aunt cindy's visit, thanksgiving weekend, and the lao wedding

whew! it's been quite the week around here. thatcher is still gone in laos (it feels like he's been gone for a year, more details on the wedding later in this post). my aunt cindy came into town last monday through friday to help me with the kids and to spend thanksgiving with us. it was so nice to have her here, i kept thanking her profusely (and she could see why. ha!). these kiddos are not for the faint of heart lately. azalea was out of school all week and it was rainy and windy out paired with a holiday when many places are closed. it was the perfect storm for the kids wanting our attention every second, lots of fighting, and a dash of boredom thrown in. but we survived. i'm not sure that i would have on my own. 

we did manage to get out and do lots of fun things with cindy including having lunch at patxi's pizza in our neighborhood, donuts at mighty o's, a trip to the library and joann fabrics, azalea's school conference, and finally the locks the morning she left. 

and thanksgiving was a success as well! i really wanted to make a traditional (though small scale) dinner for the four of us. i bought a 5 lb turkey breast, and made stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. i also bought rolls and pumpkin pie to have. i enjoyed making everything for us and cindy enjoyed entertaining the kids (and not cooking for a change!). 

just like last year, the kids picked at their food, but cindy and i enjoyed the meal immensely! after dinner we all watched the polar express.

in between breaking up sibling spats, i really tried to soak up the cozyness that thanksgiving weekend brings. i didn't touch my book keeping work on thursday, i've worn comfy clothes, watched christmas movies, listened to hours of christmas music, played a million board games (race to the roof is azalea's current favorite), curled up on the couch while watching the rain fall outside (soooo much rain!), took advantage of some black friday deals online. 

friday night our friends vanessa and ewan joined the kids and me for dinner at our house. her husband works for amazon, so not surprisingly he had a long work day because of black friday. we made pita pizzas and drank wine and the kids played (mostly without fighting) :) 

saturday we put our tree up (sans ornaments) and decorated. per thatcher's request, we are waiting until later this week when he is home so he can put them up with the kids. so, i won't share any pictures until the decorating is complete. it was my first time putting a tree up on my own, so i was sort of proud. ha.



 i took the kids to scooters burgers and shakes for lunch. they are obsessed with that place! 

sunday we went to swanson's nursery to see santa! it was our second year going there, and while i hate paying $25 for a single picture, you can make an appointment online and they do a great job. this year they did the pictures in a yurt! so cool, so seattle! haha

 

the kids were so excited to see santa, but when the time came they sort of clammed up (star struck?). no tears, but they couldn't really spit out what they wanted to say and were feeling very self conscious. but the picture turned out adorable! 

 

finally, anders and nith's wedding was yesterday, so was i glued to social media waiting for pictures of the big event. thatcher told me it was a huge cultural experience for his family since there are many traditions that come with lao weddings and it was not in english and they were expected to play an active role in it, so half the time they didn't know what was going on :) but it was a success and the pictures look absolutely beautiful. i'm so sad i couldn't be there to experience it in person. i'm so excited that nith is officially part of our family now. 

today it's back to reality! azalea is back to school, ashford and i are back to our week day routine. we are counting down the days til thatcher returns! hope you had a happy thanksgiving with your loved ones!