The One With All The Turkeys

November 27-December 1, 2019

This is a LONG one since we had so much time off and a lot of family time over the break!

We start on Wednesday night since that's when the holiday really began.  All of the kids were out of all schooling on Wednesday, even though I had to work.  And since we are close to the BOG football game, so practice was happening that morning.  My girl Lara and her girls were gathering up to have a fun breakfast before they went to practice, so I bummed a ride to campus with them early in the morning.

In the meantime, my parents had picked up cousin Kayleigh to spend the holiday with us and she was staying in Perkins for the Holiday.  So, but the time I got home that night, there was already restlessness setting in.  So, Lara took Jake to the movies to see Frozen 2 at the 9:15pm showing.  They got home WAY past my bedtime, but I know they loved the movie and really enjoyed spending some time together.  We are all very aware of how many big changes are coming very quickly in just a few short months...

I also spent a moment at work to make my State Championship letter board:

We woke up Thursday morning and didn't have to cook a thing.  We had decided as a family we would attend the Community Dinner at the Methodist church, as we spend as much quality time together as we could without worrying about cooking and cleaning.  It was a GREAT decision.

Happy Thanksgiving from Evie Pearl

These Two!  So cute!

YUM!  Great food and even GREATER COMPANY!

At Nana's, we played board games and card games - SPOONS!

And some people took naps on the floor

Then it was off to Aunt Shelley's for COUSIN time!
Faith 7, Emma 17, Jake 12, Lara 17, Izabella 11, Rocco 9, Finn 8, Gabrien 9

After all that food, family, and Fun, we got back to our house and were exhausted!  Plus, we had a busy day planned for Saturday, so we all went to bed with full hearts and full tummies.

Saturday, Lara was up and at 'em very early as she had to go to work at the donut shop!  Emma doesn't usually work on Fridays, so she chose not to work this Friday other,  Instead, she was accompanying Nana and me as we took Kayleigh back to her Mom so she could get home to Texas.  But it would have been bad form to skip stopping at Missy's to say HI to Lara and grab a quick treat!

Girls' Road Trip

Lara working, Emma as a customer

We meet Kayleigh's Mom in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.  We got there about 45 minutes early (allowed too much time for our donut stop), so we went and explored the town for a little bit.  We even found a store that was having a 50% clearance sale, so we took in some Christmas shopping.  It was cold, and grey, and wet, and VERY TRAFFIKY on our trip.  By the time Emma and I got back to Stillwater and Nana got back to Perkins, we were all exhausted!

Saturday morning, the girls were up VERY early to head back to Guthrie.  They needed 2 cars for the end of the day, but only one at work, so they took Emma's truck home to Orlando before heading to work.  They closed up early (ran out of donuts), so the girls went to Edmond to get Lara's car washed, then back in to Guthrie for some girl glam time!  Emma wanted a manicure and pedicure in preparation for Homecoming, so Lara went along and got a manicure as well.

Sunday, the Weaver crew got up and worked on Christmas decorations for the house.  Earlier over the break, we all worked together to get everything out of the attic.  So now it was time to put up the tree and a few other things.  While we decorated, Dad made us another Thanksgiving feast!  INCLUDING DEVILED EGGS!  We missed those from our adventure earlier in the week.  After we were fully stuffed, we went to afternoon church.  Ended the evening with a family meeting, some relaxing, and Hallmark Christmas movies.

Next week, is CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK!

The One with Turkey and Hogs

November 22 - 25, 2018

Well, I finally did it.  I finally completely missed posting the 2020 project blog.  For 2 weeks!  Today is December 6.  Thanksgiving was 2 weeks ago today.  It was on my to-do list everyday.  For Two Weeks!  And, of course, this week I needed to catch up with TWO blogs!  Thanks giving weekend, and this past weekend.  But, LIFE!  It has been oh so busy!  Holidays!  End of semester!  State Football Playoffs games! Basketball season!  Wrestling Season!  Sick kids!  And on, and on, and on!  But, here we are!  A quick recap of the Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend that followed.

Things were pretty chill for Thanksgiving this year.  We decided to have dinner in Perkins at Nana and Grandpas.  We planned a meal with everyone's favorites.  Mom cooked some, My dad carved the bird, Britt cooked some, and Lara, Jake and I made Pioneer Woman mashed potatoes!  Emma was there, too, and it was a wonderful afternoon.  I think the highlight of the day was the canned whipped cream.  There was eating from the can, tossing of the cream, and general debauchery around the dinner table.  We took pictures in the back yard, and watched TV.  There was family here form all over, so later in the afternoon we headed to Stillwater to visit.  Emma and Lara went back to Orlando to have Thanksgiving with their family there as well.  A wonderful day!

Friday we spent the day catching up, and packing for our trip to Arkansas.  My coworker and dear friend Chelsea was getting married to the man of her dreams, Jericho, and we were off to Mount Magazine to watch it all happen.  Emma didn't make this trip,  After stressing about the weather for months, it was the PERFECT fall day in Arkansas and a beautiful wedding for Mr. and Mrs. McElroy!

We stayed Saturday night in Fort Smith, then got up Sunday morning and went to the Bentonville / Rogers area.  We attended Life Church there, had lunch at the Ozark Bagel Company, then headed back to Stillwater.

It was a wonderful holiday weekend, even if Monday did come to soon!  And the coming week is going to be a full one - we play our STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL PLAYOFF game this coming Friday night in Owasso.  Stay Tuned!

The One with Kansas Connections

November (22) 24-27, 2017
Long holiday weekends mean there's plenty of time for memories and mayhem!  This year, Thanksgiving Break proved to be a perfect time for all of that!  We started out with a skeleton of a plan, and it turned into a fun few days filled with family, surprises, and family antics.

We had made plans to go to "Aunt" Brona's house in Montezuma, Kansas.  It was "her year," so that meant all of her kids and grand kids would be there.  She has 5 grand kids ages 9-1, and then add my 4 - it was a lot of kids and a lot of hilarity.  And NOISE!  ;)  We knew it would be a big time with this BIG family, and it was not disappointing!

We left out mid morning on Wednesday out of Stillwater.  First stop was Orlando, to pick up Emma and her gear for the trip.  Next, we made a lunch break in Wichita.  Spangles, of course, per Jake's request.  We made it all the way to Greensburg, Kansas before we had to stop and stretch our legs again.  We went to out favorite little park that we first found on our Road Trip in 2013.  We let off some steam, then it was full speed ahead to Montezuma!

Once we got to Montezuma, it was a night of catching up playing games (Ticket to Ride, Spoons, and the little guys played a cards and marble game), grilling out, and celebrating November birthdays.  Britt, the boys and I stayed in the basement at "Aunt" Brona's house (with 12 of our closest relatives), while the girls went down the street to "Aunt" Kamela's house.  So strange, to me, to be on vacation with them, but I never really saw them... Just another reflection on the teenage years I suppose!

Thursday was Turkey Day!  24 for dinner, and so much fun!  Great food, great company, fun, games, and new experiences.  Emma and my boys went shooting with the big boys.  She got to try her hand at some big guns, too!  The boys each got to shoot the .22, and are glad they did.  After shooting, Emma went out with her cousin Todd to do some pheasant hunting, while the rest of us went to the wind farm for some family pictures. Then, it was back to the house for leftovers, and more GAMES!

Lara's first time at SPOONS!

After another good night of sleep, we got up Friday morning ready to hit the road!  There were the obligatory pictures, lots of hugs goodbye, and promises to not wait 4 years before we do it again!  We left late morning, and after a stop in Dodge City for yummy Mexican food for lunch, we were Oklahoma bound!

All the cousins!  Ages 15 to 22 months

Twins holding TWINS! Lara and Alex then Emma and Isaac

Lara (OG) and Emma

Lara (OG) and Lil Lara

When we were about 1.5 hours out from home, we got 2 phone calls that changed out next few hours.  First, we got a call and were offered 6 free tickets to the OSU vs. Kansas football game that was set to kick off in Stillwater at 11:00am on Saturday.  We were headed back so that Britt could be there to Uber, but going to Senior Day at Boone Pickens Stadium sounded AWESOME!  So, we started figuring out what all we needed to do to make that happen for our family.  Then, Emma got a call that she needed to stop by her house in Orlando to check on the horses and the dog.  Our 4.5 hour trip home would now be a solid 7 hours! LOL!  But, we made lots of memories along the way!

So, Saturday morning we were up early, bundled against the wind and cold, and on campus by 8:45 am to see The Walk and participate in pre-game activities - which included Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Cheese Fries at Eskimo Joe's.  We got to the stadium just in time to see the Senior Day activities, then we watched the cowboys beat the Jayhawks in the last home game of a spectacular season.

It got warmer so we took off our sweaters!

Found an "OLD" friend!

After the game, we took the Tahoe back to Nana and Grandpa's house in Perkins and spent a few hours there just hanging out with them.  Once back at home in Stillwater, it was time to relax.  Britt was out driving for Uber, the boys were on their devices, I was doing laundry, and the girls invited me to watch a movie with them.  Such a sweet time!  We sat in the dark, wrapped up in blankets, ate left-over Thanksgiving treats, and watched a silly movie.  A great way to end the night!

Sunday we all slept in and had a lazy morning.  Mid-day, we took Emma back to Orlando so that she could get some laundry done before she had basketball practice that afternoon.  Emma drove us out to Orlando, and Lara drove back to Stillwater.  They are both getting really good at that route, but need to practice more in town!  We finished our restful Sunday night with church (Lara was our driver), dinner (Lara was our driver), and a family meeting.  Back to the grind on Monday!

It was a Happy Thanksgiving for ALL!