I lay in my bed late at night on the evening of Thanksgiving, after all the hoopla was over, finishing the reading of my Eyre family 1,000-things-we’re-grateful-for-group-text. Dave was asleep next to me after such a crazy day and I was overcome with such an intense sense of gratitude. It washed over me so that every ounce of my exhausted body was so filled up. It was just such a beautiful combination of being worn out at the same time as being washed over with so much gratitude.
How Thanksgiving Went This Year
It wasn’t a carefree day by any means.
There were many times throughout the day where I wondered why in the world we do this to ourselves: the hoopla of the turkey trot followed by hosting a whole slew of family. Are we asking for punishment?
But then I see those throngs of families smiling in the glinting morning sun at the turkey trot, some complete with their turkey get-ups and matching outfits. There is magic in the air, and so many favorite people finding us in the crowds. Dave on the loud speaker rallying the troops.
And then, I sit at one of our long tables filled with family I love, and remember why we host. I’m so grateful for them, and for our gathering spot. For the good food they bring. And that we got still and quiet enough to share some thoughts about gratitude, which turned into parenthood which turned into a group of the younger generation talking about the pros and cons of “gentle parenting” and love. And oh, I just love that.
After the Turkey Trot, we raced home to whip things into shape for our Thanksgiving dinner.
This year I did some salad and creamed corn experimenting before the big day.
I even made my first batch of beets from scratch, so…have to remember that, right?
Then the girls helped whip up these table settings.
I loved these pumpkins my friend bequeathed to me since she left town for Thanksgiving. Why do I love pumpkins so much? They are just so beautiful!
The kids’ table was complete with stickers and coloring supplies.
And then everyone filled them up and ate all that delicious food.
Love.
After Thanksgiving Dinner Game
After dinner we transformed our porch tables into one super long one and played a huge game of One and Done: loser jumps in the pool, winner with a cash prize.
I know people will ask about “One and Done,” so the instructions are at the end of this post about holiday games for a crowd.
I love that game and how it brings people together.
I also love this “host” who makes it so fun, keeping everyone on the edges of their seats for the announcing of the winner and loser dramatic:)
Scott was such a great sport taking a flip into that cold pool at the end…
…as the sky turned pink all around us.
And we settled in for pie.
For some reason, no pictures of that…
Once everyone left, our family sat around the table, coloring the remains of the table runner on the kids’ table, Murphy mostly coloring her face, talking through our “post-party-wrap-up.”
Then we all got to work taking everything down, washing all the tablecloths, boxing up Thanksgiving making room for Christmas. One last look at our kind of scrawny Thankful tree this year…although that is not an indication of the gratitude bursting out of our hearts.
Then we settled in for games.
Apparently very serious ones. Ha!
It was so good to have Lucy, our true “game girl” around our game table again.
Thanksgiving Weekend Happenings
The days following Thanksgiving were still so filled up with family and hoopla. Which I loved.
“King of the Court” with Cousins
I love when someone organizes “King of the Court”…a tennis game that gets everyone involved taking turns being the “kings of the court” when they win on one side and move to the other.
Lots of great tennis players in Dave’s family so that makes it fun.
Decorating for Christmas
It was awesome to have all the kids around to “help” with the decorating. Ha! But really, they did do a lot to help with that and I always love when we get to transform our house into Christmas. Especially fun this year since we had Murphy and Ada around. Christmas is so magic with kids!
We were cracking up that Murphy fell in love with this long ornament we got in China. She felt like it was pretty similar to her Elsa braid she clips in to dress up. Ha!
Let’s get a better look at that because it wasn’t just a one-time thing. That girl wanted to always be wearing that thing…along with her new sweater Abby was knitting for her (before it got some extra length added on…ha!)
Man, grandkids are fun.
Black Friday Shopping
The girls and I braved Black Friday shopping. I found out people really do that thing when it took forever circling just to find a parking spot, but honestly we had such a great time. Anything is fun with these girls in tow.
Wicked & Christmas stories
Of course we saw Wicked. And of course all my girls aside from Abby had already seen it once. It was beloved by all of us. Max and Dave fell asleep in the first one, so we figured they might have more fun hanging with the girls. Ha!
Murph and I got to pull out all our Christmas books and start into the Santa and Jesus magic together.
Man I loved that.
Dave’s Birthday
Dave’s birthday always follows close after Thanksgiving, so often we get a whole bunch of our kids with us to celebrate. And we both love that.
Up next is a whole post about that day, including Bunco night with all the cousins which was so fun.
As well as Abby’s bday that came right after Dave’s.
Coming soon.
Abby & Girls for an Extra Day
On Sunday everyone left to make the long drive back up to Utah, aside from Abby and the girls who we cherished having for a little bit extra. The speed of going slower.
We hit the park:
…and church:
I had to include that photo because it was so tender and sweet how Murphy was helping her doll fold her arms during the prayer.
Love.
Abby, my gift-helper-extraordinaire, helped me corral so many different gift ideas in my quest to be Christmas-ready by December 1st. We didn’t quite get all the way there, but we did get oh-so-close! She is the best. We also took Murph to Chick-fil-A for lunch.
Oh man, it was so special to have all those girls an extra day!
Then it was on to Abby’s birthday the day she left. More coming about that in the next post.
And that’s a wrap for Thanksgiving weekend 2025!