thanksgiving week 2024 - with grandma cheryl and grandpa durant

 last monday thatcher worked from home because we had two parent-teacher conferences to attend. ashford's was right away at 9am. we enjoyed chatting with his teacher (who was also azalea's 5th grade teacher). she said ashford is excelling in all academic areas. now he just needs to work on not being so chatty with his friends when he's not supposed to be ;) i can't believe it was our last ever conference at the elementary school. in the late morning, we got picked up by kay and fritz for the kids to go bouldering at the climbing place in our neighborhood. they did that for about 45 minutes while kay and i caught up. 

then we went next door to 'lockspot cafe' and got lunch. it was a fun outing. in the afternoon ashford went to fritz's for a while and i braved shopping at fred meyer for the rest of our thanksgiving dinner (and other stuff we needed). it was definitely crowded there. then we had azalea's conference, which is student led, so she joined thatcher and me. it was nice to chat with her teacher also and hear about what she's been doing in all her classes. she is also doing great in school. we are really proud of both of them. i can't believe it's our last middle school conference for her. we relaxed at home the rest of the night. 

tuesday thatcher went into the office for the only day during the week. the kids and i hung out at home for most of the day, but i did take them to starbucks for a treat. 

i spent a lot of the day cleaning and prepping for thatcher's parents to arrive. they landed at 5pm, so thatcher picked them up at the airport after work. we had tacos for dinner and hung out with them the rest of the night. 

wednesday morning i had an appointment to get my stitches out, so that was exciting. thatcher took the day off, but he had one meeting he needed to attend in redmond, so he took his parents along to explore the area while he was in his meeting. the kids and i hung out at home. in the evening, we all went to 'mod pizza' for dinner. 

thursday was thanksgiving! we started the day with our tradition of watching the macy's parade while coloring turkey/fall pictures :) we also watched some of the dog show. 

we got started on our cooking in the late morning. we hung out at home all day, going in and out of the kitchen preparing our feast. we also facetimed with anders, nith, and moss in manila. 

for the first time ever, the turkey was ready before everything else. we also made stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, blueberry muffins, and boston cream pie. the meal turned out great. holidays have been hard for me since we moved to seattle because we spend a lot of them by ourselves, so i was so happy to have thatcher's parents here this year. 

friday morning was christmas go-time! one of my favorite days of the year. the kids have been asking us for at least a year if we can get a real christmas tree. we always cut them down in minnesota, then we bought an artificial tree when we moved here 9.5 years ago. so, we were due! thatcher found a tree farm in mount vernon and it was a great place. not too busy, lots of pretty (reasonably priced) trees and free hot cider. it was a really fun experience. also helps to be in mild seattle weather rather than freezing minnesota weather for picking one out. :) 

when we got it home, it was time to decorate. we got a noble fir, and of course it took up more space than we thought it would because trees always look smaller outside, but it's really pretty and unique. only downside is it has a barely noticeable scent. 

we ended the night with watching 'christmas chronicles' on netflix. 

saturday morning i took azalea, durant, and cheryl out to get donuts at 'top pot' and to stop into ross and trader joes (where i like to get my wreath). we hung out at home for the afternoon. i started working on my holiday cards. thatcher and i also took a walk together and got to see this gorgeous sunset. ashford hung out with fritz and arlo for a couple hours. 

 in the evening, durant and cheryl took the kids for burgers at 'little woody's' and thatcher and i went to a new thai restaurant in our neighborhood. it was really good and a nice, cozy spot. we watched another christmas movie when we got back. 

sunday morning we made waffles, biscuits, and bacon for breakfast. we hung around the house for the morning and then in the afternoon we all went to the waterfront overlook at pike place market. thatcher and i had been to it before, but it was the first time for the others. it was a beautiful sunny day for it and it was packed with people. 

we made spaghetti for dinner and got ready for the kids to head back to school in the morning. 

durant and cheryl are here until tomorrow morning, so we're soaking up that time with them. i hope you had a good thanksgiving and are looking forward to all the cozyness december brings. i know i am!