Thanksgiving Traditions

This past weekend, we were blessed with some wonderful family time! My sister and her family traveled to Rock Island from Indiana for the long Thanksgiving weekend (to join the rest of the family, who live locally). It was a great time of getting caught up with each other - lots of laughing, games, shopping and delicious food!

Playing a mean game (yes, we are very competitive!) of UNO.

Thanksgiving Day, we headed out to my parents house for the day. It would be a low-key day, our big meal would be on Friday due to my sister's work schedule (nurses don't always get holidays off!).

We enjoyed watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, followed by the National Dog Show (wasn't the French Bulldog the cutest little dog!!)

Games were played, snacks were eaten throughout the day as well as a yummy pulled pork lunch/Chick-fil-A nugget dinner. The weather was beautiful so we played some bags outside too. 

On Friday, the whole family (19 of us - see family pictures below) got together for the day.

Teri & Steve took over the kitchen (they had been very busy prepping the big meal for the past few days!) and banished any/everyone from the room! The kids set up a mad game of Yahtzee! in the TV Room - blocking off the kitchen, ha!

I didn't get in too much trouble when I snuck in to snap a picture of them...

While we waited for the meal to be ready, everyone enjoyed watching The Grinch (2018 movie edition). 

Time to Bless the meal and eat!!

Most of the afternoon was spent cleaning up and playing outside (another beautiful day!). We even gathered for a "quick" family picture. So thankful to get these pictures...

My parents (in the middle) Ron & Rose. Their 3 daughters (Becki, Teri in yellow, Deb in black). Add in spouses and kids and we are a crew of 15. 

Then we added my Aunt Fran (Rose's sister) and three "significant others" to make our Thanksgiving Day picture complete.

We hung out at my parents for the evening. It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to family. 

Once home, Matt & I presented the kids with their 2022 Christmas Ornaments.

Kaitee & Alex moved upstairs (to the upper duplex) this summer. Their first apartment! The ornaments were personalized to commemorate that event!

Will's ornament is a reminder of his summer trip to Disney World, with the high school band. 

Maddie received an ornament representing her first job - Culver's.

We didn't surprise anyone this year, with our ornament selection - so we were told! Hopefully they were a bit surprised by the design/choice of ornaments. Either way, the ornaments are meant to help remember what happened that year. 

Another tradition - Secret Santa! The kids chose names that same night. They will shop for their chosen name and then exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.

Saturday morning, we headed to East Peoria for the day. We love to drive around the city, looking for the hidden ornament. We play in the parks (if it is nice weather), shop at their Goodwill stores, enjoy the beautiful lights once it gets dark out and drive through the Festival of Lights display. As we leave town, we stop in Bartonville to eat pizza at Tyroni's. We have been doing this tradition since 2011! 

We stopped at the Spoon River Rest Stop - while a few of us used the restroom, Maddie & Kaitee ran up the hill to climb the Lookout Tower! As they were coming down the hill, I joined them (and took a selfie).

Playing in a park!

We shopped for a bit and then headed up the hill to the light display. We've been snapping this picture (of the kids) for the past 10 years (as we are in line, waiting to drive through the display) - look how little they were in the 2012 picture!

We enjoyed the lights (much better than last year as we drove through the display in the rain and a good portion of the displays weren't working due to the rain!) and then drove up the crazy hill (Fondulac Drive) to see the wreath up close. We stopped at Tyroni's for a super yummy dinner and then hit the road for home. As we were leaving Bartonville, we were surprised to see Alpha Park lined with decorated & lit trees. We ended up driving around the park - what a beautiful display of @ 300 trees! All sponsored by local businesses and families. If they have done this display before, we've totally missed it. We will be adding this to our East Peoria stops going forward!

Sunday afternoon, we took our annual family picture (in front of the tree). We've been doing this since Kaitee was a baby. So glad that this is a tradition that we started early and have continued over the years!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family! We are blessed beyond belief. 

We look forward to the month of December with great anticipation - celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus!