Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving began like most American families, watching the Macy's Day Parade and cooking. Jackson yelled enthusiastically at every recognizable float. "Look, Mom! There's Spiderman." "What in the world? Smurfs on TV?" It was quite amusing.

 

Thanksgiving lunch is always served at my sister's house at 1 pm. We were responsible for bringing rolls, corn, green beans, deviled eggs, and a dessert. Considering most of these things require opening a can or package, I think we get the easiest task. My siblings contributed turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, mac-n-cheese, broccoli casserole, baked beans, pecan pie, pound cake, brownies, and cookies. There was a plethora of food to feed our large family.

My family is constantly on the move. We might eat one plate of food at a table, then eat seconds on the living room floor.

James, Amelia, and Maddie walked around like beggars demanding food from anyone who held a plate. I couldn't tell you what all they ate but they had more than enough.

At one point James fell and earned a huge knot on his head. He recovered quickly.

My nieces are such great caretakers. They loved on each of the kids.

Jackson played upstairs with his fellow 3-4 year old cousins most of the afternoon.

My older nieces and sisters entertained depressed ourselves with the "Stand Up Test".  It would appear that my sisters and I are closer to death than our brothers. Despite being able to do splits and back bends, we could NOT stand up without using our hands anywhere.

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Fast forward to Friday. I spent the afternoon making sweet potato casserole, dressing, pound cake, and white chocolate dipped cookies. We then drove to Jesse's brother's house for our second round of Thanksgiving. Jackson immediately ran inside to play with his cousin Levi.

Our in-laws scooped the trio inside before I had even unloaded the food. Maddie waited rather impatiently for her dinner to be served.

This was the first time the trio had ever eaten at a table. They did a decent job of eating their meal at the table. James and Amelia got up and walked around periodically. Maddie randomly threw food on the floor so she could watch their dog eat it.

The big boys ate on the floor.

After eating, Jack and Levi ran wild while the younger kids were passed around and cuddled.

The one and only picture I have of myself from both Thanksgiving meals was this ridiculous one Jesse snapped. I was impersonating baby Davis.

We had yet to take a picture of my mother-in-law and father-in-law with all six of their grandkids. I did my best to capture the chaos and love of having six kids ages 4 and under.

 

While both sides of the family frequently get together, it is rare that they occur within 24 hours. Our family of introverts needed a quiet Saturday at home to recover from the business of Thanksgiving.