Full house

We had a full house for Thanksgiving. All four of our daughters and their families were here for a total of 18.

I did make some more gnomes during the week.

I had to make sure I had plenty for everyone to take one home.

Janko wanted his gnome to look really scruffy. He didn't want his beard trimmed at all!

Sophia wanted a red and white gnome. Doesn't he look all ready for Christmas?

There were enough gnomes for everyone who wanted one. Now I need to get cranking and making gnomes for friends.

I didn't want anyone to get bored, so I had wooden ornaments and acrylic markers on hand for some coloring fun.

Creative juices were really flowing around here!

After Thanksgiving dinner, Dave went out to the fire pit with all the kids and grandkids. They spent a long time out there singing every Christmas song they could think of. It was too cold for me, so I stayed inside and relaxed. 

After everyone left, we began Christmas decorating inside. Dave did most of the work, because I caught his bug and pretty much slept the day away on Sunday.

While they were here, daughter Andrea cranked out a gnome. We meant to finish it before the family headed back to Minnesota, but we forgot. I finished him last night. To quote Andrea, "What a handsome fella!"

Slacker?

I know I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging, but it's simply because I've been too busy!

I reached my goal of finishing Eva's afghan by Thanksgiving! I finished it up Wednesday night... one more afghan to go!

There was no school on Wednesday, so I had plenty of time to go grocery shopping and finish getting the house ready for family. Daughter Andrea and family arrived late Wednesday night. Carol and Jon were here late Thursday morning. Alison and family came early afternoon, and Karen and Larry arrived soon after.

Of course, we had way too much food! Granddaughter Ella took before and after pictures of the feast, but I forgot to have her share them with me before the family headed home. After cleaning up, we pulled out our favorite family game, Mexican Train. Grandson Aidan took over for me, so that I could go to bed at 9. Yes, I was the party pooper... I have a really difficult time staying up past 9! The kids stayed up until 11 to finish the game, and I learned in the morning that Aidan and I had won!

The feasting continued on Friday. Everyone who could (Aidan is allergic to eggs), enjoyed scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and fruit salad. For lunch... leftovers!

Andrea and family left for their next destination in the early afternoon. Alison and family were able to stay until early evening.

Dave and I had some more leftovers for dinner, and then we started decorating for Christmas. The holiday season has officially begun!