Lots to be thankful for... {Part 1}

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We headed down to my parents where we met up with my two brothers, my little sister, my sister's family and her kids, my Aunt and Uncle and two little cousins. It was a crazy fun filled weekend. Amanda and I made up some freezer meals before we left so that we all really only had to cook on Thanksgiving day. That made the whole trip seem like a lot less work (feeding 23 people is a lot of work!) We got in on Tuesday evening and the kids played a quick game of Skip-Bo with Nana and Grampy before they got ready for bed.

Mom and I were able to get the pies made on Wednesday and then Thursday we spent the day just as people should on Thanksgiving. Mom, Amanda, and I made the food, the guys and the kids built and prepared the rockets. Thanks to my brother-in-law, we've adopted his family's tradition of shooting off rockets every year on Thanksgiving. Everyone has such a great time, and it gets us out of the house, which is always a good thing.

 

Grampy and and Landon puting together 'The Bandito'. As a side note, Landon got those pajamas for Halloween, and wore them pretty much the ENTIRE time we were there! He also started 'fixing' his hair. I think he looks so cute with his hair spiked up in the front. I just wish I could get him to use hair gel instead of Aquafor (a.k.a. Vaseline).



Once our bellies were full and the rockets were ready (and I think a few people had a nap or two) we headed out to a big field and set up the rockets. Luckily, the field had a little playground a little ways off, so the kids could play while the guys tried to get all the kinks worked out. 

Luckily my cousin Jenna LOVED Ella around. Ella liked to play hard to please.

 Grampy and Landon with the 'Bandito'. They were proud of their masterpiece.

Half the fun of shooting off rockets is trying to catch them on their way down. Although, I will say, nothing makes you feel ungraceful like running around a lumpy field while looking up at the sky. It doesn't seem to bother the kids though. Grant was getting REALLY mad because he couldn't catch any. No one really caught any out of the air, but they'd try to be the first one to where it landed. If it hit the ground before Grant got to it, he was M.A.D!  Here's Addie showing off the rocket she got.

Another year of Rockets was a success!