week before Thanksgiving really set me back about a full week as far as preparation goes.  I'll get it all done, but I may need to pull a few late nights.