Thanksgiving Week

Tuesday was the first day Thomas and I took off from work. We went to Winter Haven and finally saw my dad and Maggie. We have not seen them since March. My dad is in a high risk COVID category, so he has been very cautious. But, we decided to meet at a park and enjoy a socially distanced visit. It worked out really well. We talk on the phone, but it was nice to be together in person. We stayed at the park for about 3 hours. My sister and JD came too and the kids enjoyed playing on the playground and also on the large open spaces. We brought a kite, baseball stuff and a soccer ball. After the park, we stopped at Pelican's, the world's greatest shaved ice place, and then headed home. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the visit. 

All five kids spinning.

Visiting from a safe distance

Wednesday: Thanksgiving Eve! Thomas and I went to Lowe's and they had a snowman yard decoration that I really wanted. He was out of stock. I went to their website and he is no where to be found. How can a Christmas decoration be sold out before Thanksgiving?? Not cool, Lowe's! We also went to Sam's Club and got some needed supplies. Then we headed home. I really love being able to leave the kids home for short periods of time. And, Luke loves not getting dragged out shopping. It's a win/win!

After lunch, Kara and I did some Thanksgiving prep work. We made an apple pie, a cranberry dish, and homemade rolls. Thomas made a pumpkin pie angel food cake. Thomas also decorated the front room; it is feeling very festive. In fact, I am sitting in the couch enjoying the lights while I write.  And, this is just our secondary tree. We bought it the year Jack and Anna were born and it has held up really well.

My baking buddy!

Thursday: Kevin, Kim, Dave, JD and Amanda came for Thanksgiving. Normally, we would have invited Marta's family and of course, my Dad and Maggie, but this year we kept it small. Almost within the CDC guideline of 10. My Dad wanted to play it safe and not gather. And, I think that is the best idea. We are so close to a vaccine and life returning to normal that I felt a little nervous about our group. But, we decided to take the risk and now just have to hope we don't regret it. 

We watched the parade and then the girls watched The National Dog Show. We had a really good dinner, played Unstable Unicorns, and chatted. The girls went into Kara's room and played with TikTok filters. They definitely love having an older cousin who has access to those things. And, it is a win for us, since we trust Amanda and are happy to let them experiment responsibly. 

They ventured into the pool briefly, but it was cold

Luke wanted a picture of him jumping in backward

It was a nice day. The dinner came out really good. I would like to start getting a little fancier with our Thanksgiving. Not necessarily the food, I like to stick to our favorites: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, cranberry gelatin "salad", rolls and dessert. We have the same basic menu every year, with the occasional addition. This year Kim brought some amazing deviled eggs, sometimes we do macaroni and cheese. I do think we could use a good vegetable. One year a friend brought butternut squash that was amazing. Sometimes we do turnips and carrots--a dish my mom always made. But, what I was referring to before my food tangent, was our table presentation. I think it would be fun and add an element of festivity if I could come up with a nice table setting. We have china, a gift from Thomas' grandmother that we've never used. Maybe next year? 

Kara's apple pie came out great! Amanda made a cookie pie and Thomas did a Pumpkin Pie Angel Food cake with cinnamon frosting.

After everyone left, Thomas and I went to the pocket park and played football with Luke and Anna. We played a short 2 on 2 game, and Thomas and Anna won. The game ended when Luke took a bad fall and scraped up his side. Then, Anna and I went on a bike ride and we ended the night with a movie. 

Black Friday was a quiet day. We did some online shopping, but didn't leave the house. We put up the Christmas tree and the Christmas Village.

Marta invited us over for dinner on Saturday. Thomas had previously planned on using the day to put up the outside Christmas lights and Jack stayed home to help. I helped Thomas a little in the morning. He climbed up on the roof, but much to my relief, decided it was too steep to hang lights up there. It was our anniversary and I felt guilty leaving Thomas to go to Marta's house. But, the kids hadn't seen her in a while and wanted to go and I always enjoy visiting. Thomas said he didn't mind, since he was going to spend the day working on the lights anyway, so off we went. We helped her decorate her tree and had a good dinner.

 I was really excited to come home and see the finished lights and they did not disappoint. In fact, all of us were really excited. The kids had me drive a different way in to build suspense and Luke closed his eyes and asked us to let him know when the house was in view so he could open them. The pictures don't capture it all, there is another wrapped tree and some decorations on the other side of the house that I did not get. But, this is enough for the general idea.

The finished interior:

Finally, Sunday. We used two more of our free Universal tickets to bring Kara's good friend, Sophia and Sophia's mom (Anita) to the parks. We left at 10 and got home around 8:30. It was a long day, but we had a great time. Thomas stayed home with Luke, who was happy to have a day with his dad all to himself. And, I got to enjoy a day with the big(ger) kids. We saw some new shows and rode some new rides and had fun. To me, the coolest part was probably seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade exhibit. They had a good collection on display of past-years parade floats and balloons.