Turkey Day - version 1 and 2

So this year we are going to have a crazy Thanksgiving! I'm betting this might be my last post before the big day hits and so I'm going to give the run down of our week ahead.

Thursday - We head over to my in-laws for the day. It will just be the four of us and the two of them, so should be a fun, but relatively low-key day. Since Matt and I don't eat the turkey, my mother-in-law has chosen a turkey-free meal - baked fish, oyster stew, salads, and other yummy feast items. I'm sure it will be delicious, but somewhat non-traditional. We will all have fun and eat to our hearts content, no doubt. Then at the end of the day, we will drive out to my parents' house to spend the rest of the weekend.

Friday - We'll wake up to a house full of family. My parents and aunt (from Maine) will already be there. Later in the morning, my brother, his wife, and their two girls (from Atlanta) will arrive, leading to all kinds of crazy cousin fun. And then at some point that day, my uncle and his wife (from California) will arrive. They will only be spending the day with us, but it will be a house full for Friday! This will likely also be the day that we spend going to cut down Christmas trees, decorating the house, and exchanging "First Day" presents. (First Day is a funny family tradition we have of exchanging small gifts that are Christmas related - such as holiday decorations, earrings, wrapping paper, etc.) Again, it will be fun, but definitely crazy!

Saturday - My uncle and his wife will be gone, and my aunt will head home this afternoon as well. But that still leaves the cousin cluster to play and create havoc! This is always a good time for the kids, who don't see each other nearly enough and really enjoy each other despite a significant age range. This night, my mom is planning to do a traditional turkey Thanksgiving dinner for the remaining group. John is happy that he'll still get to eat some turkey and Kara's excited for "tur-eeee."

Sunday - My brother's family will head back to Atlanta and at some point, we will head home to Reston. I'm not sure at what point that day any of us will have the energy to pack or drive home, but it will happen so that we can get our Christmas tree into the house and back into some water that day! ;-)

This year Matt has decided to take Monday off work, and I'm thankful for that. Typically our Thanksgiving weekend isn't quite this crazy, but it is always busy and we come home exhausted. It's always a big challenge to get ready mentally to head into Monday, so I'm happy that this year we can have one more day to ourselves to re-group.

Well, now I'm tired out just thinking about the weekend ahead! I hope everyone reading this has a great and happy Thanksgiving and I'll be sure to post next week about how it all went! Gobble Gobble Gobble!