Thanksgiving '13

We usually don't go anywhere for Thanksgiving.  Sometimes it's because of the weather here at home, some times it's because of the weather on the pass about 2 hours from here, that we have to drive through.  But this year the stars aligned and the weather was as clear as it could be.  So we packed our bags and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

My simplified Thanksgiving dinners I've made in the past don't hold a candle to the feast we all got to enjoy.  So many different things things to eat and on such a fancy table.  The girls really enjoyed helping to set and decorate the table with all those fancy things!  (Grandpa was there too, but he was the one taking the picture.)

One of my girls favorite things about trips to Grandma's house is Grandma's costume box.  (Bonus points if you can guess who Miss K.Rae is pretending to be.  Answer is at the bottom of the post.)

 

The city where my love went to college, (& where we lived for 6 years) puts on a Christmas lights display to beat the band!  It's only 45 min away from Grandma & Grandpa's house so we just couldn't miss the opportunity to go see it!  Amazing doesn't seem like an adequate adjective for the amount of lights in this little park.  It was a really fun night.  Grandma and Grandpa even packed cookies, and hot chocolate with whip cream for us to enjoy while we were there.

The park where they do all this at doesn't have a playground with swings or slides or anything.  But it does have an old Train.  Which they make one of the focal points of their light display.  

 

 

I think even more unique than their train is the "Dancing Tree."   They have a dance floor with Christmas music playing.  Depending on where you are standing on the dance floor, certain parts of the tree light up.  Kids love trying to figure out exactly where to step to turn on each color light. 

It was such a fun evening!

The girls finished off their Thanksgiving holiday by helping Grandma and Grandpa get their living room ready for the next one.  

I didn't get any pictures of the girls favorite part of the trip.  "Staley Family Fun Time" as E.Mae puts it.  Almost every night we were there, we all climbed into the hot tub.   After we get out, the girls put on their pajamas, and watch a short movie while eating popcorn and "Grandma's Cake Batter" ice cream.    And you better have a pretty good excuse if you're gonna break up their routine, or else the girls get quite put out.  :)

Even though it was only a few days, it was such a nice visit.  Full of great food lots of fun memories.

One last thing we did while I was there, was I got to create something for my wall at home.  I have seen clocks with this saying on Pinterest and have really wanted it for my own clock.  It turned out so beautiful, I LOVE it.  I just love it!

(Just in case you're wondering "What's with the 11 & 12?"  Every year I add our family photo.  We've only been married 10 years.  Hence 11 & 12 are still empty.)




BONUS QUESTION ANSWER
K. Rae's costume: Merida from the movie Brave.