Thanksgiving--- way belated

Because I want to keep a journal of what has happened during our life, I shall post this even if it is 2 months behind... beware, long post with picture overload.
Thanksgiving this year was really pretty special, Rod, Kelly and the kids (Ethan and Savannah) came to visit. It has been 2 years since we had last seen them, they had not even met Miss Molly yet. Poor family, they were in the middle of a whirlwind life change and looked as cool as cucumbers taking everything in stride. (I think I would have been a bit more stressed out if it were me) Rod got a new job and transferred to the Houston area. Rod and Kelly were on a house hunt 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, while they were there, they sold their house in Atlanta (which is WONDERFUL news), but needed to be out just before Thanksgiving leaving them just 1 week to pack up and move out. So, they moved and landed in Houston (from Atlanta) on Sunday, enrolled the kids into school on Mon and then headed here late Tues evening. Whew!! All that to say, we are glad you didn't change your plans and still spent Turkey week with us :)

We had a great time. We celebrated all of the holidays in about half a week. Do you know what that means? Lots of traditions and yummy food all at once! It was an action packed time, but we managed to cram it all in I think!

On Wed we all had our pictures made. The last time we did this was when Ethan (now 12 1/2) was 3 1/2 and Savannah (now 10 1/2)was 1 1/2. (just happens to be the current ages of Sam and Molly) Being the day before Thanksgiving, it was pretty crowded and we felt just a little rushed, the pictures were not the best, no real pose changes (but what can you expect with 10 people 2 being under the age of 4) The women (and Savannah) picked out all the pictures, went to lunch and then headed to the store of all stores for all little girls around 10 years of age... American Girl Store Wow, what a fun place, they think of everything don't they?
Then we had a little fun throughout the mall... (thanks Kirk for taking the kids back for naps so that I can act all goofy in the mall :) )My dad was able to create some really cool games for all of us (the prizes were AWESOME as well!) Um, mom and dad decided to really get into their roles, they were "Money Ma and Penny Pa" It was hysterical to see their getup as we came up the stairs!! Ma's get up was great with all of her jewels and lovely sparkling false eye lashes. Pa's necklace and matching earrings are made of pennies, and the hair, hmmm, what else can I say about that hair?The game was called "pay to play" The kids worked together (sorry Ethan for having to team up with Sam and Savannah for teaming up with a sleeping Molly) meaning the older kids basically had to do all the work, allowing my kids to reap the benefits. Sam really idolized his older cousins and so wanted to be able to keep up with them and do what all they could do. Look how it looks like he is really trying to figure out the puzzle hereIn the end they all won $$$ (amazing how it ended up being and equal amount for each of them)-- those who know Sam know how much he loves money. just look at that face as he holds up his cashThursday we had Thanksgiving lunch, and then Kirk,myself and the kids headed to Kirk's aunts house to see part of his family. It just so happens that one of Kirk's mom's sisters family lives about an hour away, and she was the one hosting their Thanksgiving this year. (did ya get all that?) So it was nice to be able to see his parents, grandmother and aunts/uncles as well. That night we headed back to my folks house for the game my dad created for the big people (we were sorely disappointed that Penny pa and Money Ma did not show up)

Friday it was "Christmas" at my parents house. It started with the traditional Chinese dinner and then....
Mass chaos ensued...It was time to open the gifts. Molly was so funny, she went BONKERS, she had no idea what was really happening, but knew that it was something exciting. She ran and screamed and jumped and giggled and laughed for quite a while. It was hard to get her to calm down to see what all was going on. She did not know what to do with all of the presents, and got a little frustrated and overwhelmed. I loved this picture on the box, it was at this point that she had gone way past exhaustion and did not know what it was she wanted. She struggled to get the box unwrapped and wanted on top, when she finally got there she was upset. Poor thing.Sam has long since learned that square boxes tend to not have toys, but hold clothes instead so he tries to avoid those. This go around he was pretty good about it though and even looked as though he liked some of them. The best line of the night came from Sam ... He had just opened a box and saw that it held a package of spiderman undies. All of the sudden we hear a sweet and excited little voice holler "Wow, it is just what I needed" too cute!

What a fun filled time, I think the cousins enjoyed getting to hang out together