After our Thanksgiving dinner with Heath’s family we stayed up late. In the morning I got up and right away started making loaded baked potato soup. Fortunately we had a lot of potatoes left from the baked potato bar the night before. Everyone was pretty tired and took a while to get going but eventually we got everyone dressed, fed and in the van. We headed down to my Aunt and Uncles house in Nevada, MO.
One tradition is letting the kids drive on the gravel. Bean started out.
Then Pumpkin drove us up to the house.
We had a little time to unwind from the ride just after we got there.
Pretty soon after Thanksgiving was ready and we sat down and ate. There was a ton of good food. I loaded my and Bean’s plate up with a little of everything. Fortunately I scooped way to much for her and had to eat it after my plate was gone.
Once it hurt I stopped eating and followed the kids outside to play.
Most of the adults came outside also. It was slightly cool but overall really nice. Another tradition is shooting stuff after Thanksgiving so we got out guns, clay and shells.
Most of the time Uncle Wayne tossed 2 blue rock at a time and 4 people shot.
When not shooting we played with the kids and watched.
We let these guys shoot a sign with a BB gun.
Everyone had a good time.
I think i was hitting about 50% and that was better then I expected.
Once we were out of shells we took a walk to an old cemetery.
All the graves were from the late 1800s early 1900s and we check it out every once in a while but usually it is really overgrown and spooky. This time it was all cleaned up and set up nice.
We visited and played a bit more before deciding to head home.
Then we got on the road a bit before sunset.
It was Peanut’s turn to drive. He is getting too big for our laps so we crossed our fingers and put a 10yr old behind the wheel.
He did great, we all survived and felt much better after I took over.
That was about it for me and the kids. We got ready for bed and unpacked some and called it a night. Heath’s sister Jendra and her boyfriend were staying with us for the weekend and they decided to go black Friday shopping and hit it hard.
They left the house around 11pm Thursday and came home just before 10am Friday. I’m not certain of all their adventures but they got everything they wanted.
Friday morning I started putting up xmas lights. At 11 I stopped and made lunch and then went to help my brother move. He rented a Uhaul and it was a pretty easy move. We got all his stuff loaded, moved and unloaded and then took the Uhaul to our Grandparents house. They are moving and we got some stuff out. I found a few treasures of my own.
That long thing is an old saw and if you want to help me cut down a tree with it sometime let me know. The day was pretty much over by the time I got home. I rounded up the family and we went to Bier Co.
The kids played and we had some beers. Jendra and Neah came with us and Briana, Jon and Olive were in the area and decided to join us. As the sun set it got really cold and we got hungry so got some Chelly. Then we went home and let the kids watch movies while we hung out.
Saturday morning I got back on the roof and finished the lights. Then I made breakfast and Neah and I went for a hike out at Little Blue River with Berry.
It was great weather and we set a quick pace and nearly went 5 miles. After the hike we grilled up some burgers and stuff. I went to the Sanders house and picked up the trailer after unloading all Jon’s scrap metal. Then I loaded the trailer with wood with Jon from Briana and Jon’s back yard. Then I took it home. Jendra and Neah left and Heath and I took the kids to Nebraska Furniture Mart to get our biggest Black Friday find.
Before getting it we shopped for an ottoman. I didn’t like the matching one and after shopping a bit Heath agreed there were lots of better options. We found a few better options but didn’t find the perfect one and eventually gave up. We found a few rugs that were on sale and added them to the couch.
It kind of took forever to get the 3 couches loaded and then it really did take forever to get the big rug loaded.
Finally we had everything and headed home.
It was past bedtime for the kids. Luckily we had taken dinner for them in the car so we just put them to bed and got our dinner warming up. We brought in all the pieces with help from the Pottebaum’s and then started unboxing, unwrapping and putting legs on.
We had to move a lot of stuff around, old couches, xmas tree, rugs, tables, chairs, buffets, etc. We ended up reorganizing parts of the kids area and basement to make it all work.
But it all worked out great.
The Pottebaum’s came back over and checked it out with us and we stayed up too late again. In the morning I got up early and it was kind of dreary and dark so I turned back on the christmas lights and fixed any bulbs that were out and rewired some things. Then I took the trailer back to the Sanders and loaded it back up with scrap metal. Then I took the old blue couch and chair over to Heath’s brothers house.
Once there we found it didn’t fit so we reloaded it and I brought it home and put it on craigslist. If you want it let me know you can have it (I’ve also got a kitchen table with leaf and a coffee table).
Heath and I did some moving around more furniture and stuff. She turned some wood box thing we didn;t know what to do with into an awesome food pantry so we could get rid of some shelves.
Rachel and Alex came by for a visit with baby Helen and then Jon, Briana and Olive stopped by to see the couch. When they left Heath went by the pharmacy for meds for a sinus infection and I took the girls to get some exersize and sugar. They had actually been really good helpers all day.
Then we got a few groceries and warmed up leftovers for dinner and got the girls in bed. Heath and I watched the Chiefs game and folded a giant pile of laundry then just after 9pm crashed pretty hard.