Turkey Adventures!!

Happy Thanksgiving (a little late!) I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating with your friends in family! This past week was sooo much fun and filled with so many great memories.

After flying back from Portugal on Sunday night, Brian and I headed down to South Carolina to visit with my family. Then for the weekend after Thanksgiving, we drove up to PA for some time with his family. I knew this was a test... over the next week we would be spending about 20 hours in the car and then 5 days with my family. It was a test of a young relationship that we passed with flying colors! :)

We hit the road (relatively) early on Monday and after a wonderful stop at a Cracker Barrel, made it to the beach. I was so happy to see my family! Both sisters, their families, and the Casolas were eventually there- 11 adults (Grace, you get counted as an adult in my count!!), a 7 year old and two 1 year-olds. I loved every moment!

I admit it. I'm struggling to sum up the week in the best way. Maybe since it's a Thanksgiving post, I'll have a top ten list for things I am thankful for from the week.

10) Time off- I am extremely thankful for my job and for the unique opportunities it provides. I honestly mean that. But I honestly cherish the time away from work too. As I've said before, I love to get away and just unplug. When I'm with my family, I totally do that. E-mails pile up on my blackberry without being read (which if you know me, I'm sort of a blackberry addict). And spending time with my loved ones is just such a great way to rejuvenate and ironically, relax.

9) My Family- I know this is cliché but I just love my family. We were all together (which the exception of my brother who we missed) which only happens once, maybe twice a year. It hadn't happened since last Christmas. We're by no means even close to being a perfect family. But I am so thankful for my godly parents who in my humble opinion, did a great job of raising four children. And I'm thankful for my siblings (and even my brothers-in-law :) ) and for the time we got to spend together. It just never seems like enough!!

8) Nolan- Since he and his parents live in St. Louis, I don't get to see this little guy nearly as much as I would like. But he is seriously one cute kid. I'm not just saying that because I'm still convinced he looks just like me. I hope he knows how much his Aunt Beck Beck loves him. I cherish each moment I get to spend with him. He's got a great smile and laugh and is just an awesome baby. It was fun to watch him try to compete with Raygan and he definitely held his own. It's such a cool thing they are so close in age!! And seriously, isn't this kid just incredibly cute???

7) Cayton and Raygan- I just love these kids too!! I get to see them more often, so I feel like Raygan knows me a little bit more than Nolan does (plus she has a six month advantage!!) But each moment with them is just as special. Cayton is the most incredibly sweet 7 year-old I know. She's still calling me Beck Beck Sillygirl which just warms my heart! And Raygan is so cute I could eat her. Don't worry Laura, I won't eat your child but her little sassy attitude at age 18 months is too cute. I realize I don't have to live with it 24/7 but she is just a funny kid to watch. At the beach, she would just climb in my lap for me to read her a book or jump into my arms (pretty much when she wanted something she couldn't have). K and I got to put her to sleep one night and I loved watching her fall asleep. I could have lived without getting kicked and hit in the mouth more than once but I've forgiven her. :)

6) The Casolas-Chip, Diane, and Grace have become family to me. My mom watched Grace when she was a baby until she was about 10 or so. I can't remember. But their family is just a lot of fun and I have loved watching Grace grow up into an awesome teenager!! Having them with us at Thanksgiving was marvelous. It's like having another great sister, brother-in-law, and niece! I even got to have a slumber party with Grace! They make me laugh and I found myself at more than one time in our several days together just sitting on the couch laughing at the most inane things. Good times!!
5) Annual Thanksgiving Family Miniature Golf Outing- Ever since we've been going to the beach for Thanksgiving (like the past almost 20 years??) we've played miniature golf on Thanksgiving Day. Some years it's cold. Others are fairly warm. I honestly don't remember the weather this year but it had the distinction of having two one-year-olds present. I'm not sure who thought it would actually work but let's just say we didn't make it through the first hole before the meltdowns occurred. That led to rotating basis of babysitters (some were better than others and I'm not naming names) while the rest of us played. In recent years, the guys have opted to go watch football instead of partaking in the fun. Brian chose to play with us although given the choice again, I'm sure he's going to pick football. It was a lot of fun even though it was by far the most chaotic game of miniature golf in the history of the world. And I'm thankful that the tradition continues! 4) Walks on the beach- Even in November when it's just slightly chilly, there's something about looking out at the ocean and seeing the vastness of God's creation. It's even better with family members. Especially with my sisters and nieces and nephew. And even more so, the boyfriend!
3) Brian- I don't want to sound cheesy or sappy or anything like that. But I am thankful for him. He's such a great guy in so many ways. But he put up with the chaos and craziness of my family for days! The average decibel level for his family is a lot lower than mine but he went with it and survived. I only saw him looking like a deer in headlights a couple of times! He enjoyed (it seemed) seeing my nieces and nephew and he read his fair share of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. One cute thing I loved seeing was when the two of us took Cayton to the pier. On our way back, Cayton convinced him to give her a piggyback ride. Then I randomly ran into some friends from DC on the road and so he took her back to the condo and was holding her hand. It was so sweet. And I promised to not get sappy. But he is just a great guy!! The whole time with my family was great but as we were leaving to drive back, the babies were going into meltdown and I'm pretty sure this picture made him question whether he could ever come back! :)
2) Brian's family/trip to PA- After the chaos in SC, we headed to PA for some time with his family. I had met them all before (except for I finally got to meet his youngest brother) but it was great to spend some quality time with them. He also has a one year old nephew (only a month younger than Nolan) and it was Adrian's first birthday. It was great celebrating with them!! His family is different than mine... beyond the average decibel level. They are all incredibly, incredibly smart people (no offense Mom, but it's just true!) and theirs is a house of boys (where with the exception of my brother, our house was really girly!) So the topics and levels of discussion are just different than what I was used to! I told his mom that they did a great job of raising three really great boys!

1) This year we didn't go around the Thanksgiving Day dinner table and say what we are thankful for. When you have two babies (and maybe some adults too) who are about to go into total meltdown, you do what you have to do to make it through the meal in one piece. But had life been somewhat calmer at that moment, I would have said I was thankful for all of the above- for a wonderful family and this year, especially for a wonderful guy to experience it with me. And even more so that he didn't run away and I had a ride home!!