We have so been looking forward to a few days at home together as a family and the holiday weekend did not disappoint. On Wednesday night, Sophie said something about being nervous because it was her first time to host a family holiday! It was the sweetest thing. Made slightly humorous because my parents host Thanksgiving every year, so the venue didn’t actually change, just the inhabitants of the house. I still haven’t shared too many details about our current living situation (coming soon, I promise), but my parents own an amazing party party and pool area that will be their new front yard (at some point in the near future). Last year, they hosted Thanksgiving in the barn and it was a huge hit. We decided that, weather permitting, outdoor Thanksgiving should always be a thing. This was the view from my back porch.
We all laughed because I shared a photo of my plate on Instagram and joked that the only thing green was my actual plate. Oh well, it was delicious and I have plans to curb all the carbs now that Thanksgiving is over (You are due a little update on all things Paleo/Whole30, so look for that soon, too!).
The kids had THE BEST time playing outside all day. They cleaned their plates and then moved from the trampoline to the climbing tree to exploring the woods behind our house. There were between three and ten kids there for most of the day, so plenty of friends to keep everyone entertained. Once it got dark, they stayed a little closer to the firepit and once they started yawning, we knew it was time to wrap things up. You know the greatest thing about Thanksgiving at home? When you get cold, you can grab a sweater. When you get tired of stiff jeans, you can throw on yoga pants. When your kids start falling apart, you can throw them in the bathtub and tuck them in. Three cheers for that!
On Friday morning, we slept in a little bit and then made our way to brunch and the sweetest little tree tent in town. If you read here regularly, you’ll know that we’ve gotten our tree here for fifteen straight Christmases with one exception (it was a complete and total fail, never to be repeated again). My kids are country girls through and through, but we drive into the city for our fancy tree! I got so many great photos, but I’m planning to share a video from our morning, so I’ll save those for another day.
Two years ago for my birthday, Josh bought me tickets to see Moon Taxi in concert. I didn’t really know any of their songs, but it proved to be one of the greatest date nights of all time. They came again in December of last year, so Josh bought me tickets for my birthday again and we had another fantastic time. When they announced a show at the Alabama Theatre over the summer, I told Josh it was like a birthday miracle and we should make it a tradition for as long as they indulge us. Josh bought me tickets for my birthday again and I immediately regretted not getting four. I checked the ticket website a few weeks ago and when I realized the seats next to us were still available, I snatched them up. You wouldn’t know it by the look on his face, but we were both pretty excited to take the girls and they have been beside themselves since we told them the good news.
We were super smart and insisted that everyone take a nap that afternoon, since the show didn’t start until 8 o’clock. Good call, because Moon Taxi took the stage at 9:15. Despite our naps, Sophie made it approximately 18 minutes before crashing in Josh’s lap. We couldn’t even complain — she was so adorable dancing at the beginning of the show and Ella literally sang the entire time they were on stage. She had a brief moment of panic before the show, that she wouldn’t know but a few songs, but she surprised herself by knowing the chorus to every song they sang (with the exception of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Jimi Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower, understandably). Josh did wake Soph up for her very favorite song and she sang along behind fluttering eyes. I let her watch the video the next morning and she perked right up!
Ella and I snapped a good portion of the show, but I thought I would share the video here in case you missed it. Seriously, she is the most adorable ten year old of all time.
They were super excited to pick out t-shirts (thank you, Moon Taxi, for having kids’ sizes at a live show!) and couldn’t wait to wear them to school on Monday. Please don’t tell Sophie her shirt is blue and orange, we’ve avoided that topic all weekend and she hasn’t seemed to notice!
Among other things, we binge-watched all the things, ate yummy holiday food, decorated our Christmas tree and started several new books. We had such a wonderful November in our new home and are looking forward to celebrating Christmas BIG.
