Three Ashleys, John, and Wyatt: Thanksgiving 2009

It's so hard for me to believe that Thanksgiving 2009 has already come and gone. Our family had a great holiday that started on Tuesday night at church. The boys were all set to perform at the FBC Thanksgiving dinner. We practiced, talked about walking on stage, had the cheering section in attendance (Ashley, Nana, Papa, Granny, me). The only thing missing was the singing. When the preschool choir was called up on stage, John immediately started crying. I had to stay on stage with he and Andrew. I'll be sure to look nice for our next performance- just in case.

Wednesday my brother and his family arrived in Columbia (at my mom's house) and that night we had some family and friends over for an oyster roast. There were 11 kids under 6 here. You can imagine the noise level. It was a great way to kick off the holiday and spend time with our loved ones.

Thursday morning we all (my mom and step-dad, brother's family and of course the 5 G's) headed to Nana and Papa's house for Thanksgiving dinner. This was the second annual Chapin Thanksgiving with my mom, step-dad and brother and his family there; it was wonderful. Ashley and I are so fortunate that our families all get along so well and enjoy being together. It certainly makes holidays much less stressful for he and I and it allows the boys to spend holidays surrounded by everyone who loves them (at once). Thanks for a wonderful day, Sandra and Will! You are awesome.

Seated at the kid's table- Wyatt, Thomas, Lucy, Isaac

Friday morning I got up at 3:30 AM to go shopping. That is something I have never done before, but it might be the start of a new tradition. Who knew there would be a line wrapped around Belk's at 3:45 AM?? I got Ashley and I each a goodie and the rest of my shopping was focused on the boys.

Later that day (actually still relatively early but it felt like late in the day to me since I had been up for hours) we met at the zoo. Visiting the zoo the day after Thanksgiving is another holiday tradition that we all love. The kids enjoy the zoo so much and it's nice to walk off a few calories.

The boys (minus P) all posed on the baby elephant.

(L to R) Andrew, Thomas, Lucy, Wyatt, John and Isaac

Today we finished out the holiday weekend with a huge win over Clemson! Go Gamecocks. I rarely wish I was at a football game, but I truly hated that I did not get to see this one in person. Ashley was so happy!!

Tomorrow is our last day of rest before it's back to the grind. I have a sneaking suspicion that "Elfie" (from Elf on the Shelf) may show up tonight! The boys are at the PERFECT age for all of the holiday excitement. It makes me feel like a kid agai