Thanksgiving Week Recap Part 3 Final

I know everyone has moved onto Christmas and that is coming tomorrow, but I must document the final installment of my wonderful week with family.

WARNING: photo overload

We traveled to the Auburn house on Friday morning. We stopped for a quick trip in Montgomery to get a Christmas gift that we had trouble getting here. Mother graciously stayed in the truck with the dogs. Just wait to hear about dogs:)

Arriving in Auburn I was greeted with such beautiful leaves everywhere. Growing up most of my life in the very Deep South, my usual views have been the piney woods of south Alabama and the beaches of the panhandle of Florida. Just a quick drive to Auburn gives me such delight with the variety of trees. I have to pinch myself sometimes that I get to have my two loves....beach and a different scene without the drastic change with Auburn.

I walked through leaves everywhere just to hear the crunch. I remember my first fall in Auburn way back when. I fell in love with the sound.

Now, mostly I was just a happy camper for the weekend because I had both my kids in the same house. We also had 5 dogs. Yes, you read that right - 5 dogs! I have to tell you that they were amazing and all behaved very well. The biggest problem was the mess around the water bowl. The weather was glorious so we spent time outside and that helped.

Lindsay and Tyler just have the one dog, Hallie, the Boykin who is the smallest and a complete Diva. She opted for laps to site in whenever possible. 

Paul Allen and Katie have two dogs. Katie had a Boxer named Reece (think Reece's pieces for her coloring) when they met and they have acquired the Bluetick named Dansby after an Atlanta Braves player. 

And then of course, we have Lemony and Gus.

Friday evening we made a fire again. Dogs ran around in the leaves and got rid of some energy before retiring for the night. IT was decided Friday night was the night for campfire because tomorrow was rivalry Saturday and we would want to watch all the other games that night.

Scenes following from Friday night.

Lindsay, Tucker, and Paul Allen

Lindsay, Tucker, Hallie, and Gus

Paul Allen and Katie

Tyler trying to eat pizza with 5 dogs wanting some. Reece's nose is missing from the picture  but she was there.

 Saturday morning Jeff went and got breakfast for us so we could all sleep in IF that is possible with 5 dogs. 

After breakfast,

I am not sure Mother felt all that great over the weekend but she did enjoy the kids. She was inside when we tried to take family pictures before the kids left for the game.

Here are some of the pictures taken.

Lindsay, Tyler, Tucker and Hallie

Paul Allen and Katie with Reece and Dansby.

We tried to set a timer on the phone and take a family picture. You can see we weren't all that successful, but I love all the pictures nonetheless because they are the wonderful moments of family time. When you look back at the family photo albums these will be a lot more fun than the perfect we NEVER got.

Gus was not cooperating my eyes were closed.

The kids headed off to the game and Jeff, Mother and me stayed back to keep Tucker.

Here are the kids at the game. It warms a mother's heart to see her kids have fun together. 

We did win for those who didn't spend Saturday watching football.

The Palmers were all happy. We do remember though it is only football. 

I gave Tucker a bath and sat outside on the porch waiting for his parents to get home. They thought they were doing the right thing by borrowing a parking pass from a friend. It turns out we watched everyone arrive home but them. It took them much longer to get home. Should have just walked. 

I gave Tucker his evening bottle. We are trying to wean him off, but he is a bit reluctant. Jeff snapped this picture of us.

Next morning Jeff again went to get us all breakfast. It rained overnight and cleaned up Toomer's Corner. I thought this was a wonderful photo. Jeff can take such good pictures.

Samford Hall in the background - an Auburn icon.

A picture of Mother on Sunday just before we left.

She is not a dog person, so it is always funny to me that all the dogs are drawn to her.

I will leave you with one last thing. For those who watch football yourselves or it is on with your husbands.... the Auburn - Alabama thing can be way over the top. It is a bit different down here in the south and this one rivalry is crazier than most. Family member against family member. It is kinda real all the stuff you read about to an extent unfortunately HOWEVER there are some of who keep in the right place. 

Just football -

Here is a better picture of how I feel.

Jesus is Lord indeed! The week has been over and I in full on loving Christmas so future posts will be just that. 

I hope to keep up some of this regular posting for a wee bit longer. It is time to talk Christmas.

In Christ,

Sandy

Thanksgiving Week Recap Part 2

Here we are at Thanksgiving Day where I have the fewest pictures because I was busy, but at the same time just soaking up family time. A recent event with a very close friend just reminded me how much I need to enjoy every good moment with my family. They are going through a very hard time this season with an illness and my heart hurts for them, but I have been reminded of just how important every moment is.

Thanksgiving morning I set out to get all my things in order so that I could make my two dishes to carry over to my sister-in-law's for the feast. Jeff smoked a ham on the grill and then fried a turkey. Coupled with my sister-in-law making a couple of dishes and her daughter's mother-in-law doing the same there is never a chance that it could be classified as anything less than a feast. Mother made a cake and that was that.

Too much food!

My niece Kristan who is my kids' only cousin came over early in the day because they have a new dog and he needed to meet Gus, the Springer and Lemony, the Golden. Gus and Scout, as he been named hit it off very well and ran and ran and ran to get all their energy out. I think Scout was tired. I don't think Gus has that word in his vocabulary.

Off to Aunt Donna's we went around noon and feasted.

While final preps were made getting it all laid out, Tyler and Torrey (niece's husband) took the twins (niece's kids) down to the dock to fish. Lindsay followed with Tucker and let me just say Tucker had no intention of not being where the action was.

She captured this adorable picture of the kiddos on the steps.

My how they have grown. We basically get to see them at Thanksgiving and in the summer because they live in Houston. Life has been about the twins and they are the star of the show when they arrive in town. We are a small family as I have no siblings and Jeff has one sister with one kid and one brother with no kids.

All that to say now Tucker is getting some of that limelight, but the twins didn't seem to mind.

The weather was beautiful and we ate outside on the porch and inside with the doors open.

Some played games and others like me sat in rockers and just enjoyed the great weather and view of which I didn't take one picture. Some continued to fish off the dock. 

Kristan, Katelyn, Uncle Al with Tucker and Lindsay who apparently wondered what I was doing. I like candid pictures. They show real life.

Paul Allen and Katie arrived later as they had to eat first with Katie's family. 

Mother enjoyed a round of Domino's.

She seems to be concentrating hard.

As I said I took few pictures and the day was way more fun than it looks. I really don't think anyone even missed the farm. 

We just enjoyed the family being together. I was a happy girl. I didn't have to host and I had all my chickadees this year.

Tomorrow we will have one last post on the week with LOTS of pictures.

Sandy