We’re just wrapping up some of the best four days in a row that this family has had in awhile. Thanksgiving was a lovely day packed with two delicious meals and two fun family gatherings. We packed up Skyler and Bruno to head across town to Granny’s house in Belton. It was a full house, including Skyler’s four cousins, who kept her and Bruno entertained nonstop.
After the party dispersed at Granny’s, we headed back to Mission to my Aunt Vicki’s house, where she and John cooked up an amazing gourmet Thanksgiving feast. Skyler saw the plate of black and green olives and insisted on having some “grapes,” so we let her try one. If only we’d had the video camera. After several chews, her brow furrowed and lips puckered. You could see the wheel’s turning in her expression, that eventually this is going to be sweet and juicy. But it never got there, and with tears of frustration, she spit the chewed up olive out of her mouth and cried until we gave her enough to drink to wash the taste away. I feel the same way about olives!
On Black Friday, Ronnie had to work for a few hours, so Skyler and I took off for some shopping. No, we are not crazy! We didn’t venture out to the mayhem of the mall or other major holiday shopping centers. We hit up the likes of Aldi & Hy-Vee for some much needed grocery shopping, and then Hobby Lobby to get some Christmas decorations. Skyler was fascinated as we went up and down the aisles looking at all the Christmas decor, and I had to practice some serious restraint to not buy up all the stuff I wanted.
When we got home, we were so excited to setup the artificial tree Ronnie’s mom had given us, along with our new Christmas decorations, but after we got everything out, we realized the main pole was missing. Sure enough, it’s still in her garage, so hopefully we’ll get that this week!
That evening, my brother came over and we all went to dinner at Jose Pepper’s after getting craving for espinaca dip while watching Diner’s, Drive-In’s, and Dives. It was delicious and Skyler enjoyed playing with all the other little kids that were out with their families that night.
My brother’s girlfriend joined us at home later where we just visited and let Skyler entertain us. Since it was such a relaxing weekend I decided to let her stay up with us as long as she was happy and behaving, which turned out to be 1:30 in the morning! We finally decided to turn in, even while she was still going strong. The Saturday evening we were all up late again hanging out over at our friends Cory & Josh’s house, visiting with them and their 4 1/2 month old boy, Brooks. I should add that Skyler has been a total doll all weekend long and just a blast to be around. I haven’t even felt the need for a break from her!
Today we mostly got back in the groove, did laundry, cleaned, rearranged some things in the house to get ready for the week. However, today I decided to revive one of my own family’s holiday traditions that I remember happily from growing up. I got out the scissors and white paper, and we made snowflakes to put on the front window! Skyler is a bit young to make her own yet, but she loved watching me unfold my creations each time, and was very excited to see them go up on the window.
Tonight we’re winding down with our usual Sunday Jack’s Pizzas, and as I recap this wonderful weekend, I’m warm with excitement for the rest of this holiday season!
One response to “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
[…] day-to-day, but maybe the opportunities just look different right now. They might look more like making homemade snowflakes as a family, rather than cruising around the Caribbean. And I’m okay with that. Life is […]