Thanksgiving Catch up

I'm kind of late posting these (few) pics. Not gonna lie, I love the holidays but they are hectic and probably a little too busy for me at times. The coming and going and not knowing when you are coming and going...or when you are going to get a good night's sleep! It's exhausting and it's only just started for us this holiday season.

But, we are fortunate to have so many family members to try and celebrate with. My aunt hosted the Hoffmann's again and although I am not sure of the headcount this year, I do know that people were shuffled to my house to sleep where they could find a spot. Even the addition of Charlie, Uncle Nick's camper, didn't help the sleeping arrangements enough at the Schiebers to have enough space for everyone. There were people at our house, at Matt & Kim's house, at Tim's house, in the camper, and on every couch/floorspace at Denise's house. I know that ALL of my mom's 8 brothers and sisters with their spouses were around and several cousins and kiddos of the cousin's too! It was a packed house and from what I hear, there were still plenty of leftover potatoes and stuffing. I feel like we eat nonstop...but Aunt Jeanne, I don't think I got enough of your pickle dip. Must. Bring. To. Hoffmann. Christmas. Please.

We also congregate at the Schieber's house the night before. Audra entertained the little girls for a long time! No surprise here that Leah found a ball.

She was a bit confused about this particular ball. Squishy? Slimy?

Uncle Bill was helping Lilly and Lesley feed Duke treats. This holiday is for sure Duke's fav! He probably ate a whole box of treats over the course of 3 days. Good thing there were 4 vets around, just in case his tummy had issues with all those treats.

Aunt Denise always has the coolest toys. Check out that old Fisher Price schoolhouse.

I was really hoping to get a good photo of the girls in front of Aunt Denise's fireplace. The girls always love the holiday decorations she keeps here so I thought it was appropriate. Lesley was cooperating, Leah was not. That seems to be the story of every photo attempt - one is happy, one is not.

I guess this one will have to work.

On Thanksgiving evening, we headed down to Granny's to celebrate a little longer with Jason's family. Another great meal! But, also 2 crabby girls! After about 45 minutes, they started warming off and venturing off Mommy's lap. Eventually Grandma Cheryl pulled out an old phone and they had a blast with that. Lesley was running around having random conversations with Lilly, Grandma Nancy, and whoever really. When Leah could get her hands on the phone, she would hold it up to head and say "el-lo". She is very picky about what phone she has and knows exactly which one is mommy's and which one is the fake, i.e. Mommy's old one.

Friday meant a little shopping for Mommy and Aunt Aimee, a trip to Cabelas to see the animals, and then a trip to Iowa. Saturday was the Holtz family get together at Aunt Connie's house. More tasty food including a new dish - cranberry rice casserole! Fantastic!

So, like I said, it is wonderful to have so much family to celebrate with, but also exhausting. The girls never sleep as good when we are traveling as compared to home. And, I still don't understand why riding in a car is so tiresome to me. It's Thursday night and I'm still trying to catch up on laundry, unpacking, cooking, etc.

More roadtrips to come this year! Lyssa's baptism, Christmas and then New Year's too!