Good Old Family Fun

The Thanksgiving Turkey!

The past 3 Thanksgivings have been some of my favorites by far.  Perhaps this is because we have added Jack and NonaJane to the family and have so much to be thankful for... or it's because the whole Crabb clan has gathered for good old "family fun" at my brother's house.  This year we again invaded Mark and Katie's house to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The last two years we  road tripped to Ft. Dodge Iowa where they were living. This summer, however, they moved to Fond Du Lac Wisconsin. (it means "foot of the Lake" and apparently I pronounce it quite wrong. It sounds like a dirty word to me, but is actually a very pleasant place!)

The boys enjoyed the car ride

Loading up and heading West.. well NorthWest

 Anyhoo. Fond Du Lac is a 9-10 hour drive from Kansas City. My parents, Adam, Jack, Michael, Ethan, and Henry road tripped it both ways. Julie, Luella, NonaJane, and I flew to Wisconsin, but then Nona and I joined the boys and road tripped back home. Flying with Nona was a bit easier than entertaining her in the car for 9 hours, but either way we made it safe and sound. For that we are thankful!

And the girls enjoyed their flight

But back to Thanksgiving. My sister in law, Katie, opens her home and hosts our entire family for 3 days. I honestly don't know how she does it. Imagine children with sticky fingers, 5 young potty trained boys peeing in your bathrooms, and toy explosions in every room of their house. Toys were strewn and mismatched in a way that they may never find their matching pieces again... ever!  This year there were 8 children under the age of 7, and 8 adults spreading the holiday cheer. Despite the dishes, the mess, the noise, and hard work Katie remains delightful. She bakes, cooks, offers alcohol, entertains us with fun outings, and stays up late filling our evenings with games and cheer.  Not a minute of the day goes by when there isn't some sort of delicious and fattening dessert, snack or meal available (kind of like when you are on a cruise). Michael, Mark, Dad, and Katie sample various holiday ales ( reading between the lines, my brothers drink a whole lot of beer) and the rest of us enjoy some wine. My Dad drinks enough that he is actually willing to partake in family games such as "telestrations" or "sherades" which is a huge feat because my Dad has always refused to play any kind of social game.

Nolan says "you taking pictures of me?"

Growing up he always claimed they weren't any fun... but he sure seemed to be enjoying himself! Then once my brothers are nicely intoxicated we dance like idiots to "Just Dance 4". Except for Katie, somehow she manages to look really good when dancing... we can only assume that she rehearses
thru out the year. Anyhoo as the nights get rolling, the time seems to go by faster and then I end up getting mooned by my oldest brother (this should not surprise those of you who know Michael). So I know it's time to go to bed.  But a restful night is not likely. Babies thru out the house wake up in intervals just to make sure that those of us with MOM ears won't get any sleep at all.  My daughter decides this is a nice time to teeth and actually manages to stay awake for the majority of the night.  Lovely.
3 days later we have gained weight, lost sleep, and had an absolutely awesome time together as a family.  I am so thankful that we have an excuse to all stay together in the same house, and really spend 3 days together. The kids played non-stop, we even got to watch "Christmas Vacation" (a family favorite), drove thru the town's Christmas light display, went bowling, and enjoyed each others company.
 Thank you Mark and Katie for hosting, sorry for some additional stains to your carpets, a heap of trash for trash day, some dirty bathrooms, and a pile of laundry.  Hope you are looking forward to seeing us all again next year!!!
We LOVE you !!!