Thanksgiving Recap

I hope you all had a very nice holiday break and have started the Christmas season with cheer!

We had such a warm fall that it wasn't feeling very festive. Over the last week, we finally had a freeze, the thick winter coats are out, the house is decorated for Christmas and now we are getting into the spirit just in time. 

Normally we travel to Kansas for Thanksgiving or host my family. This year we are trying something different with travel for Christmas so that left us at home for Thanksgiving. No travel and no hosting. It was kind of fun to have a superrrrrr mellow holiday with just Dan, me, and the kids. 

On Thursday we took the kids to see Wicked in the morning. They loved it! Kip sat through the whole thing and Ivy only needed one quick bathroom break. I loved seeing it again (for the fourth time) and Dan liked seeing it again too. Have you seen it yet? You better go.

We got back to the house early afternoon and I got to cooking. The kids helped me make pumpkin pie and we Facetimed with family.

We went with a fairly non-traditional menu. I made my Dad's rib recipe, Velveeta shells and cheese, buttery corn, rolls, and my favorite canned cranberry jelly. I've never made a turkey before and the thought of attempting felt unnecessary. So we swapped the bird for a BBQ coated pig. It was yummy. The only downside to the menu was we had no leftovers!! Kip and Dan and I ate a whole slab of ribs and Ivy consumed all the corn. 

We watched Home Alone while we ate.

On Friday we decorated the house for Christmas and put up the tree. Unfortunately one section of the lights were out! Dan spent several hours attempting to locate the issue and swapping out all our spare lights, but we never got that section to light again. 

That evening we took the kids to Medieval Times!!!!!!!!!! 

It was quite an experience. Kip was thrilled by the spectacle and Ivy seemed moderately entertained. I'm certain no one goes there for the menu, but overall it was a fun show.

Our knight was the black and white knight. He looked just like my old landlord from my first apartment in Brooklyn. Kind of funny. We lost but we had a good time cheering. 

On Saturday we went out to lunch and looked around Hobby Lobby before picking Mandy up at the airport. All the Christmas trees at Hobby Lobby were sold out! So, we wrapped a string of lights around the broken section and will carry it through one more season. Next year I'll have to try to snag a tree in October. Too bad. I really love our tree but I guess they don't make them like they used to since this one has sagging limbs and some sort of wiring issue after only four years.

Anyways, Sunday was GRINCHMAS and our kickoff to December! Which I'll share about in another post.

It was a lovely break and truly relaxing after a very, very, busy month.