Thanksgiving One and Two

We are finally back from our vacation in Southern California. I decided to break it up into a couple of posts. So here is the Thanksgiving recap. Or should I say Thanksgiving recaps. We had three feasts.

Thanksgiving Number 1
Thursday was with my family at my mom's house. Dan and I went on a run in the morning, which was a substitute for The Run to Feed the Hungry we did last year. The celebration was on the small side, just our family, my parents, my brother and sister, my aunt and uncle, and their niece. We started off with some appetizers and Drew really enjoyed the black olives. Every time I looked at him he had a plate full of olives! My grandma and grandpa came by to visit, but couldn't stay for dinner. The kids sure had fun with them though.

Speaking of Thanksgiving dinner, it was delicious and was the most relaxing Thanksgiving I've ever had. It was so nice to just hang out and visit and not stress over the food. We did have one Thanksgiving mishap though. The turkey was cooked in a bag and when they were trying to get the gravy ready the bag tore and all the turkey juices spilled all over the kitchen counter and dripped down the cabinets to the floor. It's not really Thanksgiving until something goes wrong in the kitchen! My mom made everyone's favorite dish. She made green beans for me, but I also really loved the sweet potatoes. As usual, our favorite part was when everyone shared what they were thankful for this year.

Drew and his olives

My brother, Thomas, Dan and Grandpa Oddone

Drew and his great Grandpa

My sister, Rachel, Thomas and Drew

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Number 2
Friday we drove down to Dan's aunt Jennifer's house in Orange County. His mom was also there and we had our second Thanksgiving Dinner. While the food was cooking the kids enjoyed playing with Aunt Jennifer and her army men. We also took Drew to the park while Ava was napping. He had fun riding a tricycle, building sand castles (and smashing them!), and climbing on the jungle gym.

When we got back we helped out finishing the food preparation and then enjoyed another delicious feast! Unfortunately I developed a serious allergy to Jennifer's two beautiful Golden Retrievers, and we had to cut our evening short. It was a bummer to have to leave early, but I am glad we left when we did. My allergies seemed to have developed into a sinus infection. It was the worst attack I've ever had, and I'm still not all the way better yet.

Aunt Jennifer, Drew and Grandma Kathy at the park

Drew riding his tricycle