Turkey Weekend

This Thanksgiving was kind of thrown together in the last week. We didn't have the time or money to go all the way home to family, so we decided to stay here. Matt really wanted to make his turkey again (this year was his best one ever!), so we invited a couple families over to make all the cooking worth the effort. It turned out to be quite the little party, complete with Rock Band 2 and a cornucopia of homemade goodness!

I don't have any pictures because I was busy playing hostess, but here is a video of Josh intensely focusing on his part in Rock Band. 

And here's a look at Josh's "Thankful Turkey" that we added to throughout the month. I'm so glad I have a boy who appreciates the simple luxuries of cement, acorns, and "pink drink" (aka Crystal Light).

Vanessa and Carina, this little close up is for you.

I think this was the first holiday break that we really, really appreciated. 1) Because Matt has been working hard full time, rather than being in school, which had a very flexible schedule so "breaks" were common. And 2) because for once, we had no responsibilities, prior commitments, or company the whole long weekend. Our weekends, and even weeknights, have been so busy with regular stuff that we've hardly had any just-our-family time in this house. It was so nice to just be home together that it really felt like a special holiday vacation.

Matt spent pretty much all his time entertaining the boys. He made cookies with Josh, helped him build puzzles, played outside with him, and took him on a special grocery run to Meijer where he got to ride the penny horse. (Can you believe it really only costs a penny??)

He even got Josh to try out his new big boy car seat. Here he is trying not to smile and show how awesome he feels.

We all went to pick out a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and started decorating it right away. Josh has been spazzing out with excitement ever since we got it, constantly wanting to buy more "oooornaments" and asking "Is it our turn for Christmas yet??" Oh dear...it's not even December yet! I hope we didn't make this Christmas season too long for him!

For me, the weekend was relaxing. After all the cooking on Wednesday and Thursday, we had plenty of leftovers, and with the help of Jet's Pizza yet again, we didn't have to cook dinner the rest of the weekend. While Matt spent every quality moment he could with his boys, I got to spend many blissful hours reading lazily by the fireplace, sleeping in late, and shopping all by myself. I know!

Whenever I try to fall asleep on the floor like this, before I can slip into unconsciousness, I feel a giggling three-year-old body snuggle up to me like a little spoon, and grab my arm to pull it around his waist just right. It is the BEST.

This little one spent the weekend practicing his speed-crawling, and the straddle splits.

"What are you laughing at, punk?"

Sunday night, we were blessed with surprisingly warm cloudy weather. So refusing to acknowledge that our vacation was coming to an end, we strapped the boys in the stroller, pulled out some flashlights, and took a walk around our extremely dark neighborhood. There were some Christmas lights up already, patches of misty rain, and lots of excavators for Josh to shine his flashlight on. We also "hunted for foxes" while we were out. It was just lovely. I will never get tired of taking walks with my family.

This is what life is all about.