Thanksgiving in Tennessee!

We had such a wonderful trip to Tennessee to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family! I'm not going to lie, Eric and I were a little nervous about how Emerson would do. The car still seems to be a "trigger" for her on a day to day basis, but we were hoping she would do great like she did during her last long car ride to Kentucky. Low and behold, she did amazing and pretty much slept (or at least was quiet) the entire time there and back...even despite being stuck in traffic for a hour on the way down! For some crazy reason, which we've yet to figure out, Emerson must be able to tell the difference between being in the car to run errands around town versus being in the car during a long road trip. It's like night and day!

We were looking forward to our trip because this was the first time the entire family was going to be together - all four grown kids plus their spouses and kids! All eight cousins under the age of nine - how sweet! Rob and Cathy had such a full house they slept in their RV to make room for everyone! Because everyone was together, we decided to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas in one day like we did last year (it's so much fun)! All the girls made a side dish to help contribute to the Thanksgiving feast Cathy had prepared. We had an awesome spread and enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch around 1pm.

After we let our full bellies settle and the kiddos take some naps, it was time to open presents! Of course the kids had a blast and all the gifts Pa and Gigi got them were a hit - especially Ethan's new fire truck! He loves the ladder and the siren.

Dinner with Averi

Ethan had such a good time with his older cousins. I swear Kaden (9) and Eli (6) thought Ethan couldn't walk or do anything by himself...they were constantly carrying him around, helping him up on the couch, hugging him, etc. It was beyond cute.

Six of the Eight!

Eli and Ethan

 

Ethan had quite the jam session with Pa on Friday afternoon. Pa played the drums and Ethan went straight over to the microphone, picked it up, and began to "sing." This momma was beaming with pride!! Ha ha. I know all parents think their kids are talented, but I really do think Ethan has some sort of musical ability ingrained in him (from the Graebe side of course)! I took these pictures thinking "one day when he's famous I will have pictures of him singing at two years old"!!

We didn't get a picture of all the cousins together at the same time because someone was always napping, but we did at least get seven of the eight!

 

 

We are so thankful we were able to spend our holiday in Tennessee!