Thanksgiving Break

Zane had a whole week off for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to not have to rush around to get him to school for a few days and I loved having all of my boys home with me. We managed to have a nice blend of fun activity and low key relaxation.

Friday morning we finally made it to a playdate at the mall with Zane's classmate Gianna from last year. Her mom Alli has been so kind to invite us to several playdates but it had never worked out. Thankfully it finally did and the boys had a fun time playing on the mall playground. We even had our neighbor Natalie with us- Meredith had watched the twins the day before so I could go to Zane's Thanksgiving party so I was returning the favor so she could go to Jackson's. I snapped a few pics but sadly didn't get any of Zane.

 These two are so sweet!

 Jude

 

 and Cole

 On Saturday, we went to see Santa at the Legacy Park Clubhouse with the Speer family. Thankfully they brought their camera and took a few pics of our kids with Santa and some our family together outside.

our big kids coloring while we waited in line for Santa

 
our sweet boys with Santa- I love the look on Zane's face...

 the best one of all of them

 love Zane's smile here

 the twins loved feeling Santa's suit and beard once they got over being a little shy

 they loved his beard and glasses, too

 they even made Santa laugh...

 a few of our family...love the fall colors

We got to enjoy a few fires in the fireplace over the break...oh how the boys love when Luke gets a fire going.

We got to have another fun PJ Movie day with the Speers. The kids enjoyed watching a show, eating popcorn. making candy turkeys,and playing at the playground- thanks Zoe for bringing the fun craft! We had so much fun with you guys!

 love these sweet kids

 Candy turkey time...

 Jude, Cole and Emma mainly ate candy while the big kids crafted.

 Sweet Emma

 Cole

 Jude

 Zane and his turkey

One day we were able to go to the playground by the train museum, or the "choo-choo playground" as Jude calls it. We pass it every Sunday driving to and from church and Jude always points it out and asks to go. The boys had fun sliding down the slide all together and running thru the tunnel. It was a beautiful day.

Cole

 

 

 Jude

 First down the slide together was Zane, Cole and me.

 

It took some convincing but finally Jude agreed to join us. 

 

Then it was time to run in the tunnel...I think the boys enjoy this more than playing on the playground.

After our outing to the park, we picked up lunch and headed home to see Luke who got off work early! While the twins were napping, Zane got a special invite from the Speers to join them at Menchie's for William's Reading Party...what a special treat! Thanks Speer family for including Zane- he had a great time!

Once the twins were up, Luke and I ran to the store with the twins to grab a few last minute items for our Thanksgiving feast. We stopped at the big park on the way home to let the twins expend some energy. They love running back and forth on the bridge and throwing rocks in the water.

Later that night, Jude found some of Luke's work safety goggles which he called "Papa's glasses."

Thursday morning we had some yummy Rhodes cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then Luke entertained the boys while I started making lunch. The boys watched the parade, played in their rooms and went to the playground and finally it was ready to eat. We had a late lunch and then got the boys down for a late nap and thankfully everyone took a long nap. When they woke up, we headed to the big park again for more throwing rocks into the creek and this time running the bases on the ball field.

I wanted to try and get a picture of the boys by a tree with beautiful fall colors but that didn't go so well

 

 so I settled for a couple with just me and Zane.

We headed back to the house and had some leftovers for supper. The boys got to enjoy some yummy chocolate cream pie for dessert.

On Friday we put up the went back to the train playground and ended up putting up the Christmas tree. Zane helped put on some of the ornaments.

Saturday we headed to to Bottoms Tree Farm with the Speers.

 

 We had such a fun time together! We walked around the land looking at all of the trees, 

 the pond,

the pigs,

and the horses.

 

 

The kids got to roast marshmallows

 

and we went on a hayride.

We even got to see Santa again. This time the boys seemed a little more comfortable with him.

We had a great morning. We will definitely have to make it a tradition to go there every year. The family that owns it was so nice and even though we did not get a tree, we bought a bough of fresh branches for the mantle. I snapped this picture on the way out of their nativity and loved how you could see the barn in the back.

We had such a great Thanksgiving break. It was so nice to have Luke home for so many days and we all enjoyed the time together. We have so much for which to be thankful!