a whole lot of thanking

and a whole lot of pictures - consider yourself warned!

Wednesday: Thanksgiving parties at school. I originally wasn't sure if I would make it but Eli and Cole were both so happy to see me when I did. I spent a few minutes in Eli's room, then some time in Cole's room and then took Cole to Eli's room. Cole absolutely LOVES being in there with the big kids. He sat at the table next to Eli and then, when he was finished, found his favorite shopping cart. Eli ended up shutting down the kiddie table, still eating after everyone else was finished.

Eating Thanksgiving snacks at the big kid table

Cole kept running and running around the room with the shopping cart.

Eli & Evan were stalling to not go home and were playing at the work bench center. They said they were building a house.

After the party, I braved the grocery store (actually 2 of them!) with both boys. Thank heavens for race car carts - they love it!

Thursday - Thanksgiving Day: We spent the day at home - a quiet family day. Cole took an early nap and while he napped, Tim, Eli & I raked leaves in the back yard. It made me feel like a kid again because we used to rake my Great Grandmother's leaves every year before having Thanksgiving lunch. I hated it then but now it's a great memory. Working together, it didn't take long for us to get it done. Cole woke up in time to eat lunch and then it was time for Eli to take a nap. While Eli was napping, Cole & I did our own little turkey trot - a walk with a teeny tiny bit of running in there. It was nice to be outside. Then we played until Eli woke up. Dinner was a nice family dinner at the dining room table - country style steak, mashed potatoes and green beans. The boys went to bed fairly easy, something Tim & I were very thankful for.

Picking up sticks and pine cones and anything else he could find.

Such a great raking helper.

He loved driving through the leaves with his truck. If you recall, this is also his pool truck.

Cute!

After nap, Eli got it in his head that he was going to wear the fire hat everywhere.

Cole got in on the leaf action just a little bit. He wasn't sure what to think.

Oh the cuteness!

Eli's new thing - hurling himself down the slide. He got quite a bit of air.

Makings of a tantrum. Still a cutie though!

Friday: After breakfast, Cole & I did a little shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target. Nothing extreme and more to get out of the house than anything. Once we got home, I started packing for our trip to see Grandma & Grandpa N. We were headed to their house for a big family weekend - Tim's brother and his family came up from Florida. We were excited because Eli & Cole have never met their cousins. The boys were all excited and had a blast playing with each other right off the bat. Thankfully the cousins are older and kept Eli & Cole occupied and watched after them really well.

Friday morning, Silly boys putting muffins on their heads. Monkey see, Monkey do!

On the drive down, Cole was playing peek-a-boo with me. He was so funny doing it.

Early in our visit, Cole discovered Grandma's pan / cutting board cabinet. He walked miles around the house dragging either a cookie sheet or, as seen here, a cutting board.

Bedtime stories with Daddy.

Pre-bed snuggles with Mommy.

Saturday: A big day - the whole family (aunts, uncles, Tim's cousins, etc) was coming over early afternoon for a family fun time and eating. The day started off with the boys playing outside while Tim & I ran an errand with Cole. I think Cole enjoyed the alone time and Eli enjoyed the play time with the big boys. I swear he went from 3-1/4 (that's what he'll tell you) to 5 or 6 over the weekend. Everyone started arriving about 2pm and Eli kept on playing. Both boys ran around and played until they couldn't stay awake any more. It was fun to see all of Tim's relatives and catch up a bit. Saturday night was a little rough in that Cole was very fussy (like crying and screaming for hours) - so much so that we finally resorted to Tim driving him around to get him to sleep. It worked but when Tim tried to get him out of the car seat, he started again so off Tim went again and then when it was time to get out, Tim brought the whole car seat inside with Cole in it! After that, we had a pretty decent night of sleep.

Tim and his brother enjoying a cup of coffee - notice no kids in the picture!

Cousins: Rodney, Cole, Eli and John.

Rodney & John made a go-cart like contraption out of spare pieces in Grandpa's workshop. Here Rodney and Eli are pulling John.

Eli & Cole also learned about green army men this weekend. They have had fun playing with them.

During picture time, my cuties. I think the photographer probably got better ones than this but this is what I got on my camera.

1st and 2nd cousins - notice how happy Cole was to have his picture made. Front Row: Cole, Landon, Jake, Emma. Back: Eli, John, Rodney, Morgan.

Eli fell asleep on the couch on Daddy.

He woke up for a bit and then fell asleep again on me. Wore himself out!

Rodney reading Cole a book.

Sunday: The boys spent the morning playing together, inside and outside, before we all had to pack it up and head home. Tim's brothers' family had to get to the airport and we had to drive home. It was a busy weekend but we had so much fun seeing everyone and enjoying all the chaos that a big family gathering brings.