Never Been Done Before

My kids know I'm pretty strict on not celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving. I feel strongly that we need to honor the lovely holiday of Thanksgiving before fully embracing the red and the green and the bonkers of Christmas. 

So that means we have never put our Christmas tree up before the calendar has hit December. Well, that is until this year. After the Slossons left, we were left with a whole Sunday free which doesn't happen often. I realized it would be the perfect time to do the tree. Brian agreed, and we were off to get one because you know what? December was only a few days away.

We've always gotten our trees at the Farmer's Market, but they had gotten really expensive in the last few years- plus it's always just so crowded out there. A couple people had told me that Food Lion sold great Christmas trees so we headed there. We left with a beauty for only $35!

Now the hard part- getting about 15 bins of Christmas decorations out of the attic. 😆

Can you guess how letting Luke loose on the floor with a bunch of ornaments went?

If you guessed badly- you were right.

My only instruction was to NOT to touch the tree...

Collins insisted on putting up the star...

 

and Addie insisted on wearing roller skates.

  

It turned out gorgeous. The first time we looked at this house in October of 2017, I dreamed of moving into this house and putting a Christmas tree in between the two front windows. So it was quite thrilling to put the kids to bed, turn off the lights, get comfy on our couch and look over and see this pretty Christmas scene. Quite a dream come true!

And bonus- the tree (a major Christmas task) was done and it wasn't even December 1 yet. Bring on December- we were ready!

A Fun Visit

When the Slossons came to town for the Carolina/State football game in Chapel Hill, we convinced them to drive a little farther East and come see us in Raleigh. It had been too long since we had hung out! They arrived on our doorstep, and about five hours later the girls finally surfaced from all their intense playing. Who knows what they were doing, but they were having fun. :)

Meanwhile, the Moms had fun playing with Luke, talking and drinking wine. And the Dads had fun drinking bourbon and playing with the smoker. We made lots of appetizers, watched football, and had a big time.

We let these little ladies stay up a little too late and watch a show before shuttling them off to bed... 

We would have never guessed that they would be up again not many hours later (about 5 a.m.!!!) ready for a dance/gymnastics party in Collins's room, but that is what we found! I dared ask, "Girls- aren't you still sleepy and need to go back to bed?" which apparently was a silly question. They went back to running somersaults over Collins's bed (with Paige and Addie being the judges), playing music on Alexa, and most definitely- not sleeping. 

They kept right on playing till it was time for breakfast and for the Slossons to head back to Davidson. Don't ask me why Luke is a dragon in this picture. Not sure.  

 

But I am sure we all had a great time hanging out together. And I'm also sure we were all tired the rest of the day!

Thanksgiving

We started the Thanksgiving holiday with something I've always wanted to do...the Turkey Trot! It is an 8K put on by the Ridgewood Shopping Center up the road, and the race goes right by our house! We have always been in Hickory on Thanksgiving or I've been pregnant so this was my big chance to do the race.

My two tiniest people were up to see me off.. 

The race went really well, and I had my best time yet. It was a festive race with people all over the neighborhoods cheering for the racers who were decked out in turkey outfits, tutus, you name it. I loved running by our house where the kids shouted at me and waving to other neighbors. My legs were almost numb by the end (pretty cold morning), but I was so glad I did the race.

We went to lunch over at the Forks for Thanksgiving meal #1. Donna always makes an amazing spread.

Luke knows you're supposed to throw the football on Thanksgiving day...

Donna made the kids a special turkey dessert...

and I made two traditional pies. My fave!

We had a great meal and a lot of fun together!

Then it was off to Hickory. Time to hit the road and get a little snooze in...

We went straight to Paul and Pat's for Thanksgiving #2. The kids got their own table, and crushed the yeast rolls. We don't see this side of the family but once a year, so it was fun to see all the cousins and catch up with everybody. The surprising thing that happened though was that everyone decided to end this celebration. Turns out it's hard to prepare a meal and find space to feed 28 people! The family has just grown so big over the years. They want to have a family reunion every year so we can still see each other, but find a time to do it other than Thanksgiving. It makes me a little sad to change this tradition, but also excited to see what new tradition we can build. 

Back at Dad and Heather's, the cold night and the lit up house made it easy to get excited about the next holiday right around the corner...

 

Apparently last year Collins made the comment to them, "Why are you not decorated for Christmas yet??" so they scrambled to make sure they were decorated this year!

 

Over to Mom's for Thanksgiving #3- our final one, I promise. Good thing Thanksgiving meal is my favorite meal of the year! It was delicious of course, and little Luke had fun with Lilly (my most dog-friendly child). The sad thing that happened is that Mom had to put Zoe down the week before. She had gotten sick with a heart condition so it was hard to be at Mom's house and not see her there.

Mom surprised the girls with a Christmas dress- one to wear to the "Nutcracker" play that we had tickets to this year!

 

We had a wonderful trip to Hickory to celebrate the best holiday of the year. Now quick back to Raleigh because it was time for the Carolina/State football game and we had some visitors coming. We truly pack it in, don't we?!?

 

Day Off

Day off for Thanksgiving break! I knew the girls would like my idea for an activity...roller skating! They had been asking to go so I thought this would be the perfect time to go. The girls are actually really good roller skaters so off they went. Luke made laps with me- walking as fast as his little legs would carry him- in his running shoes. Too cute. A fun morning with my kiddos!

Also- Collins was thrilled to receive almost an entire new closet of clothes from her bestie. Here she shows off as many articles of new clothing (and shades) as possible. 

Thanksgiving Feast

Addie had been through one Thanksgiving Feast at her preschool so she was excited for this event this year. So much so, she wanted me to pull Collins out of school so the whole family could be there. I couldn't say no to that request because this is her last year of preschool. And it made her so happy! 

How cute are she and Harrison?

By the end of our fun lunch, she had turned into a silly turkey. Fun way to kick off the Thanksgiving break!

Christmas Parade

Because the Christmas parade was so festive and fun last year- we had to go again this year.

And because Brian's office building is right there in the middle of the parade route, that meant we had to get hot chocolate before things got started. 

That turned into a tour...it is one impressive office!

Then finally, we decided to brave the elements and see what the parade had to offer this year. It was fun, but cold!