Happy Thanksgiving 2025

Over the last five days, we have been able to see so much of our family, and it is a blessing to celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday together. For most of the break, we were on the road. We rented a car for our travels, and funny enough, it was a Chevy Malibu, just like my very first car. And pretty close to the same color too! We altered our usual plans of going straight to Woodstock and instead spent the first two days in Alexandria visiting Carlin, Matt, and baby Asher. The trip to Virginia took a little over 5 hours. Luckily both kids are enthusiastic travelers, and they stayed occupied in the backseat with coloring books, games, and some screen time. Emmy especially enjoyed looking for different states on license plates. We did have to make a quick pit stop on the side of US-29, when there wasn't a closer bathroom for a bladder that couldn't wait. We arrived in Alexandria and checked into our hotel around 4PM. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Alexandria Carlyle, which was a short walk to the Ellises' apartment, as well as to lots of restaurants and shopping. Once we joined up with the rest of the family, we headed to dinner at Atlas Brew Works. It happened to be Bingo night, and while we ate our pizza, the kids enjoyed playing two rounds of Bingo, even though they were not successful in winning. We returned to the apartment and had cake to celebrate the three birthdays: Emmy, Eli, and Carlin. It was around 8:30PM when we got back to the hotel for bedtime, and despite all the sugar in their system, the kids were quick to fall asleep (...and so were the adults!)

On Thanksgiving morning, we had breakfast down in the hotel lobby, while watching the Macy's Day Parade in the background. Then we headed to the Gaylord Resort & Convention Center, located in the National Harbor, where Carlin had purchased tickets for the annual Ice Village exhibit. I had packed our winter clothing specifically for the activity, and luckily they provided special parkas for an extra layer of warmth as we walked through the village, where the temperature was a frigid 9 degrees. Everything within sight was made of ice. Large and small sculptures, it was truly impressive. There was one section with an ice slide, and the kids enjoyed going down several times. I even went down once! We walked around the hotel afterwards, where there were Christmas displays and a gingerbread house. After leaving the hotel, we went back to the Ellises' apartment for the rest of the afternoon. We had tacos and wings for our Thanksgiving meal and watched football on into the evening. It was a fun Thanksgiving in Alexandria! 

On Friday morning, we took our time checking out of the hotel and made our way to Table Talk, a nearby diner that Carlin recommended. We ordered entirely way too much food: waffles, pancakes, biscuits & gravy, home fries, eggs, and bacon. It was enough of a meal to last us until the family dinner in Woodstock later that evening. The drive from Alexandria was a little under 2 hours, and we saw some flurries along the way. We gathered with the family at the Kennedy barn around 6PM. At some point, a headcount was taken, and we believe there were 52 people in attendance this year. After the meal, we took photos of each of the generations, starting with Boomer's parents and his siblings, then all the grandchildren, and finally the great-grandchildren. It sure was something to see how the group has grown over the years. 

We returned to Kernersville on Saturday and headed straight to the Houstons' for our final Thanksgiving meal. Zack once again deep-fried a turkey, along with some chicken wings, and Meg and Mom made the sides. Since we are always coming from the road, I get off easy with not having to bring anything...but I do try to contribute with the clean-up afterwards. We ate around 3PM and then watched football while enjoying dessert. 

We are closing out the month of November with hearts full of gratitude and thanksgiving. It was a wonderful break. This evening we have settled back in at home. We added the kids' new heights to our family ruler. They are very excited for the upcoming festivities for Christmas and have written back to the Deacon in hopes that he will visit again this year. 

Sports & a Spelling Bee

The fun and fast pace of the fall continued this weekend with another full line-up of activities and sporting events. Starting on Friday, Boomer and I headed straight to Charlotte after the workday was done to see the comedian Nate Bargatze at the Spectrum Center. We had purchased the tickets several months ago, and as the date got closer, we coordinated with our friends Matt and Virginia Olson for dinner beforehand. We met them at one of their favorite spots called The Jimmy, and it was fun to catch up, trade parenting stories, and laugh together about this crazy season of life. Once we got to the Spectrum Center, the laughs continued with Nate Bargatze. Boomer and I especially loved the bit about grandparents at youth sports. Let's just say, it was very relatable :) After the show, we made the drive back to Kernersville and arrived home just before midnight. On Saturday, it was up and at 'em for a noon kickoff of the Wake Forest vs. Delaware football game. The weather was perfect, and we were excited for the Deacs to get another win, bringing their record to 8-3. After the game, fans were allowed to go onto the field. The kids loved running around from endzone to endzone. They also got pictures with a few of the players: #50 Ja'Marion Kennedy and #67 Elliot Demaine. (#50 because of his last name...and #67 because of the silly obsession with 6-7 right now!) We headed to the Williamses' afterwards for a weenie roast. On Sunday, we had one more event. Boomer took the kids to the Wake Women's Basketball game vs. Western Carolina. They left after our church's Thanksgiving meal and made it for the 1PM tip-off. While it was hard to not join in with the rest of the fam, I opted to stay home and take a nap - whew November has been a doozy for Mommy!

This morning, Emmy participated in her school's Spelling Bee. She was selected as the winner from her class, and we received the invitation from Mrs. Houston, aka Aunt Megan, several days ago. In preparation, Boomer and I would give Emmy words in the car or at home or at any moment that a word would come to mind. Boomer coached her on asking for the definition and for its use in a sentence. Mostly we were unsure about Emmy's nervousness, but she impressed us with her bravery and courage up on the stage. She was one of 16 competitors from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades. She successfully spelled 'pirates' and 'courtyard' to advance to Round 3. She hung in there through Round 4, when there were only four other students remaining. Since three out of the five students were eliminated in the 4th Round, with Emmy being one of them, we are saying that she tied for 3rd with a podium finish (haha!) She missed 'tuxedo' and 'democracy,' but she handled the defeat well, and there were no tears. Much like in sports, she showed her usual poise and stoicism. We gathered around her afterwards for some photos. We are so proud of our girl!

In any pockets of free time, the kids have enjoyed playing with their new birthday gifts. Emmy has been a busy bracelet-maker, while Eli has been playing with his new cars and dribbling his new basketball all around the house. 

Here are a few other snapshots from November that didn't make it into the earlier birthday post: sending a photo to Uncle Matt for Veterans Day...

...going to Culver's for the SGES Dine Out Night, where Emmy got to help deliver food to the tables...

...cheering on Zander at his volleyball game at Meadowlark Middle School...

...and then Eli falling asleep on the way to gymnastics afterwards!

...Eli twinning with Daddy for church and with Maddox at school...

...and Eli's friend Cooper riding along with us to their preschool buddy Hudson's birthday party. 

Even though we decorated for Christmas already and there is much anticipation for December, we are not so ready for November to end just yet. It has been a month full of blessings and memories. As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, I pray that we will be mindful of these blessings and show gratitude for all that we have in this life.