Thanksgiving weekend

We had a very nice, quiet Thanksgiving celebration at my parent's house.  Plenty of turkey and side dishes, topped off with MORE turkey??  

For dessert my sister brought an ice cream turkey cake.

Some loved it, some weren't too sure about it.

But it was delicious!

 

Following our early afternoon Thanksgiving meal,

my sister, my mom and I went out for our annual

early Black Friday shopping adventure.

And considering I hadn't even started Christmas shopping yet,

it was a good thing I got some accomplished.

The crowds weren't bad (except for the electronics section at Walmart) and the lines weren't long at all.  Best of all we got some pretty good deals and were back home by 9pm.

 

The morning after Thanksgiving is when our elf usually arrives.

And this year he did not disappoint.  Maura has been anxiously anticipating his arrival for weeks.

As is tradition he brought with him an Advent calendar.  This year it's a Lego Friends one.

Now let the elf antics begin, hopefully he's not feeling too wild and crazy this year.

 

We finished out the Thanksgiving break by decorating the Christmas tree.  Another holiday activity that Maura loves, Audra tolerates and the boys avoid.

Because of our little furry friend Blitz, who loves to chew and eat anything,

we had to find a new location for the tree this year. 

We put it in the playroom, which is blocked off from the dog because of all the little toy parts.  And luckily it's right off the kitchen so we can still enjoy seeing it most of the day.