thanksgiving week

so we spent several days in monroe with my entire family for thanksgiving. space was a little tight with 13 adults in the house and 8 kids, so weston and i got the hide-a-bed. oh joy :) it was fun to spend time with all of the siblings and nieces and nephews that all live in denver. it seems like these kinds of visits get further and further apart. here is weston with my sister's little boy, andrew - he turns 8 in a couple of weeks.here i am with my nephew, alex jr., who turns 3 at the end of december.
my sisters threw me a fantastic baby shower while we were all together. here is a little bit of the food that was served. my 4 sisters, my mom, and 2 aunts were there and it was really perfect. we ate and ate and opened some gifts and then we just talked and talked for the next couple of hours :) thankfully the husbands had taken all the kids out so the women could just relax and enjoy the afternoon. when my dad walked in with a couple grandkids he said, "I feel like I've just been at McDonald's for the weekend." :)

2 of my cute neices, kali & megan, put on a show for us, complete with a formal invitation and favors upon entry :) they even had 3 acts with an intermission including displays to view :) too cute!

the cowgirl and her horse
the dance/gymnastics routine
it wouldn't be thanksgiving without a family turkey bowl! all the guys were out in the cold being manly men. my dad caught me completely by surprise with his commitment to this game. the first thing i saw when i walked into the backyard was my dad ROLLING across the grass with the ball in hand. my dad is in his 60s and he made a diving catch! crazy :)
here are most of the guys in action. that's my brother-in-law tom in the center trying to block. my 2 oldest nephews are in the back left of the shot, and weston is blocking andrew in the back right. men are funny.
it was a crazy week filled with a LOT of food and some games and puzzles. we caught up on everyone's news and funny stories, worked on a project or two, and i managed to fit 3 haircuts in there somehow :) it was a good week to be home.