thanksgiving recap.

Greetings from the month of December, folks!  Can you believe it's here?  

Tis the season to throat punch someone be jolly!  Am I right!?

I'm finally rested from the awesome Thanksgiving festivities of last week.  This is how my holiday went down: 

• The mister and I drove an hour and a half to my mom's house on Wednesday night for the annual Pre-Thanksgiving Friendsgiving.  Just a bunch of good food (can someone say jalapeno burgers?) and good ol' boys. 
• Thursday morning consisted of pj's all day, cuddles with the mister during our annual James Bond-a-thon, and cooking with mom.
• Thursday afternoon, we left to go to my grandparents house to meet up with the whole fam.  Did that include skeet shooting?  Yes.  Yes, it did.  Was I good blogger who took awesome pics?  No.  No, I was not.  If I was, you would have sweet shots of yours truly crushing all 3 of my skeets.  Oh yeah!  But alas, I failed.
• I drove my grandfather's golf cart out to shoot...but it died.  I may of had to walk back and just leave it out in the woods.  Yep.  I'm awesome.
• Food, food, food and photo ops with the fam!  Enjoy....

I seriously love my nephew.  He is beyond amazing!

The mister & I with some of my favorite cousins, Nathan & Carleigh.

Couldn't miss getting a shot with my favorite lady.  Love my momma!

Go ahead & tell me how awesome my little nephew is.  This is golden.

I was not a trooper this year.  I did not get up early and shop.  No sir, no ma'am.  The mister and I slept in like the lazy brilliant people we are.  That afternoon, we braved Wal-Mart, but only the Lawn & Garden center for some Christmas decor.  Since this is our first Christmas together, we had to buy everything!  FUN!  Luckily, we were out in a flash and home to decorate.  The tree is up, folks!  I'm pretty proud.

Notice the pickle?  Oh yeah.  Necessity.

And look who celebrated his first Thanksgiving.  Don'tcha just love that little mug?

 

 

Did you and your family do anything extra exciting?  Let me know by leaving a comment.


Happy Thanksgiving to you guys.  Hope your holiday was as rad as mine.  Now on to the Christmas festivities!

thankful.

I know that many people have taken to Facebook to participate in the 30 Days of Thankfulness, but I didn't.  I never have.  I am, however, incredibly thankful...everyday.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would discuss the things for which I am truly thankful.

1.  The Amazing Mister.

I've never loved anyone more...

Soon I will share the story of the mister with you.  Soon.  Until then, just know that this man is seriously amazing.  I'm thankful for every day that I get to spend by his side.  He is my most favorite thing ever in the history of favorite things.  I could go on and on about how much I love him...but I'll spare you.

2.   Miss Mattison.
 

Unintentional matchy-matchy.

Thanks to the mister, I am also the "bonus mom" to Miss Mattison Dawn.  This kiddo is awesome.  I'm such a proud mommy & super fan.  You've just got to love a kid that will back you up with the "Oh, oh, ohs" while you're in the car singing Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" at the top of your lungs.  Yes, she's that awesome.

3.  The Parents.

1.  Step-dad, RD    2. Mom    3.  Dad & Laura

I have the blessing of four parents in my life.  All different in their own way, but all amazingly supportive & loving.  I have turned out to be (IMHO) a well-adjusted adult, thanks to them.  I don't know what I would have become had it not been for each of them being a part of my life & loving me.

4.  The Siblings.

My siblings: (clockwise) Chad & Shannon, Cody & Leann, Matt, James & Laci, Shawn & Amanda)

My in-laws:  Ronny & Debbie and Ben & Gina.

Having a slew of brothers and sisters is pretty great.  Especially if you have mine!  You might not, but I count my in-laws as true siblings.  Maybe yours are lame, but mine are awesome.  With that being said, I have 7 brothers (Cody, Chad & Matt and in-laws Shawn, James, Ronny & Ben)  and 6 sisters (Laci & Amanda and in-laws Leann, Shannon, Gina and Debbie)...and I'm thankful for each one of them.    

5.  Being the Awesome Aunt.

The whole crew (l to r): Lucus, Caden, Taytem, Bralyn, Jake, Jazmine, Jonah, Colton, Aaron, Kathryn, Lexy, Gianna, Keith, Hadlee, Kristen, Amanda, Paul, Blake and Tuff.

I absolutely LOVE being an aunt.  I first became an aunt to Aaron at 13.  Now, 20 years later, I am the aunt to 18 (11 nephews & 7 neices).  Aaron, Kathryn, Keith, Kristen, Lexy, Tuff, Jake, Caden, Luke, Colton, Bralyn, Jonah, Tatym, Jazmine, Gianna, Amanda, Paul, & Blake...with one on the way!  AND, I'm a great aunt to little Miss Hadlee!

6.  The Rest of the Gene Pool.

Just a few of my faves:  Granny & Papaw, cousin Angie, Uncle Mike & Carlie, Cousins - Andrew, Nathan, Carleigh & Micah, and Mamaw.

I absolutely love my family.  Every single, crazy one of them.  I'm so thankful that we're such a loving group.  I'm fortunate that I actually look forward to my time with them.  

7.  Super Awesome Friends. 
I've said it before, I'll say it again.  I honestly have some of best friends in the universe.  Of course, I've already filled you all in about that when I wrote about Friendships for Thirty-somethings.  I just couldn't leave them out.  They make my life so much better.
 
8.  Coffee. 

This may seem silly to you, but you just don't understand.  Coffee makes me a better person.  YOU should be thankful for coffee.  It makes me human in the mornings.  Most people are alive today because I had my coffee.

9.  My handy, dandy iPhone.

Again.  Completely valid.  I've been an iPhone user since the 3G first came out.  I'm invested, people.  If you know me, you know that my iPhone is attached to me. Love me, love my iPhone.

10. Music.

Studio work in Tulsa for Rita Fulmer's album.

My outlet.  I'm thankful that my Mom has encouraged my love for music.  She may have resisted the drums for several years, but thankfully she finally gave in when I was 15.  I love music.







What are you thankful for this year?  Let me know in the comments & most of all, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

five senses friday #8.

Five Senses Friday is were I reflect on the last week through the senses.  Here is my week in review.  Enjoy!

Tasting::

You may get tired of the coffee references.  My apologies, but coffee is the life source to this kid.  It will forever be enjoyed...especially in a geeky mug.  I have a geeky coffee mug obsession.  
Definitely looking forward to all the tasting I will be doing on Thursday!  Wooo!  Bring on the fat pants!

Feeling::

Accomplished after the Color Run.  Excited about a possible trip to Trader Joe's tomorrow.  Anticipation to get home today and see if my very first Loot Crate has arrived yet.  Ugh!  It's killing me, people!

 Also, feeling super awesome driving the mister's new truck!  Rawr!!! 

Seeing::

Super awesome photos from the Color Run website...of yours truly!!!  Apparently, the photographer was my friend.  :) 

Hearing::

Everyone talking about going to see Catching Fire last night, and I didn't go! Waahh!  I will have to convince the mister that we need to brave the crowds!

Smelling::

 

Kid you not, I can already smell the scents of Thanksgiving.  Yummy food.  The smell of my Granny's house.  The cool, fall air.  Mmmm......


What were some of your experiences this week?  Feel free to play along in the comments, find me online or post your own blog!

sunday social - week 3.

Wahoo!  I'm rockin' this week's Sunday Social!  Check it out & get linked up!

Favorite Thanksgiving Memory:  I will always love the memories of playing with all of my cousins at Thanksgiving when we were little.  But honestly, I think this year will be my favorite.  My first Thanksgiving married to the mister.  He's my favorite.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food:  Pumpkin pie!  My, oh my! 

What is a Thanksgiving Tradition you and your family have? :  Sitting down at the table with my mom after dinner & going through the Black Friday ads.  We find what we need, make index cards for each store and create our plan of attack!

Show us a favorite Thanksgiving picture (or 5) from years past:  

Best Thanksgiving photobomb ever (with my gorgeous friend, Emily.)

Don't know why I love this pic of my bro and I so much.  I just do.  I'm pretty sure he was pinching me.

What are you most looking forward to about this Thanksgiving?  First Thanksgiving married to the mister.  New traditions.  New memories.  Definitely looking forward to spending time with family.

Come link up with us and get Sunday Social! Meet new friends, comment on new blogs…it's fun!

Until next time…