Thanksgiving in Memphis Part Two

Thanksgiving day turned out to be a beautiful day in Memphis.  We had such a fun time of enjoying each other's company, cooking, playing, eating, and eating some more!  I'm thankful for such a lovely family (both inside and out).  It's so comforting to be with the people we love as we celebrate how the Lord is working in our lives.  Soooo much to be thankful for!

Dinner preparations start early in the day on Thanksgiving morning.  

I kept the kiddos occupied while my mom, sisters, and aunt were busy in the kitchen.

sweet baby Reese!  

I can't get enough of that precious smile!

We were also planning to have an early Christmas celebration in a couple of days, so my dad and Josh brought in the big Christmas tree...

looks like Josh may be getting swallowed up by the giant tree!  haha!  "hold on, josh!  we'll save you!!!"

Josh keeps Oscar safe while the kids love on him  ;)

sweet little oscar...

he is so patient with all the little ones!

my kids adore him!!!

mario's task of the day was to build my dad some shelving units for his store room

he was hard at work most of the day, but he turned a chaotic storage room into...

this!

ahhhhh, much better!

well done, my hubby!

he earned the "master carpenter of the day" award!  :)

i love this picture--

all the cars lined up show there is lots of family nearby, and the trikes mean little ones are underfoot

it's a busy stage of life, but i wouldn't trade it for anything!

grandad keeps the kiddos occupied while we put the finishing touches on the meal

ta-da!!!  yum...

ham & turkey, delle's dressing, sweet potato casserole, scallped potatoes (a labor of love), homemade rolls, veggies, and fruit salad--all the traditional foods that make this meal feel like "home".

i love it!

these guys had a blast hanging out some more

i think grandad rather enjoyed being so close to the kids' table!  haha!

he loves these little boys, silly faces and all!

the best part of the day--enjoying the results of our hard work

my dad leads the family in prayer, then we go fill our plates--buffet style

love this pic of my sweet sis michelle and her hubby josh...

don't they make an adorable couple?!?

Our time in Memphis isn't over yet!  We'll squeeze some more events in--just you wait and see!  ;)

Thanksgiving in Memphis Part One

Right before Thanksgiving, I made a last minute decision to head up to Memphis early with the kiddos.  Mario was traveling part of the week for work, and my sweet dad offered to drive all the way down here, crash for the night, and drive us back up to Memphis the next day.  I knew the boys would have a blast spending some extra time with their cousins and their Meme and Papa...and I knew I'd enjoy the break too.  Sometimes these weekend trips are such a whirlwind, so of course we jumped at the opportunity to see our family for a longer period of time.  Here are some of the highlights of the week leading up to Thanksgiving!

one of the boys favorite activities--playing in the rocks in Meme and Papa's driveway

Meme's cat Oscar--my boys are in LOVE with him!

Papa and a family friend worked hard to put together an early Christmas present--a trampoline!

Now the boys can bounce to their heart's content every time they visit!

digging in the sand and dirt in the playground down in the second backyard--

these three acres are a dream come true for two adventurous boys!!!

another of the boys' favorite things about visiting the "Big H"...

tractor rides with Papa!

finally!  getting to try out the new trampoline!

i think they're having fun, don't you???

my sis michelle was keeping her feet warm by standing in this box...when she had a seat to watch the boys, i knew i had to join her for a random picture moment!  haha!

it's been awhile since i've posted about anthony's dance moves...

not sure where he picked up these, but they are pretty darn cute!

cousins james and reese come over, and they are all sooooo excited!

this picture was NOT posed...they just decided to all sit on this little step and read--too cute!

sweet boys

james and reese get in on the trampoline action

meme loves being with these kiddos

she gets some loving time with sweet reese

but now this girl is up and ready to jump!

i took the kids down the driveway with all their "vehicles" for some racing in the cove--

little reese got the princess treatment--being pulled in the wagon

oh, my sweet nephew james!  this picture cracks me up every time i see it.

i told him, "show me your handsome smile!"

he must have thought i said, "show me your hands and smile!"  haha!

more rock collecting--i'm telling you, it's a big thing around here!

these two are ready to race

and this one keeps up pretty good these days!

my precious boy--who says motorcycles have to be red or blue?!?

they could stay out here all day!

one evening we went to an ECS girls basketball game.  my brother-in-law justin does the stats.  the boys had a blast climbing the bleachers and racing their trucks...i don't think they saw much of the game!  crazy being back at my high school...so much has changed!

Go, Eagles, Go!!!

I kinda felt like I should be cheering from the sidelines!  haha!

reese sure enjoyed her popcorn snack at the game

i was barely able to get the kiddos to sit still long enough for a group shot with their trucks

saturday morning, mandy and i took the kids to fun gym at our old friend Pete's gym.

Pete coached us in tumbling classes in high school when we were working on tumbling for cheerleading.

It was great catching up with him for a few minutes--he's the same ol' Pete!  Love it!

the boys LOVED climbing in the foam blocks in the pit

yeah, i couldn't resist!  it's so good being back in a gymnastics gym...

it was such a fun part of my childhood

my sweet sister and her baby reese--

who happens to be getting big way to fast!

she loved bouncing on this little donkey

how many monkeys do you see???

all the boys took turns being rolled in this giant mat!

you get a little dizzy after awhile, huh, anthony?

reese loved running around with the hoops as well--such a fun morning!

we just missed sissy michelle!!!  :)

another day, we headed back up to the school to let the boys ride on some bigger "tractors," courtesy of uncle justin and his position as football and track coach

can you tell they were a little bit excited?

reese thought she would be our driver for the day...

nah, she just rode in the driver's lap

here we go--

all over the campus, up and down big hills, over the track, around the football field, so much fun!

anthony and james, hold on tight!

i rode in the back with the big boys...

these two were thrilled!

Stay tuned for more of the Thanksgiving weekend festivities!  We squeezed Thanksgiving, Birthday Parties, and Christmas all in 3 days!!!  More fun to come!