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2016 Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend — five days away from work and school was exactly what we needed! We crammed so much fun into our holiday and it was definitely one for the books!

We kicked off the long weekend again this year with Matt’s family at their mountain home. They have the loveliest, coziest cabin in the mountains which such pretty views. And the kids have so much fun there.

We arrived the day before Thanksgiving and gathered in the cabin with lots of family that came in for the day. It was so nice to spend time with family we don’t see very often.

 

 

 

THE swing. This swing has been passed down through the family and has so much history.

Later that evening we enjoyed the most delicious crab melt dinner. I’d never had a crab melt before and am definitely a fan. It’s basically a crab cake on top of an English muffin and loaded with butter — all my favorite ingredients baked together.

Since we are going to be in Florida for Christmas this year Auntie Ann gave Caroline and Thomas their Christmas gifts a little early. Caroline received a scooter and Thomas received a bike.

They each loved their gifts but there were many brawls over the scooter. They are both so obsessed with it so on Thanksgiving day we took it to the park to ride.

We also learned at the park that Thomas loves sliding down slides…on his belly…face-forward. It was the most hilarious and terrifying thing to watch and we couldn’t stop laughing as we caught him at the bottom of the slide over and over (approximately 40 times).

Round two on that 12 month dress!!!

Last year Matt’s mom began a new tradition of covering the dining table with a drop cloth. Each year we each add a little something to it in permanent marker. However, the cloth went missing from last year so we started over this year.

Matt’s sister Ann lives in New York City in a tiny apartment so it’s not very often she gets to cook but when she does…oh gosh, it is GOOD. She made our entire Thanksgiving dinner and we all licked our plates clean.

For the second year in a row we marked Thomas and Caroline’s height on the post outside. It was awesome to see how much they’ve grown in a year!

We headed back to Charlotte on Black Friday to pick out our Christmas tree, do some shopping and decorate for Christmas!

Thomas had lost a contact moments before we arrived to the Christmas tree lot and was way off balance and wobbly because of it. Sissy stayed next to him the entire time to make sure he didn’t fall down or run into the trees. She is the best big sister of all time. It amazes me how much they love and care for one another.

There she is — our Caroline sized tree! In a brief Grinch moment we actually considered not getting a tree this year because we’ve officially run out of space in our home for one. Our living space is completely at capacity with hi-chairs, ride-on toys and more. However, after two minutes of discussion we decided we couldn’t forego a tree so instead we picked up a teeny tiny tree. It was the smallest one on the lot which was a little sad but also better than no tree!

On Saturday we had some friends over after the insane Ohio State game. I’ve never seen Matt experience so many intense emotions in the last 3 minutes of a game. It was quite the win for the Buckeyes!

The weather was beautiful so we sat outside around the fire pit, let the kiddos bounce around, and the ladies drank Sparkling Caramel Apple Cider. For snacks I set out some pirates booty, a goat cheese log drizzled with honey and some crackers.

For dinner the kiddies had mac & cheese and hot dogs and I made sausage and cheese tortellini soup and rolls for the adults.

On Sunday we relaxed, watched Christmas movies, decorated the tree, addressed Christmas cards and ran a few errands. It was a great Thanksgiving vacation.

Previous Thanksgivings

2015 Thanksgiving

2013 Thanksgiving (aka BEST THANKSGIVING OF ALL TIME)
2012 Thanksgiving
2014 Thanksgiving

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Holly Huskins

Wednesday 4th of December 2019

That is so cool that Matt's parents have a mountain house in Tryon, as that is where I am from. Just saw this in your newest Thanksgiving post. I just love Tryon and it is so beautiful. Just thought this was very neat:)

High Style

Saturday 3rd of December 2016

I come to this place every now and then. The Chicago event space is really nice, the crowd is full of regulars, and the food and drink specials are pretty good! The staff is great and really gets to know your name. Totally worth your time on any night for good food and drink.

June Pope

Wednesday 30th of November 2016

Can't believe how long legged and tall Caroline is getting. Seeming more like a little girl than a toddler. These are great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

LHWinstead

Monday 28th of November 2016

Looks like such a wonderful weekend!! So neat to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving in the mountains with family! Always love picking out the Christmas tree & getting the Christmas decor up :) I saw on insta you were enjoying Caramel Apple Sangria this weekend too :) We had to make two batches!!

The Lady Okie

Monday 28th of November 2016

Love that she watched out for him when he was wobbly! That is adorable. Yes loved having a few days off work to spend with my little girl and husband :)