Thanksgiving this year was just what it should have been. The kids had lots of family around -Aunt Judy and Uncle Ray came as well as Brent, Jessica and Reagan. Of course my Mom and Dad were there -it is their house after all. And Leigha, her boyfriend Ed and us, made for 14 of us hanging out and watching football while eating Aunt Judy's famous "Hurl" recipe with some chips. YUMMY! 
Dinner was delicious! Ham and turkey, sweet and regular potatoes, corn, stuffing, rolls and more filled our plates and our bellies. The boys loved the pumpkin and cherry pies for dessert and during half time of the Texas A&M game (against the Longhorns) we ran out the door so we could catch the other half after we got home.
This year Halloween was so much fun! I am not sure if it is because I joined in the fun and dressed up for the first time in many years, or if it is because the boys are at such a fun age, or if it is because this was the LONGEST Halloween season in my memory. 
The first thing that caught their eyes were not the hundreds a of pumpkins everywhere, but the big swing ride. Lucas did not seem like he would be a big fan of it, so we skipped it to go on some other rides hoping Lucas would just get in a fun mode and want to give the swings a try. First they went on the jump house where Lucas was happy to try it, but then at the top he felt the jump house swaying in the breeze and would climb back down instead of sliding down. 
We went over to the petting zoo area and scored when the nice man working there gave us some free goat food to feed the animals. Maybe not so free since it basically cost us $6 for the three of them to go pet the animals, but it was still nice of him, nonetheless. After much goat feeding, chicken chasing and animal petting we decided to give the big swings a try.
It was a complete success! All three boys loved the swings, they couldn't smile big enough as they were twirled around in the air. Every second and a half another one would fly by waving or yelling hello to us. After a bit more of fun and games, Don and I rounded the kids up and heading over to Nana's house. With out the promise of going to Nana's, I am not sure if we would have been able to get them to leave without tears, but luckily there were no problems that day.
After saying goodbye to my family in Illinois, it was time to make the 6.5 hour drive to see Don's family in Indiana. Although it was late when we arrived, the boys were wide awake. Having no concept of the reason we were in Indiana, the boys were just so excited to know they would soon see Matthew, Natalie and baby Elise. 
And see them, they did! The next morning the kids couldn't wait to see one another. After breakfast we took them to a nearby playground and let run and play. 
The kids laughed and played, the boys just love having their cousins to play with. Lucas generally follows the big boys around, so he was stuck on Matthew, laughing so hard at everything Matthew said and did. Wyatt was drawn to baby Elise, always wanting to check on her and touch her. Jaxon was just happy to be free of the van and got all his little wiggles out of his system, usually not far behind Natalie.
The next few days were busy with Don's grandmother's viewing and funeral, and although with the stress of his Grandmothers passing away and everything that entails, it was so nice to be around so much family. He saw cousins he hadn't seen in over 15 years, and got to catch up with people he generally doesn't get to talk to more than a couple times a year. Not to mention the boys got to meet new cousins as well as play with the ones they already know and love. 
