One of my favorite weekends of the year has come and gone.
*sigh*
However, the best part about this weekend (and one of the reasons it's my favorite) is because really.... it's just the beginning! We now have an entire Christmas season to look forward to. I can't wait!
We had a perfect Thanksgiving .....
Our fun began on Thursday at my parent's home.
We had a delicious dinner and day of family time. This year, we had the honor of having Papa George (Troy's dad) at our dinner ...
As always, everything was set so beautifully for the holiday...
The meal that I dream about 364 days of the year, did not disappoint :)
Mom's FAMOUS homemade pumpkin pie. She bakes pecans into the crust and tops it with..... ??... with goodness.
I was only able to capture half of this feast on camera. I couldn't get the other side of the kitchen because of everyone filling their plates...
I took photos of everyone eating and Troy and I died laughing when we looked back at them. Believe it or not....this one with my brother acting silly, is the better one.....the others were even worse! You can't see Kandice or Mom (they are at the other end) but the ones with everyone pictured were just too silly to post :)
We'd still like to know what Troy is doing.... planning his attack....praying silently over his food again.. ?? :)
After dinner, we left the boys home to play video games.....
...and Mom, Kandice, Christy and I loaded up and went to Lights Under Louisville...
Last year, Troy and I went to Lights Under Louisville on Christmas Eve and there wasn't a soul there. We drove right in with no wait. The same thing happened for us girls on Thanksgiving! No wait at all. I highly recommend going on Thanksgiving night. It was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season, and with no lines..... wonderful! We played/sang Christmas music on the way there and enjoyed time together. It may just be a new tradition.
Do you have Black Friday shopping traditions? In college, Troy and I would brave the crowds every Black Friday. A couple of times we even drove to Nashville for the day to visit Opry Mills for Black Friday shopping. Crowds were actually "fun" and all part of it back then.
But now it seems the older I get, the less patient I become with the crowds. I can't concentrate on what I need when there are hoards of people. I do however, love to hear about other people planning their shopping route, standing in lines at midnight, running from one store to the next, and then ending with breakfast somewhere. I think it's a fun tradition to have with friends or family.
The only Black Friday shopping I did was a late night run to the mall (after the crowds were gone) with Jen. We closed down the Disney Store, which was right up my alley.
On Saturday the boys went shooting.....
And then Troy and I headed to our second Thanksgiving :)
We all said that Troy's Mom out did her self this year. It was all SO good. I dread the day that I have to cook a Thanksgiving day meal for my momma's..... not because I don't want to do it.... but because I will never measure up to the way these women prepare a meal.
If I had to pick just one.... I would say that Mom's (Troy's mom) specialty, is her Pecan Pie. It is out of this world and Troy's very favorite. He and Sarah practically fought over who was taking home the leftovers :)
I was on the phone with Troy's Mom this morning and she was saying how wonderful she thinks it is that we are all so close and enjoy being together. I couldn't agree more! I think it's more rare than we realize. We have much to be thankful for.... close families being at the top of the list.
Well that just about sums up our weekend. I think the ONLY thing missing from our Thanksgiving this year was my brother in law, Brian. Troy's brother is a few years ahead of him in medicine and did all of his training outside of Louisville. He did medical school at UK/Lexington...residency in South Carolina.... his fellowship in New York..... and is now an Attending in Montana. I couldn't be more proud of him, but miss him being here with us. He usually comes home the week of Thanksgiving and just us siblings (Eric, Brian, Troy and myself) go for Mexican food the night before Thanksgiving ......and just catch up on life. I missed him and that time together this past Wednesday.
I hope you and your family had a memorable Thanksgiving.
Have a great week!
Love,
Kristin
