So the long holiday weekend started a little earlier than expected when Aiden came home on Tuesday with a note letting us know that there would be no school on Wednesday (due to needing to shut the water off for a water main repair that never actually happened). Therefore, instead of a quick afternoon of decorating cookies on my own, we started the process fairly early Wednesday morning and had them ALL decorated before lunch without eating a single cookie!
Thursday we headed over to the in-laws for our first turkey dinner of the weekend. Connor played with his cousin Kaylee, no matter how little she wanted him to touch HER toys. Every time Kaylee set a toy down, Connor would immediately pick it up, and she was NOT a fan of that. By the end of the day they did learn to play nicely together, and were actually scheming to help each other tear the house apart! Aiden helped the boys, mostly uncle Jim, outside with the logging project, and I helped Tanya & Anita get the food ready before everyone else got there for lunch. Aiden set the table with all the handmade decorations/party favors for each place setting and Bev contributed chocolate turkeys for everyone. After a Kwik-Star run for chips for the taco salad dinner was served, and everything was delicious! Eventually we decided we were hungry again and repeated the above meal for supper. Aiden got permission to have a sleepover, and Brian and I headed home to put baby Connor to bed.
Friday morning I got to sleep in because I didn't have to be to workout til 7. I was REALLY glad I didn't over do it with the desserts on Thursday, because we ran and ran some more! After workout I came home to 2 sleeping boys, yes Brian AND Connor slept in past 8! I got everyone moving and went back up to the in-laws to wait for the Menard's truck so Tom & Brian could get a few hours of work in. 2 hours later they finally let us know the truck wasn't coming until after lunch, so the boys and I headed to town to run some errands and play with the Chyma boys for a little bit. The next step was feeding the boys lunch, packing everyone's stuff for the next 2 1/2 days, cleaning the van, and loading everything up so we could leave after Brian got home from work and in time to let Connor take a nap on the road. Somehow I succeeded, though I could have used a little more patience during that 2 hour time frame.
After an uneventful, though windy, drive back to Carroll, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for Alayna then headed to Templeton to check Alayna's newest residence. Connor learned he had to go down the steps backward if he wanted to cover the entire house, and Aiden got a few wrestling tips from Kenny. We took the boys back to my parents, decided where everyone was sleeping, and crashed on the couch with a movie.
Friday morning was cinnamon rolls in the waffle maker for breakfast (apparently something Alicia found on Pinterest) then 5 people showering and getting ready in 90 minutes with 1 shower, and another half bath. Amazingly, we were all ready to go on time (even dad), and we were on the road to Omaha to watch the first half of the ISU game at Clancy's pub before we headed to the Ortner residence for turkey dinner number 2. Everything was delicious, and the boys had a great time playing with my cousins and their kids. The big boys left a little early for their shopping date at Cabella's, and my sisters and I took the boys back in the van.
The ride was pretty tame while Connor slept for about an hour, but once he woke up things really started to liven up. By that I mean we started Alicia & Aiden's DJ Dance party in the back of the Chevy Venture. Everybody was havin a great time dancing and singing all the usual songs (and a few less conventional ones such as J-Lo's 'Sweep the Floor') I'm very thankful that there were no cops on the road, because between trying to keep the van from blowing all over the road, controlling my speed going down the hills, and trying to keep an eye on everyone in the back seat my driving couldn't have been the best ever. But we made it back to Alayna's safe and sound and waited for mom & dad to get back with the pizza.
After pizza the boys went with grandma & grandpa, and my sisters and I and the 3 significant others decided we should play a few card games to stay awake. I think it was the first time we had all three of us and our significant others had been together without parents or kids, ever. everyone had a good time, and it was quite a bonding experience for everyone. We're definitely getting old, cuz everyone was asleep by 11:30 so we could get up and get to church the next morning.
After church the boys played Trouble and Connect 4 while we got brunch ready. Connor decided he'd had enough, so we were back on the road for hours 7-10 in the car for the weekend. After back tracking a few miles to retrieve the purse I could have sworn I'd never taken out of the van, we were actually on the road. Unfortunately it was just as windy as the rest of the weekend, but we made it home with plenty of time to eat supper and turn the Thanksgiving tree into a true Christmas tree with lots of ornaments before the boys went to bed.
I thought I had done a pretty good job of pacing myself on all the delicious food, but I'm pretty sure the Saturday night beverages did me in. 5am workout was a challenge this morning, but I survived and its a good thing because this week is a very busy one...lots of appointments and a few extra morning workouts to undo all the eating!! Looking forward to a great week this week :D
Sounds like you had a GREAT Thanksgiving weekend! :) Take care, and good luck with your workouts.
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