Thanksgiving

For the first time... probably ever... Thanksgiving was really relaxed for us.

 

From the time I was 10 years old (when my parents split), my holidays have always been a mad rush to get from one house to the next. I didn't mind too much, since it was all for a fun reason. Once Brad and I started dating, we had to include his family in the mix too.
So for the majority of our life together, we've been trying to fit everyone in on one day.

When Noah came along, we decided to make things a little simpler.
We have lunch at my grandparents' on my dad's side (which we've done since I was born), and we have dinner at our house with Brad's family. Unfortunately, one of his sisters always has to work on Thanksgiving. And because she lives almost 2 hours away, she's never able to get down here in time. This year, she requested to have Thanksgiving at her house. I completely understand, so I was happy to oblige. However, Brad... being a manager in retail... had to work the night into Thanksgiving. He didn't get home until 8am that morning. By Thanksgiving night, he was beat.
Needless to say, we decided to have a relaxed night at home. I made a small, festive dinner for us; and we just sat and talked. It was amazing. I absolutely love playing Martha and making massive meals. But it was definitely nice to have a holiday where we didn't have to do anything or be anywhere.

 

We did make it to my grandparents' though. It's not Thanksgiving unless I'm with that part of my family. My cousin and his little family have been on the other side of the world for a couple months now, busy being missionaries, and we really missed them. They got to skype that morning with my grandparents. I wish we could've been there too, but poor Brad needed some sleep.
Usually when we're there, we have to hurry through lunch and get out in time for me to get home and cook. This was the first Thanksgiving in years that I didn't have to rush out as soon as possible.

So we enjoyed it to the fullest. Spending time with family, decorating my grandparents' tree, and just chilling out in the yard.
It was heavenly.

People ask us all of the time how Brad and I have such a big kid (he measures 3.5 ft tall and is 42 lbs). We're both small, Brad being about 5'8" and me being a short 5'4". We always explain that on both sides, we have big guys. But maybe a visual example would help. This is my Uncle Kenny, my dad's "baby" brother.

Noah is a big fan of Kenny. He has lots of tractors, big trucks, and cool tools. And he lets Noah borrow his hat. :)

 

For only sleeping for 3 hours, Brad was surprisingly pretty energetic. He amazes me.

I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving... full of festiveness, good food, and some quality time with the ones you love.