Thanksgiving Weekend Extravaganza!!!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Of course, every holiday is one of my favorites.  But, Thanksgiving is especially nice.  The weather is beautiful, you get to be with family, and when it's over, you still have Christmas to look forward to.  I worked in a deli for a few years in my younger days and we considered Thanksgiving the warm-up, Christmas the main event and New Years the cool-down.  Speaking of which, I can still put together a mean holiday platter.  Actually, I can't.  It's been like 10 years--what do you expect?  Regardless, for me Thanksgiving, while wonderful on its own, is also a great start to the most wonderful time of the year.

This Thanksgiving was especially nice.  We had some good friends visiting us from Florida.  They arrived on Monday evening.  Tuesday, we met Thomas for lunch, did some last minute grocery shopping at WalMart, made some candied pretzels, and just enjoyed each other's company.  Wednesday, they took Anna with them to see some sights in DC.  I didn't want Jack and Kara to feel deprived, so we had a fun day ourselves.  We went to the library for story time, then went on a walk around the Veteran's Center.  We came home, made cookies, read tons of books, and then met Anna and our friends in Waldorf for dinner at Chevy's.  Anna was happy to see us, but thoroughly enjoyed her day in DC.  She felt like such a big kid, being off without us.  In fact, she had asked our friends if they could stay the night in DC.  I have to admit, I really missed her.  All day long, I wondered what she was doing and if she was having fun.  Occasionally, I will take one kid to the store with me.  And, of course, Thomas and I have our date nights, but it is rare for me to spend an entire day with one of my children missing.  Although having two was easier to manage, I did not like her being gone. 

Thursday, of course, was Thanksgiving.  I made a cranberry jello dish the night before, but left everything else to Thanksgiving day.  There wasn't actually all that much, as we bought Amish pies and rolls.  Thomas is always in charge of the potatoes and he likes to get creative.  This year, he did a fantastic crockpot recipe.    We had turkey, ham, stuffing, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, rolls, and the aforementioned cranberry gelatin and potatoes.  Some other friends also joined us for dinner.  So, there were 12 for dinner.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture.  Lame, I know.  We actually all fit around our new, gigantic table.  I do have a picture of the empty dining room, so just imagine the table with 2 more leafs and 12 people sitting around it.  After dinner, we just sat around and chatted.  It was a beautiful day and the kids went outside, enjoying the company of our guests.  It was all very relaxing day I loved every minute of it. 

Since we had people staying with us who agreed to watch the kids, I convinced Thomas to go out for Black Friday (which was actually Thursday night) shopping.  We went to Walmart right around ten.  The place was insane!  I am not sure whose million-dollar idea it was to release some items at 10, and hold off on others until midnight, but I would like to shake that genius' hand--Not! The aisles were full of people waiting for the midnight release, which made getting around very difficult. Speaking of brilliant ideas, I brought in a credit card and my license, so I wouldn't have to carry a purse.  I promptly lost my license.  I realized it when I pulled out my phone to call Thomas (he was after a bike for Kara, I was after some Leap Frogs).  Despite an attempted search, I couldn't find it.  While I looked for my license, Thomas thought he was standing in line, but after 20 minutes, he hadn't moved.  I weaved my way through clothing racks and displays and saw there were very few people actually in line, it was just impossible to get to.  So, I somehow got back to Thomas and he was able to follow me to the registers.  We were able to quickly check-out and were back in our car by 10:40.  We got everything we wanted and I felt exhilarated.  Thomas was not quite as pumped.  He was willing to do more, but neither one of us really felt like hanging out for another hour plus for Target or Kohl's to open, so  we went home.  Thomas has vowed that was his one and only Black Friday shopping experience.  I enjoyed it, so I'll be out again next year.  My license never did turn up.  I am guessing it will eventually make its way to a crime scene, where I will be forced to explain how my license was found next to some unfortunate victim.

On to Friday!  We went to Kohl's to get a jacket I had wanted for a while.  I was wearing it around the store and set to buy it when Thomas pulled me aside and told me he had already bought the coat as a Christmas gift. That meant I got the coat early, and he has to get a replacement gift.  Win/win! We bought a few small things and then went with our friends to the Hearth and Home event in St. Mary's City.  We had never been to St. Mary's City, but it seemed like a nice place to take our out-of-town guests.  The kids loved running around and going on the boat and Thomas and I always enjoy a good historical outing. We also just enjoyed being with our friends.  Unfortunately, they had to leave from there to head back to Florida, so we parted ways.  On our way home, we stopped at a train store in Leonardtown and bought a train for underneath our Christmas tree.  After a short nap, we had an early dinner and headed out again, this time to Christmas on the Square in Leonardtown.

We got there right around 6pm and quickly got in line for the carriage rides, the wait was only around 15 minutes.  After that, we walked around a bit, particularly enjoying the Ford showroom with the model trains and other Christmas decorations.  The kids wanted to do the barrel rides, so we got in line for that.  When their turn finally came, they climbed in, only to be told it was parade time, so they would have to either get out, or agree to be in the parade.  The guy estimated it would be 20 minutes.  By this time, they had waited in line for a while, so there was no way they would agreeably leave the cars.  Plus, 20 minutes sounded fine.  We were hoping to enjoy the parade with them, but it seemed like an okay alternative.  Unfortunately, 20 minutes really meant 50, most of which was spent sitting still with tractor fumes blowing in their faces.  By the time the parade started, 2 of the 3 were crying and begging us to take them out.  We did take Kara out, but convinced Anna to stay (she was excited to wave at the crowd).  Then, Kara decided she wanted to do it after all, so back in she went.  Finally, the the parade started, then quickly ended, and we were able to get our kids back.  Anna was really pleased with her self, she said, "almost everyone waved to me."  We decided it was a good time to go home.  We saw Frosty on the way, which the kids enjoyed. 

Saturday we got our Christmas tree and then spent the weekend decorating.  It was a very long, very good, holiday weekend extravaganza.

This picture is just so Jack, I had to include it.  Anna was kind enough to lend him her umbrella, which he put to good use.

Making holiday treats with our wonderful friends Marta and Elizabeth.

All aboard, in St. Mary's City

The kids are there, somewhere.

Decorating the tree!

Our new, magnificent dining room.