On this last day of November I’m determined to get our Thanksgiving post posted. We celebrated Turkey Day with my family here in Denver. Typically we go to Missouri for Thanksgiving, but this year we decided to stay put since it was the only time that the Evans family would be able to get together over the Holiday season. So, a Denver Thanksgiving it was, fortunately we were treated with excellent weather and delicious food.
Sarah, Paul, Maggie and Jack all arrived on Wednesday evening, with Happy Meals in hand I met them at the airport with fresh cookies; despite it being late everyone was in a great mood and looking forward to the weekend. I think Maggie and Jack were ready for bed, they were both pretty tired when they finally dropped me off at home.
Thursday morning everyone else arrived, Andrew from Houston and my parents from Cambridge. I always look forward to having a house full of people, and am always surprised at how quickly the house feels small with everyone in it. Maybe we should move to a bigger house.
While waiting for everyone to arrive and food to be prepared Maggie, Jack and Clare did some crafts. Clare was pretty excited to be drawing with markers and Maggie and Jack made some beautiful pictures that we then hung on the pantry door.
Clare enjoyed listening to Maggie and Jack's favorite Veggietales songs, I think maybe Santa will bring her a CD, some of the songs were pretty silly.
Maggie and Jack were also pretty excited that Jeff unearthed the Wii from the garage. Jack is a pretty good Wii bowler, while Maggie got a hang of the boxing.
Jeff, being out numbered by Evans’, took his position in the kitchen. I think when the house is full of Evans’ he’s happiest in the kitchen, able to get lost in his cooking and keep himself busy. The Chef didn’t disappoint, he made smoked turkey, smoked salmon, twice baked potatoes, green beans, chex mix, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. The food was excellent!
The kids table was the place to be, those that sat at the table got to eat first. I think Maggie and Jack were pretty tired, but that didn't stop them from enjoying the food.
Paul was happy to sit at the kids table, I think he probably found the chairs to be exceptionally comfy.
Clare decided the food on Uncle A's plate was better than what was on hers, lucky for her he was happy to share.
After everyone filled their bellies with food Grammy offered to read to anyone wanting to hear a story.
One benefit of traveling west is being able to take advantage of early mornings. My family, with the exception of Andrew and myself, are early risers; think 3am early. So, waking up for Black Friday door busters was no problem, in fact my Mom had to ‘wait’ for me to arrive at 6:15am. Mom was going to head to Kohl’s when she got up at 3am, but Clare had her purse.
So, off to Vera Bradley we went! We arrived to find the mall busy and a line forming for Vera, I guess others had heard about the Holiday bag giveaway. Luckily we made our way into the store and were able to find a few things before the line grew the length of the store (it’s best to Black Friday shop with a partner – one person stands in line while the other shops). After Vera we headed to Kohl’s where we found all sorts of deals. Fortunately we were able to find our treasures before the line was snaked all the way back into the bedding department.
After our shopping we meet up with the rest of the Evans/Drawz clan at the Rec. center for a little swimming. We ladies were fortune in that we didn’t have to get in the water; I must admit it was a bit odd being a guest at the pool rather than staff. Maggie and Jack loved the pool; I think Maggie must have gone down the slide 20 times while Jack when around the river even more.
Friday evening Mom and I decided maybe we hadn’t had enough Black Friday shopping so we headed back out, only this time we had Sarah, Maggie and Jack with us. We first stopped at the American Girl store where Maggie got a hairbrush for Lindsey, Clare’s American Girl from Gail. I think maybe Santa may have been there listening over Maggie’s shoulder, I thought I saw the reindeer parked outside. I wonder if maybe she asked him for something?
REI was the next stop on our trip, Sarah and I were both treated to new matching shoes, black Dansko’s, and we’re both pretty excited. While we were out shopping the men, plus Clare, were at home getting dinner ready, BBQ from Famous Dave’s was on the menu and enjoyed by all. True to Evans style we enjoyed a bit of dinner before diving into the ice cream, we always enjoy dessert when we’re together.
It used to be an Evans family tradition to take Christmas card pictures on Black Friday. Each year we would go somewhere, usually a school 'Big Toy' and take a bunch of pictures, hoping for one where we were all looking at the camera that was Christmas card worthy. I remember dropping the film off at McCallasters on the way home and being told that if the pictures were good we could go out to dinner. While we didn't do it on Friday we did take a few candid family pictures, not sure if any will appear on Holiday cards or not. I guess maybe next time we'll make an appointment with Ann like we did last year.
The only one with all three kids in the picture.
This one actually turned out pretty well.
Saturday we all headed up the hill for a bit of site seeing. Jeff and I are still in the process of possibly moving to Evergreen and took everyone up there to show them around a bit. The weather was beautiful, perfect for a mountain drive. Unfortunately the Drawz family had to leave for home on Saturday evening, we were all sad to see them go and wished the time hadn’t passed so quickly.
Sunday was spent hanging around home relaxing, watching TV and napping. Clare started to show signs of a cold on Saturday, so we stuck close to home so she could nap. It was nice to just relax on Sunday; it had been a busy week.
It was also nice to stay close to home because both Andrew and Mom and Dad had to catch flights home. I was sad to see them all go, saying goodbye is never easy and always such a downer after a great visit. Shortly after Mom and Dad left Clare was sitting in her chair drawing when she stopped and asked where Grammy was, it broke my heart. The house was pretty quiet after everyone left.
All in all this Thanksgiving was wonderful, I’m so happy we were able to share it with my family, I don’t know when we’ll all be together again. Jeff survived another visit with the in-laws, Clare was worn out from playing with her cousins and I was exhausted from all action as well. I always look so forward to our visits, I just wish they weren’t so far apart.
