As we rounded the corner of summer and life ran full-speed into fall, we still had some question marks on the schedule for the upcoming holiday season. Lucky for us, the Tetris blocks fell into place a few weeks ago for us to host a grand Thanksgiving celebration. We were thrilled to have visitors from the north and south converge in Stafford and fill the house with footsteps, smiles, good food, and a couple of expertly crafted (I might be biased) paper airplanes.

Mumsie and the Clays made it to town without issue and life kicked into “ultimate family time” gear. As we worked on the feast for the big day, the cousins raged and the adults made up for too much time apart. When there was too much energy for Lego and paper airplanes, we made field trips to the basement to visit the heavy bag or headed to the nearby park for the type of soccer game that involved an equal number of footballs as it did soccer balls.

As it grew closer to kickoff, everything fell into place. Sophia made fantastic placards for the table… the contrast between Dad and Mom was wildly entertaining for me (and everyone) to see. With the feast ready, there was but one thing left to do: stack a plate and get to eating!

Post-dinner it was once again cleanup and catch-up for the over 14 crowd and Home Alone for the youngers. The official start of the Christmas season must be marked by the humiliating defeat of the Wet Bandits! The rest of the weekend was spent with more of the same happy madness that is a house full of family. We’re so grateful to share our time with the crew and look forward to the next round of visitors who are on the books for December.