It is upon us...

I was just saying to Jimmy the other day that it just feels like we had Christmas and Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, but here we are, another holiday season in full swing.

 

Thanksgiving was a very nice holiday this year. I offered to help with a few dishes and we didn't have to travel very far. Plus we took a little of the food guilt off by running a race that morning. Turns out our church building hosts a 5K every Thanksgiving. It had a great showing even though it was chilly. I ran by myself and Jimmy ran with the stroller. Though truth be told, after I finished I went to collect the stroller from Jimmy so he could finish without having to push it up the hill.

 

Over all I got 2nd in my age division and 5th woman overall. They gave me a medal for 2nd in my age division. On our way up to the Coopriders Lucy said to me "I wanted it to say 3 on it..." I guess next year I will have to run slower. Sorry Lucy! Jimmy finished and was happy with it!

 

At the Coopriders, we had quite a gathering.  Lucy and Sam have been missing their cousins, so it was a happy reunion. They had been sick the last month or so, so we were glad to see them happy and healthy! Plus, Uncle Joe was in town. The kids LOVE uncle Joe. And for an added bonus, I actually took some pictures. So there you go.

 

This might be one of my favorite pictures of the day. How many Coopriders does it take to fill a sectional couch? Three! 

 

After some naps and rest all the kids went outside. The adults played too. It was quite a spectacle to watch. There was sledding and snowball fights and fort building. It was epic I tell you!

Alice does a very nice winter pose.

Uncle Joe is serious about sledding.

Ada reinforcing her private sled fort.

Uncle Nathan. These Coopriders brothers are serious about their snow sports.

See what I mean!

I wish I had taken a wider picture of this. Sam was actually standing in between the two forts that were having a snowball fight. He did not get hit, miraculously.

We ended up staying overnight, going to the Temple the next morning and playing more with our family. It was delightful. On our way back, we visited Grandma Nancy, who we are always very grateful to see, and then got home in time to pull out leftovers for dinner.

As we were about to eat my parents showed up. We thought they might be in later that evening but we were delighted that they got to see the kids before they went to bed.

This was a series of pictures we took the next day. I like it because it shows the personalities of the kids.

And that was Thanksgiving. It was happy, it was relaxing, and we are ever so thankful to be near family that loves and supports us!

As an added bonus here are some pictures from Sunday and today.

Sam is started to look like a little boy and not a baby.

Lucy wearing my running shirts.

And our stand-in Christmas tree, until we get the real thing this weekend.

Happy holidays!