Little Lion Cubs: Thankful for Thanksgiving

We had another wonderful Thanksgiving...in fact, it was one of the nicest I can recall! We missed seeing the Lion family in Northern VA, but we got to see everyone else and really enjoyed our time together. Max was an angel throughout all of it, and while he didn't get any turkey this year, I am sure he was happy to be with everyone too.

It was really more like Thanksgiving week for us. The O'Donnell clan arrived from FL on Saturday. We'd planned to spend the day with them, but Emory had strep throat, so we let him rest and moved our plans to Sunday. We had a great time playing with Emory and Ellie at Grandma's house!

Emory introduced us to the ripstik. For those as clueless as me, it's like a skateboard that twists in the middle, adding another huge layer of difficulty.

and Jack thought he should give it a try...

Ellie helped Jack with his back hoe

while her American Girl doll watched on...

Kenny helped Emory dunk a few balls...

Then we moved inside and the boys worked on a great puzzle that Emory brought to Jack...

and then Ellie and Jack built a great train...

Max slept a lot...

Tuesday night we got to spend some more time with the O'Donnells.

It was a lot of fun watching these cousins play together as this was really the first time Jack had been old enough to really be interested in playing with them much. He was smitten and would have stayed and played with them all week if we'd have let him. I was so impressed with how sweet and patient Emory and Ellie were with him. Thanks guys - you are great big cousins!

Wednesday night Uncle Aaron and Granny arrived and we got to hang out with them a bit before the big turkey day!

Thanksgiving day was wonderful! Grams and Gramps always cook up quite the feast...Uncle Aaron is a big help too.

I'm so fortunate to be able to share the holiday with my immediate family and my mother-in-law. She fits right in with us and I love that Jack and Max get to see us all together.

This year was extra special because Grams and Gramps got a gorgeous new dining room table. It was really pretty all set and waiting for us to eat...

but even prettier once the chairs were filled.

We had some special guests this year, Peter and Margaret, Grams and Gramps' next door neighbors. They are British and don't celebrate our Thanksgiving of course, but were lovely guests and enjoyed sharing the meal with us. I really enjoyed talking with them and hope they will join us next year as well.